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David McReadie kindly put me in touch with someone who knows what sort of work was done when Max Hood owned the car. It appears that it sat in Andrew Lidden's shed for about twenty years before being acquired by the Gosford Museum from Andrew's estate a few years ago. Evidence now of engine overheating problems.

It has already reached its fair value in pre-auction bidding, so somebody will end up with a very expensive project!

The auction people insist that the lovely 1930 Packard 740 roadster (also ex-Andrew Lidden) started life that way. They have been told that's not true by the person who built the current body, but they continue to claim that it was originally a roadster. Caveat emptor!

Cheers

Brian

Surfaced on the AACA Website in this thread.

Well spotted Mal. Yes, it's the same car. Be interesting to follow the thread.

Barry Smith knew all about this car. I think he imported it originally then decided against trying to restore it. Some work was done on it later, but not a full restoration. The engine was rebuilt locally but some problems apparently followed.

Cheers

Brian

I think the fake body claim is symptomatic of this old car bubble. Drive the car and you will know immediately that it is a fake. The open car chassis used some different parts than the closed cars.

Yes, and when you see it beside an original Roadster the rear part of the bodywork is different. Nevertheless, a great looking car and well built. Provided it's provenance is truthfully disclosed, no problem. Does anybody really drive these? B.

Sorry, wrong heading it's a "740 Roadster".

Looking through present ads I see several fakes. This body swapping stuff all got going because Turnquist stated that Packard had a program of body interchangeability. This created a false assumption. Beginning with the 9th series the body number became part of the VIN which makes detection easier without a doctored title. However, the bodies are not identical. I will forgo saying why to avoid helping these scammers.

Body swapping by dealers did take place, but as mentioned above certain open car parts are different and these would be taken care of to guarantee proper performance.

Today we retrofit cars under contract from the manufacturers. However, every part that is different right down to the smallest fastener is changed out to create the correct vehicle.

The question of legal liability for this stuff has been pretty much set in precedent. Courts generally don't hear these cases because money being spent on frivolous wants does not create an injury in the legal sense.

I will say the lack of concern for authenticity has created this situation to the point that scammers are running the show. An authentic restoration is the exception these days. I don't see many of them.

Hello Tim

Yes, that's all true unfortunately. I'm more familiar with vintage race cars. It happens with those too, particularly in the US where documented history is not essential. And the courts are not sympathetic, as you say.
Somebody from Australia posted a message on the AACA website that he was looking seriously at buying a 1939 Packard 12 Limo (1908) which was recently auctioned here. He has been told it was restored (not true). I know the first Australian owner, who passed it on after deciding against trying to restore it. A subsequent owner attempted an engine rebuild but ran into problems. It has a reproduction data plate. It reportedly sold for more than I thought it was worth, given its condition and the cloudy nature of its history.

Caveat emptor!

Cheers Brian

Oh! When it comes to racing cars the stories just get bigger and bigger. Some of the old timers have told about cars they owned back in the 1950's and the ridiculous stores being made up about them as they went through the auction merry-go-round.

I was at an auction 30 years ago and watched in amazement at the prices being bid on junk. Stuff like Elvis Presley's supposed Cadillac. Then a mint restored 62 Chevy Pick-Up went through in a distress sale and brought essentially a used car lot price. Much less than the owner could possibly have in it. The only thing that makes sense is that people think they are going to make a killing on this stuff.

Years ago I remember how few cars were for sale. If you wanted something special you had to have connections. Today there is a flood of cars for sale. Want a Packard Speedster? No problem, there are at least five for sale right now.

I don't know who is buying this stuff, because it isn't anybody I know.