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My former 1940 110 that I bought in the mid-60s has been repainted yellow when I got it but it was originally a very bright blue which I do not see on the paint chip charts. The best way I can describe the blue was that it reminded me of blue plastic and, as I recall, it was not metallic. We're there other colors not shown on this chart or could it have been special order? The car did have other anomalies such as a two-tone interior which I understood to not have been available until 1941.

Don, I looked at the chart you included the link for and, while I'm not sure that chart reflects the 'real' colours of the day, maybe from fading or numerous duplications of the original brochure, but there are certainly no 'bright blues' there, that's for sure. Did Packard offer custom paint options?? It would seem that back in the day, when colours other than black were just coming into vogue, that if there were 10 or so options, THAT would be considered a lot to choose from and if a customer couldn't get happy with one of those... they might get told, well, you know where I'm going! Could your blue have been a non-factory, aftermarket paint job from a body shop??

Chris, The blue was even in hidden areas such as under the dash and behind the firewall padding (I took it completely apart) so I'm sure it was factory and I have seen other Packards that color. In fact, I have a 1:43 metal model of a 1940 Club Sedan that color, not that a model means anything.

Look at the chart on the PAC website, the colors are more true. Centennial Blue is quite bright, so is Barola Blue which I believe was offered briefly. The charts sometimes don't show special introductory colors or late intro colors, for them you sometimes need to read the trade letters.

French Blue is lighter than the chip chart indicates, and in the sun it reads bright blue. Here is a 1940 1377 same as mine. It could be French Blue. I think the wheels should be blue, too, not red, but they would have had 3 pinstripes around each wheel in French Red. The car would also be pinstriped in French Red.

I'm not sure why Jim Hollingsworth was so adamant about 1940 NOT being pinstriped, because my car was originally and was still in the 1940 announcement Scheme Y (Harbor Gray with Flare Red pinstripe) with the owner initials just below the rear windows when I received it.

The pinstripe specifications are right in Jim's book 1940 A Pivotal Year. But he may have meant that this pin striping was not done at the factory, but by the dealers, or it was only done on the wheels. "Note that Packard did not pinstripe the beltline on any cars in 1940. This is a common error by many owners and restorers." Au contraire to it being incorrect.

About your 110 upholstery, Don, the Packard Data Book for 1940 says the 110 upholstery is a neutral tan and blue grey giving it a two-tone effect. I think the Data Book pdf is here in Literature.

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Joe, That blue looks much like it. By memory, I seem to recall that it was even brighter but maybe not as my memory isn't what it once was, On the interior, mine had blue upholstery on the seats and rear armrests and I believe I still have the upholstery that I took off when I had it reupholstered. The Packard name is stamped on the bottoms of the pieces and maybe even a part number. The rear inside window trim pieces were also blue and showed no sign of ever having been wood-grained while the front door and windshield trim and dash were wood-grained. Although I didn't own this car all it's life, it wasn't even an antique yet when I bought it in Seattle where it was sold originally.

I recall a 1940 seven passenger touring sedan in centennial that was owned by a shady character who stole it out of a heated New York City private garage where it had been sitting unused for 20 years. It had under 9000 miles on it and was mint.

I don't recall it having a stripe, and given the chrome strip under the beltline that would be redundant.

The wheels were striped, which is probably what is meant in the paint scheme definitions.

Of course lots of dealers used private stripers who could lay down stripes on a whole car lot in a few hours.

I don't know whatever happened to that car, but it was the best 1940 Packard I have ever seen.