Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

Hello,

I am considering buying a 1948 Packard. I have yet to get it on a lift for a complete check. The essentials are this. Frame, floorboards and trunk great no rust and sound. quarter panels and fenders were not repaired and have no rust. Interior is mostly intact and possibly an older restoration with Mohair.
Here are the negatives:
1. a car dealer is selling this.
2. He said he had the engine running but it does not run now.
What do I need to look for? I have owned many classics but not familiar with Packard. The price is $4,800 which is suspicious to me.

what model and body style? Closed car interiors were wool broadcloth originally.
pictures would tell a lot

Also be sure that the VIN plate on the cowl is intact and that it matches the title. If not or if no title, run away.

I would modify that to say make sure the number used on the title matches the corresponding one on the car, be it VN, engine, or body. And that the title is in the seller's name.

Packard's practice of using screws instead of rivets on the patent plate is a pain. And special credit for the one year with a decal (38?)

Well, if it's a 288/327 the engine is not particularly difficult to work on, and all the parts are available through vendors like Kanter and Max Merritt. I think the same is true of the 356 excepting it is larger and heavier so more trouble, perhaps, if for some reason it has to be pulled from the car. If it "used to run", find out what that means. Does it still turn over? Does it have spark? Does it have fuel to the carb? Is the carb gummed up? Remember these cars are all 6-volt positive ground (unless someone changed it), which means among other things good connections are comparatively more important than in a 12V car.

On a car that hasn't been run for a while, sometimes you just have to crank it for a while to get fuel into the carburetor. The problem could even be as simple as that, or maybe something even simpler such as a dead battery.

$4800 isn't outrageously low for a car that doesn't run, but of course it is important to know why it doesn't.

G'day Mark Anderson,
to PackardInfo.

IF you buy this '48 Packard, I invite you to include it in the Packard Vehicle Registry.

Not particularly desirable year and the prices are depressed for that reason. Should be a 22 series. Deluxe and customs are higher than a standard.
You can look at CAAAR or Hagertys for the price guides.
I guess it's how bad you want a car that you'll pour money into and it won't be worth much more later? A pristine unmolested original would bring maybe $20 range. Has to be a convertible to bring much. Don't get me wrong they're great cars, but this company went out of business for making cars like that.
I'll be catching it for this post...
The chrome is what will set you back, so if it's good, it's a bargain. You can sell the chrome for more than that.

If a dealer is "handling" this, that means it was not an easy sell, that the present owner doesn't have the usual notes slipped under his windshield wiper "If interested in selling, please contact me," etc.

The dealer expects to make a profit. So whatever you pay is a premium for, as others have told you, not a remarkable or especially desirable model.

Do not buy a car that someone assures you "was running."

No, no, no.

My and others' opines of the bathtub Packards aside, if such cars sing to you with their corpulent siren, hold out for a solid, no stories, no excuses,

r u n n i n g

example.

Most of the market for stock, unrodded, unbutchered pre-1950 cars is gone, fading, in nursing homes, retirement communities, or with their ancestors.

For the few relatively young folk preferring unadulterated old automobiles over egregious mid-sized/compact '60s tin with station wagon engines, trucky rear axle ratios, dopey decals,

there's a glut of well-fettled, cosmetically nice old automobiles.

Bide your time, listen to the savvy gentlemen here gathered. Read, visit owners, discuss, question; if possible drive various models. This site is an ongoing fount of lifelong experience generously shared by genuine buffs, not "dealers."

The above blokes and others are here for you, to help.

Make Murphy your wingman.


It is always easier to buy than to divest.

If you're buying a well-sorted old convertible, be it production Packard or Darrin, Ford, Cad, Buick, Delahaye; anything, there's interest.
Closed-only models, even Packard Clippers, Cadillac 60S Fleetwoods, Lincoln Continental club coupes, are flat.

Are you looking at this car simply as you can afford it, but it's not what you really want?

All the more reason to walk away.
Buy only what you really want, the best example you can find, and bank on it having needs regardless.

Beware of "bargains." It's been nearly half a century since fiscal mortals could afford to redo a car mechanically, cosmetically, and within. Renovating such a car as you're considering costs as much as restoring a Cord, Delage, Bentley, Jaguar or anything else, other than some parts costing less.

Other than build quality and thorough engineering, there's nothing exotic about any Packard.

Beware of car flippers, which this "dealer" is, and a low-rent one at that, else why would he involve himself at this end of the scale?

Buy only what sings to you while remaining hardnosed.

Avoid rave reviews of such and such a car online or by misery-loves-company owners trying to feather their nests; looking for the greater fool. Long ago owned a 48,414-mile, sound SoCal '51 200, which Uncle Tom McCahill preferred over the 400.
It had its merits, if build quality not up to Hudson Hornet's or Oldmobile's.
Not that this should stop you from buying Packard's iteration of the '49 shoebox Ford, or the earlier "Rasberry Jello molds," as Consumer Reports dismissed what you're considering, while giving the junior eight their Best Buy rating every year 1938-47.

Hold out and you'll long remember this Christmas and New Year with affection, not a sigh and slumped shoulders.

Mark,

Since you are considering a 22nd/23rd Series Packard, it is a buyer market. Do yourself a favor, take your time, hold out for the very BEST car you can find for the money, even if you have to have it shipped to you.

As context and for perspective on what has been available, here is a link to a 1949 Eight Deluxe that was for sale in Colorado for a few years until the seller finally dropped the price significantly. Others like it turn up periodically.

forums.aaca.org/topic/353363-for-sale-19 ... 8000-november-2021/#comment-2291486

Better cars trade between club members so join one or both Packard clubs and start networking if you haven't already. Dealers, unless they happen to be one of the reputable ones, don't know the cars, are only after the profit, the problems are yours after the Packard is off their lot.

Hope this helps, good luck in your search.

Steve