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The 1930-32 Parts catalogue makes a distinction between the bumper assembly used on a 740 and the one used on a 745. I'd always thought the only difference was the shape of the guards. However, I'm presently assembling the bumpers for my 740 and find that the blades I have for the front bumper are shaped slightly differently in all dimensions than I would expect for the 740. They are slightly wider across the blade, and somewhat less domed than the rear bumper blades (which are correct for a 740). Therefore the 740 guards I have don't fit them.

The most obvious difference, however, is total blade length and end curvature. From my observations, the 726/733/740 bumpers are relatively straight with only a slight curve at the ends. The blades I have are 3" longer at either end and curve back toward the tires further. I've looked at various photos and it does appear the 745 bumpers curve back further.

In the photo below I've placed a spare 733 blade atop the bumper to illustrate the difference. (My understanding is the only variance between a 733 blade and a 740 is the 740 blade is 1/4" wider from top to bottom than the 733).

Does anyone have definitive knowledge re this apparent difference? The simplest way to tell would be if a 745 owner on the board would be so kind as to measure the total length of his/her car's front bumper from end bolt center to end bolt center. The measurement of the bumper in question is about 61" whereas the 733 blade I have is about 58".

Any help would be most appreciated! Thanks.

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Only last week, I was doing exactly the same thing. 726 and 733 are the same. Without measuring, let's say the bars are 2 1/2". 740 is slightly more - could be 2 3/4" and 745's which I need are 3". I'll check my notes and the bars I wrote on but that's in the ball park. As to the overall width of 745's I would not be surprised if they were wider overall. Keep me in mind if yours turn out to be 745's.

726 and 733 are the same - their bumper blades are 2" wide. The three 740 rear blades I possess are each 2.225" wide. The possibly 745 front blades are approximately 2.265" wide.

Photos below - black club sedan is 740, red phaeton is 745. The bumpers are strikingly different.

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Just went for some photos. Had to locate an Imperial tape from the archives.
The 733 front bumpers are 2" X 58 1/4" and 58 1/2". One needs reshaping. The 740 front bumper is 2 1/4" X 60 1/2". The 740 rear is 2 1/4" X 64 1/4".

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Speedster 1930 - sending you a PM

Another bit of information for the record. Photos of 1931 840 and 845 Packards show both models having front bumper blades that curve more toward the tires - similar to the 745 bumper. (Leaving aside, that is, the '31s that were retro-fitted with an update package which included a 1932 vibration damping bumper). Although the 1931 Big 8 bumper looks nearly identical to the 745, the part number for the 1931 assembly is different than that of the 745.

Back to the question at hand, by far and away most photos of 740s show the straighter blades, but a few show an end curve like the 745, 840 and 845. That caused some confusion until I realized that a 1931 bumper assembly could easily be subbed in for a 740 assembly. The vast majority of 840 and 845 have the bolt-through style guards like the 745, but there are some that use bow tie style guards like on the 740.

To sum up, it seems a proper 740 bumper assembly uses the straighter blades together with a 3-1/2" deep bracket. 745, 840 and 845 assemblies use longer blades that curve more toward the tire and therefore would need a deeper bracket - perhaps 5" deep - to keep the ends sufficiently forward of the tires. I haven't been able to verify the hypothesized 5" bracket depth, but it is clear the longer blades will not work using the 3-1/2" deep 740 bracket as they then almost touch the tires.

If you look at the parts book the 745 has "specify color" which I suspect means the back of the bumper bars are painted chassis color. The last original 745 I saw twenty years ago was black so try to find an example. Other than that, I suspect the 840, 845, and 745 bumpers are the same.

The 745 is an interesting styling exercise given it draws the eye forward to the hood arrow and chrome radiator shell. The bumper curve may have something to do with that. I knew an old timer who knew nothing about Packards except that he was fascinated by that styling que.

Interesting theory about the bumper shape, Tim. Stands to reason as all the "speared" models - 745, 840 and 845 - have the longer "curved toward the tires" front bumper (as well as sweeping front fenders). The non-speared models with the older style front fenders - 726, 733, 740, 826 and 833 - have the straighter front bumper with less curve toward the tires.

Perhaps these subtle changes are the very first baby steps toward streamlining: an arrow which is symbolic of flying swiftly through the air, "wind swept" front fenders, aerodynamic curvature on the front bumpers.

840 (left) vs 740 front bumper

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Adding info here as I gather it because the Service Parts list does not include the individual components that make up each "bumper assembly."

It would appear the 726/733 front bumper blades are not only narrower from top to bottom across the face but also a bit shorter horizontally than the 740's. The 726/733 are 2" wide across the face vs about 2-1/4" on the 740, and are approx 58" horizontally vs about 60" for the 740.

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