Packard Forum Index » General

... and I hate knocking someone's car down, but again, knowing that it should be spot-on perfect all one looks for are things that are not done correctly.

Question: If you were going to spend stupid money, would you install an off-the-shelf aftermarket turn signal stalk that looks bad and sticks out like a sore thumb??

... or, would you try and hide it?

... or, would you at least TRY and make it look correct for the year of the car??!!! ... by using some authentic parts and mixing and matching.

Yes that is the car. The owner said that it was a basket case that was picked up in Ohio with parts scattered across three states. I believe he was able to track down the the original motor. But I will leave that to others that know the story better.

The full story is in the latest PI Magazine as Tbirdman stated. The story states that he has wanted a Twelve convertible since 1954 when he was a sophomore in college. He called it unrequited love. When emotion sits in many take leave of their wallets. Just witness Barrett jackson auctions.

The restoration was done by Brian Joseph's Classic and Exotic Service in Troy, MI (according to the article).

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West...so now you are going to make fun of my turn signals

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He picked up a 38 V12 motor but I don't believe it was original to the car. I assume this doesn't detract from the value of the car as long as the motor is correct for that year.

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No way! But if you told me you just spend $3/4 million and didn't try to disguise it somehow, I'd sure have to wonder why?
I know Brian Joseph, and consider him a friend, if not a pretty good friend. His work is first-rate.
As long as the engine is correct for the car, no loss in value or interest.

RE: "wood-grained" dash on '38 Senior cars

Here's what REALLY happened, and the background.

The owner came to the restoration shop, and saw that the dash was painted the correct VERY subtle metallic silver.

He told his restorer he wanted a WOODGRAINED dash. The restorer told him "but it is all done". The owner said "what man has made, man can un-do...I LIKE wood-graining".

That's the bottom line. Ed KNOWS what he likes, and it is HIS car.

I was not a judge at that event, but if I was, I would not take off for "incorrect" paint. Here's why.

It is 1938. One of us walks into a Packard dealership with a fat checking account, and says, "I am ready to place an order for a Packard Twelve. I want GREEN closine hub-caps, and I want my dash painted "wood-grained" like my 1937, 1936, 1935, 1934, 1933, and 1932 etc. etc. Packards".

Does ANYONE in here have ANY question about how FAST the factory would get an order to "wood-grain" a '38 dash.

For those of you who are STILL wondering what this is all about, 1938 was the ONLY year that Packard painted the dash sheet-metal that VERY subtle silver/aluminum. The 1939 Twelves were wood-grained in the traditional Packard style.

There are a couple of exceptions - during production at custom body builders, some of the dashes were damaged, so they are painted black. At least one OPEN '38 Packard Twelve came out of 1580 Grand Blvd. with a dash of body color.

Because the over-all attempt to make the car perfectly authentic was so good, the judges did not think it appropriate to knock the car too far down on the two details some of us spotted that were NOT correct - someone mounted the rubber "cushions" for the "hood anti rattlers" on the WRONG side of the fender lip, and, oh yes, the rear fender "welting" was not quite the correct diameter. And the INCREDIBLY well-done running board rubber didn't have the edges properly ground off.

Now, with all those glaring faults, anyone want to adopt me and give me a nice allowance so I can have mine done that well ?

Thanks so much for the backstory. Since I am restoring two 39 V12's, the history was particularly interesting. And, while I'm using a pebble beach winning restorer to do the work, and one of the cars is a basket case, I will not spend 750K for the two of them!

Absolutely the man who commissioned the restoration of that 38 Twelve deserves all the credit we can give him for saving a significant car from a deplorable condition. My personal accolades to him and the folks that did the job. And no arguement either about the dash, it's his car to do with as he wishes. Ordinarily in judging, the burden is on the owner for validation if something is questionable; all's fair either way, if the judges don't ask, or if they do and the owner answers truthfully.

I sometimes wonder if we stretch the "Packard would do anything to sell a car" rationale a bit too far. Surely some of the exceptions from standard configuration where done at the dealer level, perhaps even with factory concurrance. Certainly they'd do a lot more for a Twelve than a Six or Eight. And doubly in 1938 where the mini-depression really clamped down on all car sales and especially luxury cars. After Packards great year for the Twelve in 1937, they no doubt hoped for a similar year in 1938 and that didn't come to pass - and probably explains why perhaps 70% of the 1939 Twelves have bodies built in early 1938 - this conclusion reached by researching the body serial numbers (thief-proof numbers).

It also may come down to "Dealers would do anything to sell a car". A car may have left the dealer in a way that it didn't leave the factory. But again proving that can be difficult unless there's a paper trail somehow. I am sure when the original owner bought this car, he never thought 70 years later people would judging it as to what was original or not!