Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

Greeting Brothers
A WW2 vet has just passed and he worked in Chicago as a mechanic after the war and bought a Packard when he got out of the Navy. I stopped by and was talking to his wife who is 91 and she asked me if I would like to have the car. Would any one be so kind as to give me some idea what model this might be I am unable to get close to it in barn as there are many farming equipment pieces and items in the way to get the VIN and any numbers. So I will describe it as best I can. Packard 1938 4dr 8 cyl side mounts. The wife said from what he said it was a Touring Sedan what ever that means and the title says 1601 what ever that means. It is all there and looks very eerie parked in the barn with some dust and cob webs covering it. Not one speck of rust at all. It is up on the top floor of the barn so it is very dry. Thanks for any information and the help. Dale ps it says it is a Deluze also

Searching 1601 in model infopackardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/model ... l.php?modelnum=1601&ButtonLookup=Go brings up a few pictues and some info if you can narrow it down any by what you could see

Man u lucky....... Wish I knew a 90 yo willing to give me a Packard!!

I would diagnose what you have as Packarditis, unfortunately there is no cure but you can maintain a long and fruitful life by periodically buying a Packard.

As luck would have it there is a 38 1601 Packard Eight (also known as model 120) 4 door touring sedan available.

Greetings again upon researching the Packard I thought the 120 name was dropped in 38? I guess I read to much. As far as being lucky you would not say that if you saw what I have to clear out even to move it?? What does it mean by Touring Sedan and why isn't it just called a 4dr sedan.

You are correct- in 1938 Packard started calling it the Eight- they stretched the wheelbase to 127". It was also the first year with an all-steel body and split windshield. The difference in the 37-38 service manual is telling- to pull the transmission, the manual instructs you to remove the floor board for the '37, and the access plate for the '38.

The difference between the touring sedan and a regular 4 door sedan was a larger trunk, so that you could carry more luggage. On my '37, it results in a pronounced hump behind the C pillar that the four door sedan (non-touring) does not have.

Isn't 38 the year they had disappearing or self destructing decals instead of a data plate? If so, maybe clearing a path to get information would have been a futile experience.

Sir what do you mean be a split windshield, and All steel body" is the motor in this model reliable and also is the transmission reliable to. This car looks to be very long.

actually, this was their second shortest car.

V windshield means the windshield is made of two flat pieces joined in a v shape. this replaced one flat piece.

all steel body means the roof and framing are steel. earlier wooden framing with steel panels and roofs with a hole in the middle filled with canvas were used,

that's kind of simplistic, but basically accurate.

your 282 in3 straight eight is a well designed and made engine. The 3 speed transmission is typical of the time - it is not synchronized on first

Solid engine and gearbox that are not as expensive for parts or rebuild as earlier models.

If you are up for a restoration project, the car as you have described sounds near perfect.