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Hi Tim

Thanks for posting that wonderful profile of the Jordan, that's the first time I've seen it. I too suspect Dietrich might be the creator of the Jordan Sportsman sedan design, seem to recall Jordan was one of the companiies he had a consultancy with. It has the same hood style of his Franklin work, also some of the details and feel of his prior full-custom Franklin Le Pirate. The other possibility was Alexis de Sahknoffsky, under contract with Hayes Body, who gave quite a few small makers a good element of style in their last years.

As far as the A-pillar-to-roof header, Dietrich handled that about as well as it could be short of keeping a separate cast convertible-style windshield frame as he would with the V-windshield design to come next. Notice the window shapes are nearly a mirror image of one another. A bit more rake angle on each would be even better but for full-door construction, looks magnificent as it is. For the '33-'34 sport sedan, most of the high arch of the upper door frames is flattened off, an improvement.

The fully-integrated coupe-style trunk is the leap forward that was being demonstrated here, which required the passenger compartment be completely moved forward off the rear axle line. The Chrsyler Airflow gets credit for this as a production first but it was worked out conceptually first by Dietrich and other custom coachbuilders.

Why, Oh why didn't Packard hire Dietrich the minute he was pushed out of his association with Murray/Dietrich? Better yet, built whatever he designed without question as production offerings.

Steve

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Dave (O_D), I gladly confirm that the Soviets used bottle jacks for all four doors and I always thought it would have been a stopgap measure, 'cause it "looks Russian" - or probably better, it's just what I'd expect of them. Simple, unsophisticated, anything but beautiful and almost indestructible. Just goes to show you never know.

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That bottle jack arrangment would be a real asset in the 41-42 180's.

Packard and Dietrich supposedly didn't get along all too well. Dietrich was rather extroverted and a fun loving party animal. He did a fantastic job modernizing the Packard line for the 6th series. However, in the background was a much quieter talent named Werner Gubritz who took the Dietrich forms and carried them right into 1942. Dietrich had real problems at Chrysler too. He was somebody easily made into a corporate target. Which just goes to show that corporate bullies are in fact cowards whose staying power is manifest in running talent out of town on a rail to the detriment of the stockholders.

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Let the facts speak for themselves.

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We found a solution to the 180 hydraulic problems by using 6-volt electric motors from a mid-'50s Lincoln. The huge giveaway that anything is different is that they actually work (yes, I know the hydraulics will work, too, but only if you use them frequently. If the car sits for lengths of time, the hydraulics will fail.)

Dear West:

I did one years ago using Chrysler 6 volt electrics.

The owner bought two parts cars: One for the motors and a Packard parts car for the regulators. They worked pretty darn good - especially the fronts which bolted right onto the Packard regulator.

But those Chryslers are pretty hard to find. Once I was looking at a barn load of Packard parts somebody bought. There were a set of 52 DeSoto doors among everything.

He said:
"I don't know why he has these. I should throw them out."

I said: "Don't you dare. That's the 6 volt electric window system that fits the Packard 180."

Boy, we've really drifted off topic here. Be that as it may, as noted before I know of two owners who have converted their 41/42 hydraulic windows to 12-volt electric by using motors/regulators from (I believe) Jeep Cherokees, powered by a small hidden 12-volt motorcycle battery. It's a free-standing system independent of the rest of the car's electrics and they say the battery only requires charging once or twice a year so any complicated dual-voltage charging system is not required.

Sorry 'bout that, Chief.
In regards to the speedster story: I was quite a bit disappointed. Nothing new added; basically material reprinted from other sources.

Hi

I'm slipping! Forgot the '29-'30 Stutz M Weymann Monte Carlo sport sedan contemporary with the Jordan Z.

Steve

Those bullet proof windshield pictures are on a ZIS.

The 37 Stalin Packard has a stock windshield.

The speedster story has one item worth noting - the 745 Boattail Speedster that was in Pennsylvania. People didn't believe that such a car existed, but if Hugo Pfau drew a sketch for his files it must be a very impressive car. It has been in storage for decades.