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

Steve, almost certainly our paths crossed at the Canandaigua National. I drove my 56 Caribbean there, it was still in the incorrect paint scheme then as when I bought it, Roman Copper/Dover White/Roman Copper.

Sorry for the error, I remembered their blue slant-back as a 1935. It also had artillery wheels as I recall; I saw it again some years later at the Lone Star Farm show up in CT, north of Norwalk.

Digitized a few more old Kodachromes. Some are from Hershey in the 70s, others from the Stutz, Pierce-Arrow and Packard celebrations at the Burn Foundation Concours in Lehigh Valley, PA, and a few others from early Greenwich Concours. I'm sure some of you can identify almost all these cars, the two that might be the hardest are the 1st and 2nd - if I recall correctly this is the last Duesenberg chassis to be bodied, in 1938 for a German man from the Jersey shore - Bauer might have been his last name. I forget the coachbuilder. In the Stutz group photo the 2nd from the right is a Weymann (fabric bodied) DV-32, currently owned by Judge Cassini. # 4(1) is a Minerva, still owned by Ele Chesney I believe. #17(1) is an Isotta Frachini, by Castagna IIRC. Also note the Car of the Dome before it's restoration and one of the '34 LeBaron 1108 Twelve sport phaetons (a real one!).

Aren't those Chrysler phaetons handsome? Curious how it took them so long to get the respect they have today. I completely forget what the last one is - help please.

Hundreds more, should I keep going?

Hope you enjoy.

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Gorgeous examples of the Custom Body builders art. Please continue Dave.

Owen, if you have hundreds or a thousand or so slides, you are obligated to scan those... . The historical information is priceless, the artistic value is at a premium and the topic is so relevant.

I just finished scanning about 4500 of my fathers slides and negatives and about 5000 of my own. It took me over a year but it is so worth it in the end. I have and you have images of cars that are captured in time from an early era.

As with my father's photos, and probably what will happen to yours, is I fished them out of the trash bin after his house flooded. Luckily, I was able to save about 98% of them.

I began my scanning project with my photos but when I ran into my father's photos, I couldn't put his down. Most of mine were film, most of his were slides and they dated back to the mid 1940's.

One thing became very apparent to me and that was the quality of the slides was head and shoulders above anything I have seen, film, digital, You name it, slides are the bomb. I bought a Canon scanner for under $200 and used Adobe lightroom to clean them up....I had mold residue to contend with. I'm scanning the slides at 9600 dpi and the film at 4800. It takes forever, but the detail the scanner captures if well worth it.

I would highly encourage you to continue...of yeah, his black and white photos are probably my second favorite.

Dave

The body of the Bauer Duesey was built by Rollson. Some people find it eccentric, but I like it a lot more than the Dueseys that were rebodied or "updated"

The last car is an 8 Litre Bentley. The original Bentley Motors was kept afloat by a group of what we would now call "one percenters". They are better known as the Bentley Boys, although one of the principals was a woman. They bought as many cars as they could,very successfully competed in them, and generally threw a lot of money at the firm to support their car habits.

Obviously this came to a screeching halt in about 1930.W.O Bentley's first impulse was , like many his American comrades, was to try and eat the competition's lunch, said lunch belonging to Rolls Royce.

The 8 Litre was supposed to be a better car than a Royce, , and by all accounts it was. However after 100 chassis were "erected", as the English put it, the hemorrhaging of money continued. Bentley went to receivership court in 1931 and it was widely understood Napier would buy the assets and resume its competition
with RR.

At the hearing a "United Motor Trust" showed up and submitted a higher bid. The judge refused a counter offer and no one knew who the new owner was.

Two weeks later W.O Bentley's wife returned from a cocktail party, :" So and so" ( I forget the name right now) said that his company bought your company."

W.O. : "He works for Rolls-Royce"

Regards

John Harley

"Hundreds more, should I keep going?"

By all means, those are exceptional. The quality of slide film amazes me.

Hi Dave

More, please! You've encountered many more coach-built Packards and Classics in general and photographed them than most of us ever will. This is more true than ever as highly desirable, rare Classics concentrate in private collections that rarely get shown publicly unless its at a concours. Its just plain interesting to see these cars back then, especially at early Hershey meets.

Of that Bauer Duesenberg Rollson, I encountered it once at Hershey in the 1990's when Bill Pettit still owned it. It sat late in the afternoon by itself, surrounded by us hardcore die-hards waiting for it to be started. When he did, he let it warm up for a good fifteen minutes with the exhaust cutout open.....music to a gearhead's ears! Then when he took off, he did so aggressively....unforgettable! Reward for persistence in spite of tired feet.

Steve

Reward for persistence in spite of tired feet.

Many the year at Hershey that my feet were so tired at day's end that I wondered if I could actually make it back to the parking area and my car! But you didn't want to miss anything.

Thanks for the encouragement and I'll scan and post some more. In that last set as I look at the maroon Lincoln phaeton I believe it was by Murphy. The other massive Lincoln with the old Hershey stadium in the background was a touring. The first couple of years I attended Hershey the entire show was inside the stadium, flea market outside.

One feature I remember on the Isotta, to minimize the owner of having to speak with the lowly chauffeur any more than necessary (after all, wealth and privilege had it's requirements), there was a set of electric pushbuttons in the rear and a corresponding set of illuminated lights in a panel on the dash, "left", "right', "stop", "home", etc. What arrogance!

Glad you enjoyed the pictures. Here's some more. The first image is not mine, perhaps from Jim Pearsall. The "48" Imperial Limousine was "rescued" from hospital/ambulance service in South Jersey in the 50's, never saw it again after this showing. Old Packard #1 photo taken at the Burn Foundation Packard celebration in 1999 which predated the Packard Centennial in Warren. Len Wehrle's Darrin at a local meet about 1970; that's Horace DiTecco's '24(?) Dodge depot hack to the left and Ed Jacod's 1201 convertible to the right. The pair of Duesenbergs are from Hershey 1962 or 1963.

PS - just found a 2nd (poor) photo of the 48 Imperial Limo, might as well keep them together here.

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I'm hoping there is still interest in these old pictures so I'll keep going. And apologies to you Steve, it was your thread that I hijacked. Many of these are from local shows in the 60s and 70s. Most photos self-explanatory but I'll comment on a few.

5. Anyone know what other make mascot was sacrificed to make this one?

8 & 9 (Renault and Duesenberg) were from the collection of Dr. Fisher, a local dentist. Unlike today, that Duesenberg and the next one were really driven, and regularly. Among his other cars was a mid-teens Hudson roadster and a pre-1900 DeDion-Bouton which he occasionally drove in local parades, quite the sight with the passengers in the front seat facing the driver in the rear seat.

10. This photo at the VMCCA National Meet at Lyndhurst NY in 1974. About midmorning this Duesy LeBaron shows up, owner drove about 200 miles from the Boston area, stayed a few hours, and then drove back home. Would never happen today!

11. Bill Hirsch's 745. This restoration was done in the 60s (time of the photo) and the restoration has held up remarkably.

12-13. George Jepson's pair of 734 Speedsters - West will certainly recognize this pair.

15. One-off Cadillac by Fleetwood, reputedly for the NYC Auto Show, owned at the time by Dr. Ronald Andrade. No idea what ever happened to it.

17. Like your Pierces BIG? When I located a trunk for my '34, it was delivered in this Pierce.

18. The 4-cyl Cadillac belonged to Charlie Vanderbush, at the time owner of Paterson (NJ) Auto Parts.

19. Steve Wolf's LeBaron Sport Brougham. Wonder where it is now? It had functioning A/C.

20. Part of the huge Max Roselle collection, probably the largest collector of the 55/56 cars beginning when they were almost new cars. The first Carib from the right is the one I now own, in it's second paint job - the Dover White overpainted in Holland Blue and the Danube Blue in Dover White.

21. Dick Greene was and still renown for his Cord L-29 knowledge, he still has this car, it was again shown at Macungie PA 2 or 3 years ago, still looking great.

I'll be glad to keep going as long as there is interest. More from shows of the 70s-80s and quite a few from the 1999 Centennial. Let me know....

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I love these pictures; so much character & beautiful cars. Keep m coming if it's not too much trouble.