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Re: Henry Ford & Packard (trivia)...
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Home away from home
 
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Midan
The ad was run 1n 1939 on Packard's 40th anniversary, not 1949. It was run in the Packard Cormorant many years ago. It is one of the most gracious things I've ever read. Henry and Edsel obviously had a profound respect for Packard. :You will remember that when Henry Ford went on his "camping" trips with Edison , Firestone and Burroughs in the teens and twenties he used a Twin Six fitted out as a camper. The legend in Packard circles in Detroit that there were frantic phone calls the night of Henry's death to find a Packard hearse. There is a famous picture printed on the cover of the CCCA Bulletin printed 2 or 3 years back of the Packard hearse, followed by Eleanor Ford's Lincoln in front of the GM administration building during the funeral procession. Regards John Harley
Posted on: 2010/3/3 19:07
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Re: Henry Ford & Packard (trivia)...
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Forum Ambassador
 
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Oops...my bad, 40th anniversary and not 50th, John Harley again proves that his memory is better than mine. That's as it should be, he's a lot younger and has less to remember
 In any case I'll dig out a copy of the letter and post it here. EDIT - Here's a somewhat stylized version of the letter from Ford to Packard, text as in the original. Thanks to PAC for the image. Attach file:  (63.33 KB)
Posted on: 2010/3/3 19:51
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Re: Henry Ford & Packard (trivia)...
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Home away from home
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Chrysler Corporation, General Motors, and Ford Motor Company all had congratulatory letters in the special edition of Automotive News commemorating Packard's 40th anniversary. This publication is on this site for anyone interested in reading these letters, plus many, many more from suppliers and associated businesses.
(o {I} o)
Posted on: 2010/3/3 19:53
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Re: Henry Ford & Packard (trivia)...
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Home away from home
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Hi
Checking my Lincoln texts, there were Lincoln commercial chassis available during most all the Model L, K, KA & KB years. Wheelbases ran from 150-160". The numbers produced were miniscule. The Lincoln Zephyr was unit body construction which didn't lend itself well to commercial body conversion, plus no long wheelbase Zephyr commercial chassis was offered. One '41 Lincoln Custom, the 8 passenger/Limousine style body, was converted to an ambulance, still exist in restored condition. The Fords and the Macauleys had a friendly social relationship over the years, I recall reading. As has been noted, a Cadillac would not have been considered as appropriate transport as Henry Ford's last ride. There were Ford hearses built over the years, wonder why one wasn't rounded up? Steve
Posted on: 2010/3/3 20:03
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Re: Henry Ford & Packard (trivia)...
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Home away from home
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I remember everything Owen tells me..., even when he doesn't
John Harley
Posted on: 2010/3/3 23:42
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Re: Henry Ford & Packard (trivia)...
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Just can't stay away
 
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Quote:
Had to look that up. My book only goes back to 1930. It does show "chassis" from 1930-37, but it does not say "commercial chassis". So possibly that could have been used for limos or custom bodies that were not hearses or ambulances. In any case less than 50 were produced most years, so no major coachbuilder would have tooled up for that. And the last one was in 1937, 10 years old by the time Henry died. A funeral home in a major city, such as Detroit, would have been anxious to dump a 1930-37 hearse after WWII. They used the hearses longer in rural areas where they got less use and would have much less competition. But this would not be the case in Detroit. So it is highly unlikely a Lincoln could have been located on short notice if there weren't many to begin with, and the funeral homes got rid of them after WWII. Same deal with a Ford. I do believe the Ford family did find one Lincoln hearse somewhere, but it needed a full restoration, so obviously it couldn't be used. I think they might have bought, restored, and used it for other Ford family members later though, but not sure on that.
Posted on: 2010/3/4 0:21
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Re: Henry Ford & Packard (trivia)...
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Home away from home
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Perhaps because of Ford's relationship with Leland, he did not wish to ride in a Lincoln, either. Just conjecture. Lincoln was more of Edsel Ford's baby than Henry's, and Henry did not have a sparkling relationship with Edsel, either.
Posted on: 2010/3/4 10:18
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West Peterson
1930 Packard Speedster Eight Runabout (boattail) 1940 Packard 1808 w/Factory Air 1947 Chrysler Town and Country sedan 1970 Camaro RS https://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=4307&forum=10 http://aaca.org/ |
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Re: Henry Ford & Packard (trivia)...
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Home away from home
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I recall seeing a "Mystery Photo" in an issue of the CCCA Bulletin several years ago showing a funeral procession. It was identified as the one for Henry Ford. Maybe someone with a library of this publication (O_D?) could share the photo with us. It also showed a Lincoln sedan which was the family car.
(o {I} o)
Posted on: 2010/3/4 11:22
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Re: Henry Ford & Packard (trivia)...
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Home away from home
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Actually, the Henry Ford/Packard Hearse story has been covered here before. There's a small, kinda hard to see picture of the hearse parked in front of the church here.
Posted on: 2010/3/4 11:42
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