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Going too be looking at a 1953 Packard soon to buy, from the photo seems to look ok with a little rust good glass form the photo interior looks ok with a bad 327 motor that is out of the car asking $750 for the car.
would this be a good buy

Thank You for all your help, Im not going to buy the 53 Packard. Im going to look at a 1950 Packard that is running and the engine has been rebuilt

Interior and Body/Paint are the most expensive things on the car to deal with. As long as the motor is rebuildable, that sounds like a good price.

Hello M&M,
Don't be in a rush to buy the first car that come by. A Packard (or for that matter any car), that has the engine out leaves you with the word of the seller that the trans, brakes, differential, dash, lights, gauges, gas tank and the dozens of other systems suspect.....why, because unless you are really knowledgeable about this type of car and can access the potential viability of all the other systems you have no way of predetermining the actual soundness of the car and the potential monetary investment you have taken on. The engine will cost about 2 to 3 thousand dollars (worst case) and it's still not running because you don't know the condition of the radiator, carburetor, distributor, charging system, or starting system to name a few. If you're going to spend engine rebuild $ plus the cost of the car, you're already somewhere around 3k to 3500K, and, if you have really bad karma and the transmission doesn't work.....well, you don't want to go there 'cause it'll make you cry. But, this is only my opinion. Enjoy the hunt and follow your gut feelings.

Just my 2cents....

Steve...
1951 Packard 200
1953 Packard Clipper

having been down the path of "I'll buy it cheap and fix it up" many times, I have finally realized it is best to buy the best car you can, and spend your money on stuff like new tires and wax. Let some other poor fool fix them up! FYI, that was usually me.....the only exemption to this in my book is when you and your kid want some bonding/education time together. My daughter and I fixed up a cheap 67 Mustang before she got her driver's license. We worked on it for a year before she could drive. She did the upholstery, helped with body work, engine overhaul, brakes etc. Great learning experience for her and brought us closer together. That was worth the $4000 to build a $2000 car. Plus when she went to college, gave the car to my future son in law in exchange for a summer's worth of weekend work at our house. That worked out really well!

Yes, I agree.

My recommendation is also to buy the best old car you can, unless it is something so special or so cheap that you can't pass it up.

My 1955 Patrician is a good example. I've done a lot to it, but right out the box it was able to make a 1100 mile trip home. Since, I've done a lot to it, but everyone still likes it's originality.

Craig