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Here are some pictures. Only 40-42 year cars showed up. The interior shots show a pretty accurate optional multi-tone interior for 1942 160 Convertibles. I forgot to get the car because it had the wrong hubcaps.

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That looks like the Darrin that I nearly bought when I was 18 years old but couldn't get the money together fast enough. The price was $18,500 which seemed a bargain even in the late '60s.

Don you're saying (in today's money) you had nearly 150 grand as an 18 y/o?

Yes, it was not mine but available on loan.

That red 1941 160 Convertible Sedan looks just like the one my late friend Jack Behn owned. Wonder if it's the same car? Jack was from Trumbull, Connecticut. I knew him when we were both members of the Eastern Packard Club. Jack loved '41 Packards. He had quite a collection of them, including custom towncar by Rollston that had once been owned by the mayor of West Palm Beach, Florida, a 110 woody station wagon, a 120 Convertible Coupe, a 180 Formal Sedan and a 110 Coupe that was one of the best restored junior Packards I've ever seen. Oh, and that red 160 Convertible Sedan. It had a horn that played,"How Dry I Am". Jack was quite a character. He always brought a well stocked portable bar to the car shows. Jack passed away in 2009. He had sold most of his cars by then, including the 160. But every time I see a '41 at a show, I still think of old "Mr.'41". That's what we called him.

Small world as I knew Jack Behn as well. I always thought of him as Mr. Sturm-Ruger. He had that machine shop in his basement, and that big collection of watches. He had a ship's chronometer that he said was accurate to a few seconds every month. The town car has been bouncing around looking for a home. It was being used as a wedding car for a while and was not taken care of properly.

I never saw the convertible sedan even when I was at Jack's place mostly because I didn't want to lead him on because it was for sale.

He used to take the train a lot because he could smoke.

Here is a picture of the interior that shows it isn't a fake.

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I stopped in at this show too. Very much quality instead of quantity, as a CCCA event. There were 20 cars when I stopped by. No rods, mods, or used cars. The 40 sedan had a very nice interior also.

I saw some very discreet mounting of back-up cameras on cars - nice execution.

Tim. Jack Behn was indeed Mr. Sturm-Ruger in addition to being Mr.'41 Packard. He was a senior executive at the gunmaker for many years and was an avid gun collector and lifetime NRA member. His collection of antique watches was probably one of the best in the country. I remember that he had a number of Packard company presentation watches. Wish I had bought one of them from him. Jack was just an all around great guy. I bought my first Packard, a 1940 110 sedan at age 23. One thing I needed was a generator. Being a novice, I had no idea of how to find parts for a 40 year old car (this was in 1980). I joined the Eastern Packard Club and met Jack. He invited me over his home and gave me a rebuilt generator for free. I was amazed by this act of generosity. Jack was a great friend and helped so many people in the Packard hobby over the years. I still miss seeing him at the shows.

Those were the days when the hobby was fun. I knew a guy - John Cavalero - who did the same thing. He knew everybody and if he knew you were restoring a car he would give you parts for it. He didn't care about the money he liked being santa claus.

Friends


I miss Jack , too. I was president of EPC for two stints straddling the turn of the century . Jack had the red car for sale and he told me he wanted me to have it. I am not quite as affluent as Jack was. I told him I wanted it and I could buy it if he took a trailing zero off the price. For some reason he didn't take me up on the offer.

The car was originally black . The story was that it originally belonged to Lucille Ball but of course there was no proof.

Dan Malumphy worked on it and it ended up "Malumphy Red". Dan was an excellent craftsman but it took some effort to convince him to change the paint color in his spray gun.

Jack's small lathe is now in Owen Dyneto's basement .



John Harley