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Jim: Thanks for getting back on this matter so fast. I took the information you people had printed on the display sign and looked at as a person who might be interested in Packards and might do some research.

If that average person does some research on the history of Packard and research on the information given about the Packard that was on display, that person can come away very confused, about what is actually the truth. The sign is full of errors right from the beginig to the end, that its not even funny. Let me just skip over the errors in the sign on Packard history.

So the average persons takes the information that you give on the car based on the horse power and the statement that the cars has a long wheel base. Go to his reference book sees the all the 120 models for 1936 are rated at 120 hp with a wheel base of 120 inches. Go to the next section of his reference book sees a listing of 130 horse power engine for the senior model straight eight and sees bigger wheel bases for those models longer than 120 inches. Looks at the body styles under the senior line for 1936 and see convertible sedan all the door are hinged on the B pillar and the bumpers look different, from the model he has seen on display at Harrisburg. Then the fellow figures some body has made a mistake. So he takes the information given him and goes to the 1937 models and see no convertible sedan listed under the 120 model line for 1937. Goes to the senior model line and sees listing for an engine of 130 horsepower and sees a listing for convertible sedan, and see a picture of the car notes that the front doors are hinged on the A pillar and the back doors are hinged on the B pillar. Looks at the style of bumper on the senior models for 1937 and comes to the conclusion that this has to be a 1937 Packard Senior model.

So just for the heck of it I loudly took the position that it was a 1937 Senior Packard model, to get a responce from the AACA to point out the fact that when you print information that is incorrect like you did about the car and the history of the company, you are doing the general public a great dis-service.

The bottom line to all this is that make sure the information you print about a car or the history of the company that produced the car is correct. I just can't understand with all the fine research materials that the AACA library has, the fine museum that you are part of, that such errors could happen.


John Shireman

Quote:

It sure looks like a 1936 to me.

It certainly looks like a 1936 to me also .

JT2: This coming summer in July when I go to Warren for the Packard Meet. I will take copy of the picture I took of the AACA display sign. I will tell the people running the Packard Museum
that they have been wrong all along as to who founded Packard according to the AACA. The founder is James Ward Parker, and that he bought his first car in 1899 rather than August 13,1898 as James Ward Packard did.

John F. Shireman

Quote:

Maybe those tricky devils at the AACA museum made a counterfiet VIN plate just to fool the ?experts? who know it is a 1937?

Here is the new info card for the car as provided to me by Jeff at the AACA Museum. Thanks to all for pointing out the errors.

Peter

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1936 Packard

Manufacturer:Packard Motor Car Company ? Detroit , MI
Model: 120 Series Convertible Sedan
Base Price: Unknown
Engine: Eight-cylinder, 120 hp

James Ward Packard was convinced that he could build a better vehicle than the horseless carriage he purchased in 1898. An electrical equipment manufacturer from Warren, Ohio, Packard went on to build some of the most powerful and prestigious automobiles of the period. This four-door Convertible Sedan was a new body style for 1936; it was custom built for the buyer by Dietrich. The long wheel base chassis with its eight cylinder engine made it a comfortable, competent road car. Its elegant styling and proportions make it an American classic.

Museum Collection ? Gift of William Cammack

PeterG: Here is some more information I have on the 1936 Packard Convertible Sedan. This inforamtion comes from my
automotive research library.

The base price isn't unknow and had Jeff gone over to the AACA Library and done some research, he would have found that the car has a base price of around $ 1400.00 and a shipping weight of 3660.

The Convertible Sedan was certainly not a knew body style in the Packard lineup for 1936. Howver having made that statement, the Convertible Sedan was a new body style for the Packard 120 line up for 1936. The Covertible Sedan body option was offered for one year only, being dropped for the 1937 model year.

The body wasn't actualy built by Dietrich, the body was built for Packard by Murray. Murray only put Dietrich tags on the bodies they built. The line of Convertible Sedan bodies that Murray designed for Packard and Lincoln were built from 1935 through 1937.

John F. Shireman

John, I am quoting from your very first posting on this subject;
"3. The Packard they had on display turns out not to be a 1936 as they claimed. The Packard on display in actually a
1937 Convertible Sedan."

You seem to be contradicting yourself in now stating that the 120 Convertible sedan was not available in 1937?

All of my Packard information indicates that the 120 convertible sedan model was offered in both 1936 (Body 997) and 1937 (Body 1097).

That is very interesting information that the "Dietrich" bodies were built by Murray for Packard as that is something which I was not aware. Facinating stuff! Thanks for sharing of your knowledge of Packard.

Clipper47: The statement in my first post stating that the car on display was actualy a 1937,was designed to get the AACA attension, to get them to correct the mistakes they made on thier dislay sign. I would say it worked.

I sure do like this kind of exchange. You win a new a 1965 Packard V12, for catching my intensional mistake about the the Convertible Sedan only being offered only one year. I tried to leave a hint that production actually stopped in 1937. When I stated that Murray built this body style of Packard and Lincoln until 1937.

Now it is very intersting to see which research material is correct yours or mine. My reference material for the Packard 120 for 1937 indicates the body style listed for
the Covertible Sedan is body style 1097. The base price is listed at $ 1550.00 and shipping weight of 3630. The Packard lineup for 1937 was intoduced in September 1936.


John F. Shireman