A Packard

$22,500 spent on restoration. They left rust and a nasty rear bumper. It does have factory power steering, something not always found on a lower line Packard. Still an interesting car, listed on CL under "Antiques-Radios".

http://chicago.craigslist.org/nch/atq/4359947013.html

Regards

Wc

My grandfather loved Packards

Packard is about the only car brand I recall seeing factory tinted windows in a rather distinct hue of green rather then the typical light blue.

My Dad's take on Packards: "Those were gas guzzlers..."

Packards were well-built cars, but hung onto their venerable Straight 8 engines for about ten years too long.  A 1950 356 Cubic inch straight 8 "Custom Eight" engine weighed about 1100 pounds dry and was a nine-main-bearing engine.  Absolutely silent in operation, it would allow a nickel to stand on its edge on top of the cylinder head, idling at about 250 rpm.  That Packard has the same power steering system as a '53 GM car, and the same brake booster.  If you could afford a Packard, you were not worried about how much gas they used. "Ask the man who owns one" was Packard's famous slogan.

Regards

WC

I can't look at a Packard of that vintage without thinking of the companies' sad end.

It was a bad time for a few companies. I believe the last Packard was 1956, maybe 1957

Yeah, they and Studebaker latched onto each other and hung on in the big slide.

Last Packardbaker was 1958. Packard bought Studebaker. Had not George Mason passed away suddenly in 1954, there may have been a merger involving Nash, Hudson, Studebaker and Packard joining forces. Packard was healthy during the merger, but Studebaker was sinking and dragged Packard down with it. Packard always played to its target audience, but, in the late 1940's the target moved. The unions killed Studebaker, combined with high costs involved with the South Bend plant. Both makes were good cars, but they proved to be poison as one company.

Regards

WC