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Cover
If we say that the picture was taken during this year’s Packard meet in Århus, there is no doubt as to the name of the hotel we stayed at. A magnificent location on the beach with ocean views from every room. Big report in this issue. One of our Finnish members is planning to take part in the Peking to Paris Rally 2007 in his 1601 Convertible Coupe 1938. Packard people assembled in Turku to oversee how the car is being prepared. An expert, Jim Walters from Canada, who drove the endurance rally "Around the World in 80 Days" in his Packard 1603 Touring Sedan 1938 (and won his class) was present to offer advice.
Page 3
Packard reflections
By Dag Söderblom
NPOC has more than three hundred members and almost four hundred cars. Many of us meet regularly and get to see how our cars develop form year to year. Our big toys - that’s what NPOC’s founder, Harald Jonsson called them - are the common denominator for our clubs existence. Aside from the bulletin, the club’s mouthpiece, we have an annual directory, where cars are listed by country and also by year and model. What is lacking is a systematically organized image bank which our bulletin editor could consult in his work with the bulletin. With today’s technology it should be a rather simple matter to compile such an image bank with input from our members.
Get out there and take pictures! Kodak Brownie, Leica M6 or Hasselblad for old-fashioned film, or one of the new automated digital cameras doesn’t matter. Take pictures outdoors, preferably with free space around the car, at an attractive angle and avoid telephone poles sticking out of the roof, modern cars in the background and other clutter. And if you are especially proud of your detailed engine room, by all means...
Take enough pictures and if you use a digital camera, don’t be stingy with the resolution. Minimum 300 pixels per inch. Then send your pics to the editor. A couple of pictures can be e-mailed, but if you have more, download them on a CD or DVD and snail-mail to the editor.
Thanks for helping to make our bulletin more alive!
Page 4
Collector cars destroyed in fire
In the summer of 2005, a building in Thorsted, Denmark, containing a plastics factory and some garages, burned to the ground. In one of the garages, rented by Jørgen Bak Dalsgaard, was his pretty 1941 1900 Convertible Coupe. A Buick convertible was also destroyed by the fire. A police investigation has labeled the fire with certainty as arson.
The pictures show that it is virtually impossible to save the entire car, but the engine and driveline are OK. If anyone is interested, contact Jørgen.
Jørgen is also looking for a similar car as a replacement. If you have one for sale, let him know.
Page 5-7
Since last
Denmark
Tommy Madsen is the new owner of Anne-Marie Nikolaev’s 1952 400 Patrician.
Finland
Erkki Vuorsalo is a new member with an unrestored 1948 2211 Club Sedan. Erkki is planning do a "rolling restoration."
Member Jussi Saranpää bought a 1937 120CD Touring Sedan at Hershey to complement his 120 115C he already owns.
Our new member Kirsi Mäntylä inherited her 1937 120CD Club Sedan from her father. The car came from Canada already in 1991 and restoration was completed by 1995.
Norway
Lars Johannessen in Oslo has become a member of NPOC. Lars does not yet have a Packard, but wants to buy one. Contact him if you have one for sale.
Sweden
Kent Eriksson in Mellerud has a 1955 5560 Clipper Custom Sedan and Stefan Sjögren in Luleå has a 1948 2211 DeLuxe Eight Sedan.
Canada
Jim Walter, who in 2000 drove "Around the World in 80 Days" with his specially prepared Packard 1938 1603 Touring Sedan and won his class, has become a member of NPOC. He also has a 1946 2126 Custom Super Clipper Limousine in poor condition and a 1947 2126 Custom Super Clipper Sedan seven passenger with only 59,000 miles and in very good condition. He also has a 1941 1906 Custom Eight 180 with a custom body by Lagonda (Ed.: Sounds strange.) Read on page 18 about Jim Walters’s visit to Finland in anticipation of a member’s planned participation in the 2007 Peking to Paris Rally.
Germany
Angelica Burkhart has become a member of NPOC. Husband Jürgen has a 1939 1701 Convertible Coupe and they have participated in several NPOC meets. Jürgen is President of Packard Club of Germany, a region of PAC.
All are welcome and we hope to see you at a future NPOC meet.
Page 7
Packard events 2007
The Packard Meet 2007, June 29 - July 1
Hotell Norra Vättern, Askersund, Sweden
The entire modern hotel is at NPOC’s disposal. Askersund is centrally located and can be reached by most without an overnight stay. Our Finnish members will have to use an overnight ferry, however.
Info: Raoul af Forselles, telephone +46-159-201 55 E-mail: raouls@bredband.net
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Annual Meet 2006 Aarhus, Denmark
Day 0
Thursday, June 29
We were a gang that couldn’t hold back. We virtually rushed to this year’s meet in Aarhus, the Pearl of Jutland and Denmark’s second largest city with a population of about 250,000. We arrived at the host establishment, Hotel Marselis, in the early evening. After a good dinner we withdrew to our private quarters in preparation for the "real" meet.
Day 1
Friday, June 30
Several Packards had arrived since we checked last. Bus tour by lunchtime to Silkeborg for a boat tour over the local lake system. We passed Denmark’s highest mountain, Himmelsbjerget, all of 147 meters high. Back at the hotel a buffet dinner was served that left nobody hungry.
Day 2
Saturday, July 1
Breakfast, sunshine and annual meeting in quick succession and then time for a parade. The undersigned an a few other lucky people were invited to ride in Mr. Burton’s 1202 Limousine from 1935. A ride through beguiling Danish countryside to "Den Gamle By," the world’s first outdoor museum for town culture, opened in 1914. Lunch awaited us at a small country inn and we were then guided around in small groups. Saturday night and Annual Meeting! Preparations included choosing the right shoes for tire-kicking after the banquet. Good food, speeches and applause for the organizers for putting on a great meet.
Day 3
Sunday, July 2
Time to say goodbye to old and new friends. It’ll be less than a year till we meet again; in Sweden!
Packard Groupie
Helena Brogren
Page 18-19
Peking to Paris 2007 - Summer meeting at Triangle Motors in Åbo
By Dag Söderblom
Ten Packard enthusiasts met at Risto Paunonen’s veteran car garage, Triangle Motors in Åbo, in mid-July 2006. The event was arranged by Martti Kiikka who presented his plan to participate in next year’s Peking to Paris endurance run in his Packard 1601 Eight Convertible Coupe.
Martti recounted the background of the venture, saying that he participated in a similar endurance run in Africa in 2004 with his wife as navigator. The car that time was a Mercedes Cabriolet and Martti came in second. The car had been prepared for the run by Triangle Motors.
With aid of NPOC, Martti was able to lure Packard expert Jim Walters, Victoria, British Columbia, who operates a restoration shop, Bristol Motors, where a similar job had been done on a 1938 Packard 1603 Super Eight Sedan for an around-the-world tour in 2000. Jim came in first in his class. The car had been extensively prepared for the journey with, among other things, double coils, high-capacity fuel filtering system, fuel water-separation, an anti-vapor-lock system, special tubed tires, a lot of tools, lockable storage bins, etc.
Jim is a good friend of former NPOC member Hans Edwards, who also lives in Victoria, B.C. Greetings were conveyed to Hans from his many friends in NPOC.
We will revert with more information about the Peking to Paris project as it progresses.
Page 20 The Warren Years
Packard - The Warren Years is the name of a recently published book about Packard’s first years until 1903, when the move was made to Detroit. Author is Terry Martin, the authority on early Packard history and the driving force behind The National Packard Museum in Warren. James A. Hollingsworth has published a new and extended edition of his book Packard 1940 - a pivotal year.
Back cover
By Hans Schmidtz
Eight months after the introduction in January 1935, it was time for an upgrade of Packard’s One Twenty success model. Thanks to Packard’s initiative of selling an entirely new car in the medium-price range, sales gained momentum after the deep depression. During 1934 Packard sold a total of just over 6,000 cars, but thanks to the new model sales increased to 52,000 cars in 1935, more than 45,000 of which were the 120 model.
The next series was called 120B. The differences to the predecessor were minimal. Mechanically, the big difference was lengthening the stroke of the engine, increasing the displacement to 282 cubic inches. By coincidence, the motor’s output was 120 horsepower at 3800 RPM, the same number as the wheelbase, and a new slogan was born: "A horsepower for every inch".
Externally, the biggest difference was that the front "suicide doors," the rear-hinged front doors, now were front-hinged. A new and more robust front bumper was also added. Eight models were offered; new for the Series was a Convertible Sedan.
Svein Thorvaldsen’s 120B Club Sedan is a good representative of a tasteful Packard model.
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