Pages 4-5

The Idner family's new Packard

Text: Sture Idner  Photography: Hans Schmidtz, Ole Böök

There are people who are focused. They know what they want and they know what they strive for. When it comes to investing in an old car that makes things easy. In articles in industry journals you read about John, who has set his mind to owning a 1952 Lincoillac convertible; nothing else will do. John looks for months or years and when he finds what he wants, he does a ground-up restoration, even if the car was in good shape when he bought it.

Today it's not like it was 20 or 30 years ago when you were more or less confined to your home country to buy an older American car. What with numerous importers, Hemmings, eBay and collectorcartrader offerings are now plentiful.

Since I don't belong the circle of focused individuals, it is extra difficult for me to buy an older car. Between 1968 and 2003 this vacillation has resulted in five different Packard models/years, only one of which we still own. But both I and wife Ninnie         felt that the time had come for something more modern than our 1502, preferably a top of the line car from 1941 to 1956, but excluding the years 1948-52, and not too expensive. Lars Löwgren and Ole Böök were given the assignment to find something at Hershey 2003, but Lars came home empty-handed, so I started looking at various advertising sites on the Web.

With Ole's help several objects were explored, but there was always some impediment. Either someone put in a higher bid at the last minute, or the car turned out to be a dog. Then along came a car on eBay, an untouched 1951 Patrician with just 14,000 miles on it. We bid the asking price 15 minutes before the deadline and the car was ours until a minute before, when some nasty American overbid us.

The next time there was something that appealed to us was when a 1948 Custom Eight Sedan came up. This time we put in a bid much earlier and we got the car at the minimum asking price. This car was not in nearly the shape of the 1951 Patrician, but at less than half the money and with 75,000 miles on the odometer.

Ole had the car picked up in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and took it to his trusted shop (since moved away) near his home. There the car was thoroughly gone over mechanically and some work was done on cosmetics, like installing a new carpet, replacing some missing moldings, new radial tires, etc.

When done, the car was taken to Port of Newark for shipment to Göteborg and then on a car transport trailer to Stockholm. It was an exciting day in October 2004 when it arrived and I got to drive it for the first time. The car turned out to behave like a modern car thanks to the radials and the work done on the chassis. With its powerful engine and overdrive it was not a problem to keep up with modern traffic. Everything wasn't perfect: The wood-graining on the inside window frames had to be                   redone and some of the pot metal chrome is pitted. It is difficult to get this kind of work performed in a good way and it's expensive and takes a lot of time.

But weren't we supposed not to want a 1948? I had always thought the "Bathtubs" are ugly. But Lars Löwgren managed to convince me that they are not and that they have a lot of personality. Perhaps I have finally found what I want. And not least important - Ninnie agrees.

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Since last

Denmark

Jens Jørgen Olesen in Fredericia has acquired deceased Jørgen Østergaard's 1924 136 Sedan. Restoration in progress.

Norway

Bjørn Bregård in Ålesund is one of our new Norwegian members. He has a 1936 1404 Super Eight Convertible Victoria with registration number B-947, which by chance coincides with the body type number, 947. The car is in good original condition.

Are Eidissen in Andelva has a Packard 1600 Club Coupe, also in good original condition.

Karin Ruud in Jaren has become a member. She has no Packard but the last name indicates a relationship with a Packard owner.

Sweden

Leif Håkansson in Tidaholm has recently bought a 1955 Clipper.

Bobby Bastamow in Saltsjö-Boo has bought Johan Sandler's restored 1939 1701 Convertible Coupe. Bobby is well acquainted with Packard and big luxury cars being a driver at the limousine service where NPOC founder Harald Jonsson's 1101 Convertible Sedan resides.

Six pages in Swedish monthly NOSTALGIA number 3/2008 are devoted to our member Johan Berg's 1937 120C Convertible Coupe and his many-year restoration thereof. Nine pictures, two of which are full pages, and two half pages about Johan's ZIS 110.

In the previous issue we reported that new member Markku Peura had bought the so-called Railroad Packard. Her is the story of that Packard.

"The Railroad Packard"

Text: Martin Ekman

1928

Packard 640, 7-passenger limousine, color blue "B", engine no. 169472, vehicle no. 169478. Imported by Autola Oy/AB November 2, 2928 and delivered to Mr. Yrjö Lindfors November 6 the same year.

1930

The fate of the Packard during the 1930s and 1940s is unknown. Rebuilt for use on rails, probably by the state railway shops in Helsinki. Equipped with heavy flanged wheels and a non-steering front axle.

1950

Involved in an accident during the 1950s in which the font end was destroyed. Engine replaced by a Ford Trader diesel engine.

1960

The Packard is decommissioned and put in storage at the Haapamäki station.

1964

Aarno Mikala hears from a former schoolmate, now depot manager for the railroads, about the stored rail car. Arno approaches the Finnish railroad administration to buy the car. After lengthy negotiations Aarno is allowed to purchase the car for 400 marks, without wheels and front axle, however, since these parts were deemed to valuable to sell.

The car is picked up on October 30, 1964 and hauled to Kyrkslätt for winter storage.

1965

Aarno sells the car to Model T enthusiast, Esko Järvänpää, who is planning to install an engine and transmission from a junked Packard 902. That project falters, however.

1970

Engineer Frey Mattsson from Ekenäs takes over the Packard. He already has an engine, transmission, chassis and wheels from a junked 633.

The car is made whole and is used extensively for summer excursions.

1978

Engineer Bertel Lindqvist, Svartå, is the new owner of the Packard.

2007

The present owner is Markku Peura, Äänekoski. A thorough restoration is planned to begin in 2008. Surprisingly, many of the arts lost over the years have been found. There is thus a good chance that the project will succeed.

Packard events 2008

Denmark - May 31, Spring Tour

Norway - July 3-6, Packard Meet

Sweden - September 6, Rally Packard Väst

Denmark - September 28 Fall Tour

For information about these events, contact the work group in each respective country.

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Packard's experimental cars

Text and photography: Bertil Dimander

Show cars, concept cars, dream cars. Cars developed during the expansive 1950s to test the reactions of car buyers and to stake out the future - a future that could then only be better - often had names that fired the imagination, such as XP-500, The Golden Rocket, The Turnpike Cruiser, Firearrow and Firebird. Packard called theirs Pan American, Panther Daytona, Predictor and Black Bess.

Pan American

The Pan American was ordered by Packard from Henney and was based on a 1951 250 Convertible. The car was stripped of all chrome, channelled by about 10 centimeters and modified in many other ways. The car was first shown at The International Motor Sports Show in New York on March 21, 1951 and was a hit. There was talk of mass production on a small scale, but in the end only six were built. The first car was sold to Ed Macauley, head of Packard's design department and further modified. The Pan American was the inspiration for what came to be the 1953 Caribbean.

Panther Daytona

The Panther Daytona started life as Gray Wolf II but the name was soon changed to Panther with the Daytona suffix. It was built for Packard by Creative Industries in cooperation with Mitchell-Bentley Corporation, the company that had built the 750 1953 Caribbeans. The first car was equipped with a compressor-fed 1954 359 cu. in. engine that produced 275 horsepower. It is believed that five Panther Daytonas were built, two with manual trans and overdrive, the remaining three with Ultramatic.                  All were based on the 1954 Cavalier. Four remain.

Predictor

Only one Predictor was made. It was a forward-looking design by famous designers Richard Teague and William Schmidt. The Predictor was built by Ghia in Italy and was based on a 1955 Clipper chassis, with several basic components from Packard and Studebaker. The car had many futuristic features, such as retractable panels above the doors, a vertical grill that pivoted and also served as a bumper and disappearing twin headlights. The Predictor came too late to save Packard, but it showed the way for automotive design for many years to come. The car can be seen at the Studebaker museum in South Bend, Indiana.

Black Bess

As opposed to the three above mentioned cars, Black Bess was not a pretty and finished car and more of a prototype or a dummy than a show car. The original thought was to make it based on a 1957/58 Packard and equipped with a 440 cu. in. engine and a Twin Ultramatic.

The car never got anywhere near mass production and was only a dream squelched by Studebaker-Packard's dire financial situation at this time. The original Black Bess was junked and that now exists is a replica made to look like the prototype.

Balboa X, Request et al.

Even though Packard was conservative when it came to design, new design approaches were tried from time to time in addition to continual technical development work. Among experimental cars can be mentioned Balboa X and Request, but they were not real show cars, only modified standard models.

The much discussed straight twelve model in the 1930s can also be regarded as an experimental model, as was the front-wheel drive Twin Six from 1932. This category can also be said to include Henney's 12-seat Super Station Wagon, basically a modified ambulance built on Packard's longest 1954 chassis.

The many cars among the above that still exist are loaned out for various events so that the public can get to study them in greater detail, at least to the extent that public is in the United States.

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Ask the Man

Translation of an article by Patrick Foster that appeared in number 29, February 2007 of Hemmings Classic Car.

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Packard original department

Martin Ekman found this unique photograph at an antiquarian bookstore in Helsinki in 1966. Text on the back: "Neujahrsempfang beim Reichspräsidenten. Die Ehrenwache beim Empfang der Diplomaten." [The Reich President's new years reception. The honor guard at the arrival of the diplomats.] Since the car probably is a Second or Third Series Eight, Paul von Hindenburg is likely to have been Reich President (1925-1934).

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A good engine for a fine boat - Parbleu

Text: Bertil Dimander  Photography: Dan Boman, Bo Åström, Ole Böök, Bertil Dimander

Parbleu, isn't that a mild expletive in French? Means "of course" or some such. Strange name for a boat! If you stretch it a bit, it could also mean "through the blue," a little better. A look in a French dictionary provides the meaning "naturally," and then you sort of get it. Everything is so natural on this exclusive wooden boat, designed by the Swedish boat designer C.G. Pettersson. Such as the long, slender form and the almost vertical bow, the harmonious lines, the balance of the hull and how it is         planned, choice of woods, the elegance - and the powerful engine. The lucky owner is our member Bo Åström in Stockholm.

We meet Bosse, a real boat guy, in his beautiful home in and old stone house on Kungsholmen in Stockholm. He tells us the story, which didn't begin with Parbleu, but with another Pettersson boat, Muscat, built in Stockholm 1917 and restored by Bosse to new condition 1981-1987. In time, this boat began to feel a little cramped and Bosse began looking for something bigger. Muscat was sold and Bosse got to know about Parbleu in the fall of 1997. Some research revealed that the boat was built in 1932 and had eight or ten previous owners. Until 1964 there were only a few owners who maintained the boat well. In the 1980s and 1990s there were several who weren't so kind and the boat ended up at the Finnboda boatyard outside Stockholm.

Parbleu was completely restored and that took a while. Eventually, however, the boat was launched and was then powered by a 110 horsepower Kermath Sea Chief Eight, a marine engine based on Pontiac's corresponding car engine. Originally, the boat was equipped with a Volvo Penta AD 6 80 horsepower engine, too weak for a boat of Parbleu's size and design. As the psychologist he is, Bosse began thinking that there must be other American car manufacturers that have built marine engines. Bosse began searching the Web and eventually found Packard. He knew that Packard stood for quality, precision and power and became interested. His research led him to NPOC's website. He called a number and was obviously referred to Ole Böök, who after a bit of searching found two 1M-356s in Idaho. They had been in a Steelcraft boat on sweet-water Lake Coeur d'Alene, so they weren't destroyed by rust. The right-turning engine of the two was completely rebuilt by Buxbaum Brothers in Ridgefield Park, not too far from Ole's home. (The second engine was cosmetically restored and then offered to the Packard museums in the U.S. America's Packard Museum in Dayton, Ohio, accepted and got it. The other two museums, the ones in Warren and at the Packard Proving Grounds, have since also received donations of Packard Marine engines.)

The 1M-356 is the marine version of Packard's 356 cu. in. straight eight that had its debut in the 18th Series senior cars and was built with only minor changes until 1950. It's considered one of the best engines Packard ever built. Bosse's copy is number 51 (of about 1,525 made) and was produced in 1947. (The number of the engine in Dayton is 26.) The corresponding car engine delivered 165 horsepower, but the marine version with updraft carburetion gave "only" 150, which gives Parbleu a top speed of 22 knots.

NPOC members Jerry Grandin, Raoul af Forselles and Bertil Dimander were privileged to be taken on a two-hour tour on Stockholm's waters July 11, 2007. During the tour we were made aware that there are many similarities with travelling in a Packard car. People on land and in other boats do "thumbs up" and applaud. Bosse takes his boat out as often as possible, for shorter and longer trips. In 2006 he was awarded a prize by MYS-H, which stands for Motor Yacht Society - Historic for having had the patience of restoring Parbleu to absolute top condition and on of the veteran boat fleet's most beautiful boats.

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Picture captions

1. The Packard engine gives the boat the speed resources it was built for.

2. The engine being uncrated after transportation to Sweden.

3. The engine installed waiting for its mahogany hood.

4. Packard's original instrument panel for marine use. Note the Packard crest on the key fob.

5. The engine's serial plate.

Back cover

Text: Bertil Dimander  Photography: The camera's self-timer

It is spring 2004, the time of year that brings out warm feelings. And why not hug an engine? Especially when it is a much longed-for Packard marine engine, having arrived freshly restored from the USA. It's about to be installed in member Bo Åström's beautiful mahogany yacht Parbleu from 1932, designed by the famous boat designer C.G. Pettersson. This is a straight eight side-valve engine from 1947, which in this configuration generates 150 horsepower and gives Bosse's boat a top speed of 22 knots.