Page 8-9

THE WHY AND HOW OF 10 mm SPARK PLUGS

Translation of Packard Service Letter Vol. 10, No. 18, September 15, 1936.

The main reason for Packard's introduction of 10 mm spark plugs in 1937 seems to be better heat dissipation properties, while also reaching operating temperature quicker. The downside and the reason why all manufacturers eventually abandoned the 10 mm spark plug seems to be service problems, i.e. that owners and service technicians over-tightened the small spark plugs, ruining cylinder head threads, especially in aluminum heads.

Packard was the first major auto manufacturer to switch to 10 mm plugs in 1937, soon followed by Buick in 1938. Cadillac and LaSalle used 10 mm spark plugs 1939-42 and 1939-40, respectively. Chevrolet had 10 mm spark plugs between 1941 and 1948 and is therefore probably the brand that consumed the largest number of the small spark plugs. In the GM camp it was only Oldsmobile and Pontiac that never went to 10 mm. And Ford and Chrysler never adopted the smaller plugs. Packard was among the last to switch back to 14 mm plugs, towards the end of the 23:rd Series.

Pages 10-15

Focus on 1939 - a year of unrest

Text: Bertil Dimander

By 1939 more and more people began to doubt Neville Chamberlain's September 1938 words "peace for our time." Hitler's demands for "Lebens-raum" and Nazi activities in Germany caused concern. On September 1, 1939 German troops invaded Poland and WWII was a fact; private driving in Europe became impossible as cars were requisitioned for the war effort and gasoline for private use became extinct. In the U.S. circumstances remained normal until February 10, 1942 when all civilian car manufacturing ceased after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941.

Hitler's armies also came north and invaded Denmark and Norway April 9, 1939. Sweden was spared, but on November 30, 1939 Soviet troops crossed the boarder into Finland without declaring war. On May 17, 1939 Sweden, Norway and Finland declined to conclude a non-aggression pact with Germany. On August 23 Hitler and Stalin divided up Europe between them in the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. On New Years Eve 1939 Finnish troops annihilated the 163:rd Russian Division. On May 5 the Swedish Riksdag passed a law forbidding employers from firing women because of engagement, marriage or pregnancy. They also got two weeks paid leave for child-birth. Times change.

Packard didn't have a good year in 1938, but sales improved in 1939, albeit not to the1937 level of 109,518 cars, but much better than 1938's 50, 260 cars at 76,573. 1939 was the last year of the mighty Twelve and Alvan Macauley stepped down as president, but remained as Chairman until 1948. In 1939 Packard was criticized for not keeping up with the times styling-wise. And indeed not many changes were made for the 1939 model year. In August 1939 the 18th Series 110, 160 and 180 were introduced, followed by the 120 in January 1940. The 180 was a luxury-appointed 160 meant to replace the Twelve. In 1939 the woody was reintroduced, now built by Hercules.

In 1939 Packard got its first contracts from the armed forces after WW I. Production started of the twelve-cylinder marine engine, of which 12,103 were made, powering PT boats for the U.S. Navy. These engines also did service in the British and Soviet Navy.

As we said, total 1939 production of cars was 76,573, but 54,713 were actually 18th Series cars. But 24,545 17th Series cars were made during the second half of 1938, making total 17th Series production 46,405, 24,350 of which were Sixes and 17,647 were 120s.

We don't know how many cars were imported to the Nordic countries in 1939, but three 1705s were delivered to the Swedish Royal Stables. One of these hade a chrome radiator shell; the other two had painted radiator shells. All three were delivered by the Swedish general agent, Wiklunds. One of these cars has survived in restored, usable condition, the owner a member of NPOC. In the club we have 13 Six, 13 120 and 3 Super Eight 17th Series cars.

Page 15

Bridge inauguration in Detroit 1939

Production of Packard's multitude of models and chassis lengths required a lot of room. To continue production of the Twelve, Packard would have had to expand the plant. This wasn't going to happen with a model selling 500 cars per year. So when the Twelve was phased out the room was taken over by an assembly line for junior cars and the previous space across the boulevard was used for making car bodies. To make transportation of material and parts efficient, the well-known bridge across East Grand Boulevard was built. It was completed on May 8, 1939.

Pages 16-17

The year was 1939, just before WW II

Short story as told by Bobby Bastamow-Silferberg

My grandparents and my mother were on a business trip to France. The trip began in Helsinki and took them to Berlin, and then by train to Paris to meet Monsieur Clagine, head of the company my grandfather represented in Scandinavia. M. Clagine had several cars, among them two Packards, pictures of which can be seen in the article. One of the convertibles had a body by Carosserie Henri Chapron. The pictures are from my mother's photo album.

Bobby is a new member of NPOC and is the owner of a 1939 1701 Convertible Coupe, not unlike the car in the story above. (Editor's note)

Page 17

1939 Packard photographed circa 1965. This is the car that sparked Göran Ericson's and your Bulletin editor's interest in Packards, a seven-passenger 1702 Touring Sedan with the impressive wheelbase of 148 inches. This car was later later sacrificed as donor car for Göran's Convertible Coupe.      Perhaps a shame, since this model is rather rare nowadays.

Invitation to Fall Tour, September 19-21, 2008

In cooperation with Wilfried Hüttmann we are arranging a trip to Germany. Departure from Copenhagen to Lübeck Friday, September 19 at 12:00 noon. E.T.A. in Lübeck at 5:00 p.m.. All Saturday in Lübeck and back to Copenhagen Sunday, about noon. More info on the website or by telephoning the Danish work group.

Page 18

Jerry Grandin has done some research into the history of his 1939 Packard 1701

The car with chassis number 1292-3135 passed inspection in Stockholm and was assigned registration number A10325. It was registered to the Swedish general agent, AB Wiklunds Maskin & Velocipedfabrik in Stockholm on January 4, 1939.

The car was sold on August 29, 1939 to Sven Erik Österberg in Stockholm, who had the car until 1953, when it was sold to what's believed to be a used car dealer, Firma Autogenerator, who only held the car for 12 days, when it was sold to a farmer, Ernst Tore Mauritz Gustavsson. The registration was changed to D18810. Gustavsson changed his name to Aulin in 1959.

I contacted Tore Aulin in the summer of 2005 and he told me that the car was often used for vacation travel in Sweden and that it was serviced regularly by Wiklunds. Some time in 1959 the car was involved in an accident and was badly damaged in the right front end. The car was stored away in a barn on Aulin's farm awaiting repair. But for a variety of reasons, including difficulty in finding parts, the repair never came about. Several persons visited the barn over the years, trying to buy the car. But to no avail. After repeated attempts, Karl-Göran Westlund from Trosa was able to buy the car in 1985. It was then in rather poor condition.

Extensive restoration was initiated, to be completed in the summer of 1993. New parts for the front were purchased, from among other, Johan Schmidt in Norway. The car participated in rallies and meets for several years and was then sold in October 2003 to Stanley Näslund in Västerås.

I bought the car May 28, 2005 and we participated in the NPOC meet in Finland 2005. During fall in the same year I initiated a supplementary restoration and corrected a large number of minor faults that the car proved to have. Among other things, a complete cable harness was installed.

The car was ready in May 2007, just in time for Haraldleken. In a future article I will tell the story of the restoration, which took place during years 2005-2007.

Page 19-21

Haraldleken May 1, 2008

Text: Johan Eckerdal, Sture Idner   Photography: Hans Schmidtz

Time again for Haraldleken, a sign of spring as sure as any, this time arranged by Lasse Henriksson and Johan Berg.

Seven Packard owners found their way the Drottningholm Palace. The tour went towards Ekerö and the Skå Edeby airport in the spring sun. There we were met by members of the Skå Airport Association who arranged inspection of the hangars and their content, all manner of old airplanes and related vehicles. Then a flyby was arranged for us and we got to see a De Havilland DH 82 Tiger Moth, the classic double-decker that replaced the Gipsy Moth in the early thirties. The Swedish air force had no less than 36 Tiger Moths used as training aircraft under the designation SK11A.

More speed was offered by the pilots of an SK16A, North American AT6A-Texan, built at Inglewood south of Los Angeles in September 1941. With its 9-cylinder radial engine generating 600 horsepower, it produced a mighty roar when it flew by at low altitude. The Swedish air force bought 257 of these planes in a variety of configurations and some remained in service as trainers until as late as 1972. Among the other exhibits at Skå was a baggage truck originating at Berlin's Tempelhof airport. With its Art Deco design, it looked like an American express train engine.

After Skå the tour took us to Gällstaö, where owner Bosse Bergström (Chairman of MYS, The Motor Yacht Society) told us about the location's history. Nearby Hallunda has Northern Europe's largest settlement with ancient remains from way before the birth of Christ. At the dock were two steel vessels from the 1880s and 1860s, respectively, albeit with more modern superstructures. The larger of the two, Jungfruhamn, had a huge 175 horsepower 2-cylinder surface-ignition engine turning a 2-meter diameter propeller making our Packards look small in comparison. The smaller vessel sported a run-of-the-mill Ford diesel.

In addition to the vessels, Bosse also has a very old Forslund racer and a sailing canoe in his shop, plus two model A's. He is also active as an author, he holds MYS seminars and there are all kinds of buildings on the premises to be taken care of. His wife runs an arts and crafts shop and a permanent exhibit. Where does he find the time to do all this? Thanks Lasse and Johan for a memorable Haraldleken.

Back cover

Business was booming in 1939, especially if you believe this photomontage. The picture was taken outside the factory lot at East Grand Boulevard, where both Sixes and One Twenty models with different body styles were parked before delivery. The car in the foreground being loaded onto a trailer is a Seventeenth Series 1701.