Cover

This attractive Coupe 116 Single Six from 1922 owned by our Danish member Torben Damsgaard was the oldest Nordic car at the Packard meet in June. Forty Packards participated, including the cars from the other European clubs. The non-Nordic clubs first held their meet at Nyborg on the island of Fyn with some participation from NPOC. After two days activities were moved to Køge on Zealand, imperceptibly changing over to becoming NPOC's Packard Meet. This issue is devoted in its entirety to the two Packard meets.

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PACKARD REFLECTIONS

by Allan Møller

Dear NPOC members,

As your new Inter-Nordic Contact Person/President I wish to present myself and tell you why I have a Packard.

My name is Allan and I live in Hvidovre, Denmark, and I am 47 years old. I am married to Kirsten, have three kids, two of whom still live at home. I have been a member for six years and I have been part of the Danish work group for three years.

I have had an interest in old cars since childhood. My grandfather's friend had an old car that my brother and I liked to sit in when he came visiting. It was a lot of fun for two little tykes to sit behind the wheel and play that we were driving ourselves. At the time we didn't know that one day we would own one. Exactly what kind of car it was I cannot remember, but it was gorgeous.

About ten years ago I met a neighbor who had just bought veteran car number two. This was Michael Bohnsen, who had just received his 1954 from USA. He was out driving and saw me and my daughter and asked if we would like a ride home. Who could say no to that, so we climbed aboard and off we went. It was a brief but pleasant drive. The car was a convertible and that we had never experienced before. We met again and got to see the cars. Michael told us that he had Packards and I got to see his 1939. It was standing there in the garage and I was sold. Just the kind of car I wanted, a gangster car. Michael told me the story about Packard which was very exciting, so then I thought that I must have a Packard myself. After that story, any other car was out of the question. I asked my twin brother Torben if he was interested but he couldn't say at the time. Both of us had children living at home so it wasn't easy to find the money. But he came with me to Michael's place and thus he was also sold. We went to look at a 1947, but it needed a lot of TLC and that we were not ready for. We wanted a Packard that didn't need too much, one that could be driven immediately. We also looked at a 1938 in USA. We got Ole Böök to inspect it, but it turned out not to be worth the price asked. In 2004 we got some money together and we found the model we wanted. A 1939 in USA that was of interest and Michael helped by looking at pictures because we didn't want to buy a pig in the poke. On May 4, 2005 we got the car to Denmark. The only problems we had was a vacuum leak and that the fuel pump needed to be rebuilt. We were already members of NPOC so we could participate in the Spring Tour on May 30. It was a great tour and we have participated in most events ever since. The fellowship in the club is unbelievable and we received a magnificent welcome. It is always nice to be received in such a way, too feel welcome and that we did. I know that our new members will have the same experience and that is something we must cherish. The spirit of community is very important for our club. We have gotten to know a lot of nice people and for that we are grateful. Finally, a heart-felt thank you to Michael Bohnsen and his family for all help we have received over the years. After all, it is thanks to him that we have a Packard and not a model A Ford.

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The VII:th European Packard Meet on Fyn June 24-26, 2009

Text: Robin & Ronald Berg

When NPOC Denmark sent out the invitations to the European Meet combined with the Annual Packard Meet, it prompted some discussion in the family. Should we go to the European Meet and the Packard Meet? Ronald and son Robin decided to go to Denmark in spite of the expense.

We took the overnight ferry from Helsinki to Puttgarten and then drove to Rødby and onto Fyn and the host Nyborg Strand hotel. The first event was a visit to the old country village in Odense with its exhibits of farms, buildings and environments from the 17th to the 20th Century, including the old Albani brewery with its automatic beer bottling machine from 1859. Dinner was served at the adjacent Carlslund Inn.

The next day, June 25, a caravan of 27 Packards left for Egeskov Palace deriving its origin from about 1405, and owned since 1874 by the Ahlefeldt-Bille family. The manor house houses a museum with artifacts in the form of toys, porcelain, glass, kitchen equipment furniture and more. The veteran museum has 530 large objects, such as aircraft, missiles and models of warships, cars, bicycles, motorcycles and more. Many smaller cars such as Austins and Morrise, but also large luxury cars such as Packard, Rolls Royce and Ferrari. Also race cars. Among the motorcycles the Danish Nimbus brand was prominently displayed.

On Friday, June 26, we left for Zealand at 9:00 o'clock. In Roskilde we boarded former steamer Sagafjord where lunch was served during a tour of the area. The afternoon was spent at the Viking Museum and Roskilde Cathedral, originally built by Harald Bluetooth in the mid- to late nine hundreds and later modified to its Gothic style in 1280. Before 1536 the cathedral was Catholic, but after the Reformation it was restored to a more Protestant interior.

What remained of the VII:th European Packard Meet was the transfer route to Køge and the Nordic Meet. All the European Packards made the trip.

We thank Michael Nancke and his staff for a well arranged European meet with perfect weather and high spirits. Sure it was expensive, but looking back it was well worth it.

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Picture caption

Harald Nissen-Lie's newly restored 1937 1508 Twelve Convertible Sedan aroused justified attention. The car was restored by John Wallentin and the progress of the restoration has been chronicled in prior issues of The Bulletin. The last entry covering final assembly and completion will come in a future issue.

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Annual Packard Meet 2009

Denmark June 26-28

Text: Harald M. Nissen-Lie

Our Danish hosts were early in sending out a tempting invitation to this year's meet in Køge, south of Copenhagen. Some of the participants had already June 24 attended the 7th European Packard Meeting, but the rest of us arrived at a comfortable seaside hotel. The entire park behind the hotel was reserved for Packards.

Nordic Packards and the other European Packards assembled on June 26 on the lawn behind the hotel, some 40 cars all told. As far as we know this was the first NPOC meet with no V-8 Packards. The formal Annual Meeting was held the following day followed by a driving tour and a visit at the Stevnsfort war museum. Lunch was served at the Gjorslev Bøgeskoven restaurant by the sea. The traditional banquet on Saturday was festive with speeches and awards. Our Danish hosts had done an outstanding job and it was a grateful group that left the hotel on Sunday morning for the trip home.

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Picture captions

Stevnsfort boasts two cannon turrets with twin 150 mm cannons. These turrets were originally mounted on the German battleship Gneisenau until 1943, when they were moved to a German battery at Fanø, ending up at Stevnsfort. The cannons have a range of 23 kilometers.

One of the total 1.6 kilometers of tunnel that join the various parts of the fort, such as ammunition dump, operations center, dormitories, infirmary, kitchen, etc.

Cold War Museum Stevnsfort was an almost self-sufficient community during the Cold War. The operations center was actually several adjoining rooms, from which large parts of northern Europe could be monitored.

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From our new inter-Nordic contact person/President

First I wish to say thank you to all the people that came to the European/Nordic Packard meet in Denmark, both in Nyborg and Køge. The feedback has been positive and we owe gratitude to the Danish work group for a job well done.

The future looks good for NPOC. We have work groups with a contact person in each of the Nordic countries and they do a good job in keeping the club going. The work groups also supply material for the Bulletin, which is important for keeping the member publication alive.

Our webmaster Michael Nancke is crucial for keeping the website active. The traffic on the website is lively and it contains a lot of information.

At the European meet in Denmark we were asked to help Germany with membership. It was agreed that Packard owners in Northern Germany can join NPOC and people in Southern Germany can join the Austrian club. Our long-time member Wilfried Hüttman was appointed NPOC contact man for Germany. It will be exciting to follow the development in Germany and we wish him luck in attracting members.

So as to make sure that NPOC remains a Nordic Packard club it was decided that the President must be a resident of one of the Nordic countries.

Good quality club articles with our logotype will be made available via the website. I am hopeful that this be up and running by year's end.

With Packard greetings!

Allan Møller

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NPOC Annual Meeting 2009

NPOC's Annual Meeting was held as usual during this year's Packard Meet. Our president/inter-Nordic contact person, Dag Söderblom, presided over the meeting in a rapid and expedient manner. He began by summarizing NPOC's most important functions, the four legs upon which the club's existence rests, i.e. the annual Packard meets, the Bulletin, the website and technical support, including help with parts.

A discussion about dues ensued and the disparity that has developed in recent years between the different Nordic currencies. It was resolved that there is no immediate need to raise the dues, but an alignment to the euro of the other currencies in question will be sought. The Club's auditor, Curt Sjöberg, had examined the accounts and suggested discharge from further responsibility for the work groups. The meeting approved.

Since two years have now passed since Dag Söderblom offered to serve as the Club's president, it was time to present his successor. Allan Møller from Denmark was proposed and elected with acclamation.

Our American member George Hamlin presented The Snodgrass Award, Packard Automobile Classic's plaque for "Overseas Excellence" to Bulletin editor Hans Schmidtz, who unfortunately was not present, however. We are proud to have received this award for almost twenty years.

In closing, members were welcomed to next year's Packard Meet to be held July 4-6, 2010 at Hotel Rantasipi Sveitsi, in Hyvinge about 50 kilometers north    of Helsinki.

During an informal meeting after the Annual Meeting, together with the presidents of the European clubs and PAC's representative, George Hamlin, it was suggested that closer contact be established between NPOC and the other European clubs. This will not affect our own activities, but should be seen more as means for exchange of information. Several members of these clubs also displayed an interest in joining NPOC as members.

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Kim Gram Olsen has become a member of the Danish work group. He is also responsible for sales of club articles on the website. He owns seven American cars from the fifties, including a 1953 Caribbean Convertible and 1956 Patrician.

Wilfried Hüttman is NPOC's new contact person in Germany. He has been a member of NPOC for more than 10 years, but does not own a Packard. He has been Peter Burton's co-driver at many NPOC meets. In 2010 he will arrange a tour to Berlin.

This Bulletin, which for the first time in the history of The Bulletin has twenty pages in color, is devoted in its entirety to last summer's Nordic - European Packard meet in Denmark. Reports and other text are in Danish, Finnish Swedish, Norwegian and Swedish. As usual, there is also a summary in Finnish at the end of The Bulletin.

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Going for a ride in a Packard Twin Six 335

Text: Dag Söderblom

I have to admit that I have always had a penchant for twelve-cylinder engines. But after having battled alone for many years rebuilding the engine of a molested 1938 Packard Twelve, some of the enthusiasm had waned. Several Packard friends have sensed this frustration and allowed me to drive their late Twelves at Packard meets. But I had never experienced a Twin Six.

At this summer's Packard meet in Køge I got to see a Twin Six, the owner of which had a twinkle in his eye. He was Dick Bac from Holland and he had driven all the way from home. After the visit to Stevnsfort I asked Dick if I could join him as a passenger to the next halt, which was Bøgeskoven, where lunch was served. After some preparatory work we sat up in the vehicle ready for departure. Just to start the engine was something of an adventure. First the fuel system had to be brought to the right pressure with some kind of a pump in the middle of the dashboard. That done, you just turned on the ignition, set the advance and throttle, engage the starter motor, listening to how it put the crank and pistons in motion in all twelve cylinders. The starter turned the engine at considerable speed, but not fast enough to achieve the desired effect, namely to start the engine. Assistance was summoned in the form of meet coordinator Michael Nancke who was asked to provide cranking assistance for the starter. After some interaction between the two, the engine began to run under its own power. It was a nice warm day and the top was down. Dick had also arranged for ventilation in the engine room by way of raising the rear of the hood sides by approximately four inches. This gave the car a slightly aggressive look but it was necessary. Dick told me that it was common practice to remove the hood sides to relieve the chronic cooling problems with these engines. We were going at a good clip and it was comfortable. There was plenty of power but the two-wheel brakes were somewhat feeble. Dick was used to the situation and constantly had an eye out for alternative solutions if the speed could not be sufficiently reduced given the braking distance offered. The engine, the transmission and the rear axle had very masculine sound effects and when you pressed the accelerator to the floor there was a distinct intake hiss. And if that wasn't enough, you could always open up the exhaust cut-out to wake up any sleepy strollers. Dick told me that he had found the car in Canada and had spent ten years restoring it. He was a brave man to drive the car in everyday traffic without the use of a trailer.

I had some notion of car design in the teens, but this car was a positive surprise. On occasion we did 85 kilometers per hour (55 mph) and Dick told me that car was capable of 100 kmh (65 mph). Comparing with other vehicles of the time, the Packard Twin Six must have been perceived as a true speed monster. In all, it was a pleasant experience and time to disembark for the lunch waiting at Bøgeskoven.

Back cover

Participants of the Packard meet assembled ahead of Saturday's feasts

The following morning only a lonely bicyclist and some bovine beasts