Chopped apart in the ’50s and used as a milk can-carrying utility, this Packard has been returned to its original form after a truly challenging restoration.
Looking back through automotive history, the Packard had arguably the most legendary beginning of any car. It all started when James Ward Packard, a respected mechanical engineer, purchased a Winton in 1898. Alexander Winton had a reputation for quality built, high-speed cars but, as luck would have it, the one he sold to Packard must have been a lemon, because on its first road trip the new car spluttered, stalled, and finally quit altogether.
Packard was not a man to take this lightly and returned his new car to its builder, which consequently led to a furious argument. At the height of the verbal battle, Winton challenged Packard to build a better car. James Ward Packard not only accepted the challenge, but also went to work immediately, and within one year, he and his brother, William Dowd Packard, started a new automobile company based in Warren, Ohio. Their first model was a single-cylinder, buggy-type vehicle, but much larger engines and advanced, stylish body designs followed rapidly.
The business was originally named the Ohio Automobile Company, but in 1902 was renamed the Packard Motor Car Company when fresh investors came on board. The Packard brothers were determined to build a quality and dependable car, proving them by entering their robust machines in various endurance tests, winning many cross-country reliability runs. However, their early fame was secured with an all-out racing model named the Grey Wolf. This machine – a four-cylinder speedster with an aluminium body – appeared in 1904 and set many records, but its greatest triumph was placing fourth in the 1904 Vanderbilt Cup race. Incidentally, the Grey Wolf, in full racing trim, was available in quantity to the public, a policy that made Packard one of the first American car companies to sell a pure racing model.
A Challenge Fulfilled
By this time, the cars built by the Packards had truly surpassed those early Wintons, and that original challenge had been met and fulfilled. James Ward Packard had undoubtedly built a finer car, but he did not stop there. He continued to develop larger limousines; exciting luxury cars that sold at comparatively high prices. Like Rolls-Royce, these early Packards had a distinctive flat radiator, which slowly evolved into the classic ‘pointed’ shell.
In 1919 a Packard returned the Land Speed Record to America, for the first time since the American 1906 Stanley Steamer had travelled a measured mile quicker than any other earth-bound vehicle. With Indianapolis hero Ralph De Palma sitting behind a monstrous 12-cylinder engine, the big disc-wheeled Packard sped across the hard sands of Daytona Beach at an impressive 239.8kph.
But it was not on Packard’s agenda to continue this pursuit of speed records and, following this triumph, the Packard Corporation concentrated its efforts on building expensive passenger machines. By the ’30s it was producing some of the finest prestige cars available.
The company struggled through the Great Depression, when most luxury car companies such as Duesenberg and Pierce-Arrow failed. Packard’s strategy during the beginning of this austere period was to target its models to higher-status owners, this being possible when its direct competition began to fall by the wayside. It was a tactic which ultimately paid off for the luxury car manufacturer, allowing it to weather tough economic conditions far better than most luxury car makers of the time.
In 1937, Packard released its first six-cylinder engine model, the Packard 110. This seemed like a perfect timing but, in actual fact, it damaged Packard’s reputation. The six-cylinder model, along with the junior line of models, tarnished its elite status. However, worse was to come. After World War II, Packard suffered severely by offering body styles that did not go over well with the public and was unfortunately unable to take advantage of the booming post-war market. Nash Motors approached Packard with talks of possibly merging the two companies, but Packard held out. Nash eventually merged with Hudson in 1954 to create AMC (American Motors Corporation).
Soon after the Nash and Hudson merger, Packard purchased Studebaker – creating the Studebaker-Packard Corporation. Packard was hoping the increased number of dealers would help sell its product, but soon discovered that Studebaker was in severe financial strife. Although Packard’s sales climbed in 1955 – thanks to its first V8 engine – disastrous engineering woes that same year unfortunately caused hundreds of cars to be returned for repairs by dealerships before they could be sold, making 1956 one of the worst years in sales ever for Packard. From that point on, sales would continued to go downhill, with Packard dealers closing down all over the US. The writing was on the wall, and 1958 proved to be the final year of Packard car production.
Interestingly, during the early ’60s there emerged the possibility of a Packard revival when French automaker, Facel-Vega, considered rebadging its Excellence saloon as a Packard for subsequent sale in the US. However, this idea eventually fizzled out.
Three decades later, in 1995, Roy and Barbara Gullickson bought the Packard name and began work on a V12-engined luxury car, with the idea of entering limited production. The prototype – complete with a 8.6-litre, fuel-injected V12 engine – was displayed at the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d’Elégance in 2003, where it attracted considerable attention. Once again, though, the project never reached fruition and the prototype was sold in 2009.
Packard Lives On
Despite these spurious attempts at a revival, it should be remembered that Packard was a pioneering car company. It built the first American production cars to use the H-pattern for the gearshift; to utilise a mechanically practical hypoid bevel gear system in the rear end; two-tone paint jobs; and let’s not forget the greatest device of all – a steering wheel rather than a tiller. Packard outlasted most of its early contemporaries and left a host of classic cars for the collectors to cherish – cars such as this magnificent example owned by Arnold van Zon. However, when Arnold first acquired this Packard, it was far from being in prime condition.
When a fellow Vintage Car Club member offered him a dilapidated 1929 Packard 640 Victoria in 2001, he took up the considerable challenge to restore this car to its former glory.
The car was in a sad state, to say the least, and it had also been modified – hacked up would be a closer description – back in the ’50s to make it suitable for ferrying milk cans to a dairy factory near Gisborne. The rear top of the body had been chopped off to take a wooden tray.
Sadly, in 1965 the car was left abandoned in a paddock where the elements began to take their toll. What was left of the body was eventually separated from the chassis and stored under a lean-to barn. The engine was seized, the shock absorbers were rusted solid, the brakes were locked so the wheels would not turn and a lot of the hardware – such as the taillights, door hardware and instruments – had been cannibalised over the years. However, the chassis was still in good condition.
The first jobs for Arnold were to sand blast and prime the chassis to prevent further corrosion, and reset the springs and to free up the brakes so the car could be transported without problem to John Ascroft in Kamo, a specialist in vintage and classic car body repair.
It was decided that the rear guards were totally beyond saving, so John very skilfully fabricated new items, repaired the front guards and straightened the valances. As the door hinges were missing, Arnold made wooden patterns and had them cast in aluminium-bronze, a very strong alloy, and machined them so they looked like the original items. They were then polished and chrome-plated.
John re-skinned the doors and fabricated a new top on the tub as well as a new petrol tank and a steel luggage box, which nestles between the rear wheel guards. The next challenge was to remake the missing windscreen. The special brass extrusion came from Australia, which Arnold rolled to match the shape of the scuttle, and the various sections were silver soldered together to complete the job.
Luckily, Arnold found four wire wheels in the Waikato and managed to locate and two more from across the ditch. They were stress relieved and expertly re-spoked by Rex Jamieson of Auckland.
The next problem was the differential. As mentioned earlier, Packard was the first car company to use hypoid differentials, (in the hypoid the pinion gear contacts the ring gear below the centreline. The size of pinion gear in hypoid differential is much smaller and the contact ratio is high, comparatively hypoid differential is much stronger than the spiral differential) and, unfortunately, sometime during this car’s life normal gear oil was used, causing the gears to wear so much that proper adjustment was impossible. After many hours of intense searching, Arnold was able to locate and purchase a set with the correct ratios from Adelaide.
Total Rebuild
Not surprisingly, the Packard’s straight-eight engine needed a total rebuild. The crankshaft was reground and the nine main bearings were re-metalled and line bored by Harry Canham – an expert who is now his 80s and still very active in his trade. Peter Le Gros looked after the final fit of the bearings and rods, and also honed the bores to match a set of original oversize Invarstrut pistons, which ensure a quiet engine. New valves and guides were obtained from the US.
The interior seats had to be made from scratch, by following old photographs. The hinged frames for the front seats were laser cut from stainless steel plate, which actually took three attempts before the correct shape was finally established. John Stringer from Whangaparoa, who also helped to get the correct shape for the convertible top, meticulously constructed the woodwork for the seats and roof bows. The beautiful full leather upholstery is truly a work of art, and was skilfully put together by Lars Wedinger, also from Whangaparoa.
Well-known painter and airbrush artist Steve Levene applied his talent to the walnut wood graining of the dash and door tops, whilst Auto Colour Matrix in Glenfield applied the flawless green paint job.
Countless hours were spent making the numerous stainless steel components required for the soft-top mechanism, as all the original fitment were missing. They had to be drawn first on computer and then laser cut and polished.
Looking around this magnificent Packard it’s clearly obvious that Arnold is no stranger when it comes to restoring cars. Before he and his wife Marieke immigrated to New Zealand from the Netherlands 39 years ago, he restored a 1933 Hillman that was sold before moving here. Once in New Zealand, Arnold wasted no time before a 1954 Citroën L15 was completely restored, followed over the years by a 1926 Essex and a 1972 Citroën Dyane.
Arnold reckons the Packard is the last car he will restore – much to the great relief of his wife. Yes, we’ve all heard this before, and as a 1942 Harley-Davidson WLA is lurking under Arnold’s house, it looks as if he won’t be laying aside his tools anytime soon.
For more photos and full specifications, visit the Classic Car website.
Words: Ashley Webb
Photos: Dan Wakelin