The Packard Motor Car Company slogan — Ask the man who owns one — was kind of a meme before the world even knew what memes were. Of course, if Packard were still around today, it would likely have to update that to be more inclusive, less cis-gendered, and maybe even less capitalistic. But with Packard having disappeared from the automotive scene a long time ago, we get to remember it for its enduring legacy in the heydey of the American motorcar industry as the pinnacle of engineering excellence. Want an example? Look no further than this beautiful 1937 Super 8 Model 1501 Convertible Coupe, sitting at $71,100 here on eBay, with the reserve not yet met. My colleague, Todd Fitch, wrote about this same car on June 7 when the bidding was at $98,000 having not met reserve, so clearly the seller is looking for a cool $100Gs or more to bid farewell to this beauty.
I do love this seller’s use of “barn find” and “survivor” in his eBay description, which is definitely on the irony spectrum. That’s fine. Any car can identify as a barn find if it wants. What is clear though, is that to own a car such as this requires the kind of person that sees him or herself more as a steward than just an owner. The seller quotes the Packard Club of America as saying there are only nine of these models in existence, and this one is possibly the only one in maroon. That does defy logic because presumably, if you know that nine cars are in existence, you likely know what colors they are. But let’s not burst bubbles needlessly. It’s more exciting to know that you could own the only maroon convertible and shoulder a lot of responsibility because you’re keeping a piece of history alive for whatever future we may have.
I would be remiss not to mention the mascot. Packard’s famous hood ornament is a cormorant with its wings outstretched. This car would have been so-equipped from the factory. But for the man who had everything, Lalique (the crystal company) also made hood ornaments so he could customize his radiator with something more personalized. Here, the stern gaze of an American Bald Eagle is affixed to the car, though the seller confirms the original cormorant is included in the sale. I’m pretty certain Lalique mascots fetch a pretty penny on their own, so if you’re a purist and want to stick with the cormorant, you can probably recoup some funds by auctioning off the Eagle’s Head.
It’s clear from the ownership documentation, which includes stacks of receipts from the complete motor rebuild, all the triple plating as well as ongoing maintenance, that the seller loves this car. So it would actually be fitting to see it go to a good home to continue to be enjoyed and preserved. Yeah, 1937!
This Packard is a beauty for sure. I’m sure others have had the opposite experience, but personally I found the second time I listed the same car on eBay, the bids were considerably lower than the first go around. The high bid on both auctions were non-paying bidders.
“Kind of a meme?”
The future buyer of this automobile does not know the word meme, unless he is French.
You seem to be trolling my eBay “watching” list.
I do agree, from experience, with RoughDiamond…
Wow what vehicle and was made right down the street. My mother’s great aunt drove one of these Super 8’s
The only thing the great Packard plant now produces are stray dogs and I have recused 2 of them and they are sleeping on my couch at this time
Amazing @DSteele! I actually wanted to link to the current state of that past glory through this documentary I recently watched, but considering the beautiful Packard on offer, versus the state of the production facility, I decided against it. For what it’s worth: https://youtu.be/TOOdVxqRELc
There is an identical car that I have seen on numerous occasions right here in NE Ohio. In fact, about 10 years ago we both won trophies at a local cruise-in. The only difference being that the one I saw had modern radial tires and wire wheels, which IMHO looked odd. Several times within the last couple of years I saw it on Sunday parked in the Church lot! So the eBay car must be a twin, since the owner is in Mass…
Is it also Maroon? If so that would be a knock out blow to the owner of this lovely Packard.
Yes, same color. The hood ornament is not the same either though. I thought it must be the same car, except I see it is a long time owner in Mass. so it must be another one. I don’t think the one I see has the CCCA plaque either. I posted a pic of it here: https://mercurygrandmarquislse.com/Apicturehost/car/lsa 010.jpg
We have one identical to this in Nova Scotia , the same maroon . Wonderful specimen.
Beautiful classic. I’ve been driving Packards since 1971. The only thing I can see that I would do to this stunning vehicle is, yank the hood ornament and maybe mount it on a walking cane. IMHO.
Please put the correct radiator mascot back on.
The glass ornament is a “Tete d’aigle” [“Eagles head” in French] made by Lalique. It was not marketed or advertised as an American Bald Eagle. It is installed on the larger chrome base, and that usually means it’s a more modern base with batteries and a small light, to light up the ornament at night.
While it’s a wonderful piece of artwork, in my opinion as someone who also has a 1937 Packard [and several more Packards], the original cormorant hood ornament looks better.
‘should be an easy swap
once you get it in your garage…
This is a magnificent automobile! Packards we’re bought in my family. And I agree, enough of the communist talking points. There are only two sexes in nature for mammals…PERIOD! Mammals are either male or female. Less than 10% of mammals are homosexual by nature. This is reality. Anything else is blatantly absurd.
Lets keep the discussion to automobiles on this forum. Your social opinion should be exactly that, yours and not shared here.
One other thing, there is nothing ‘inclusive’ about a Packard.
I do not care for the hood ornament either. I prefer the cormorant with stand up wings. That ornament was a styling masterpiece known throughout the world at one time.
(the ’36 + was a dwn sized car) 385ci/6.3 i8 a fav design/or/my fav anyway. AND Packard was last to still be making the i8 (1952?). Love ta get my hands on one (as well as the bent4/tannus).
Saw several ‘hood ornament’ collections and they are stupendous looking (as were the cars of the era). But as said above, I’d rather see them on the cars (still have the ornaments, cars have long disintegrated). Lucky to have anything automotive/transportation from hundred yrs ago.
Yes, PLEASE!
chrlsful,
You’re close, the last model year for the Packard straight 8 was 1954, and on the senior cars, it was still a 9 main bearing block, newly enlarged from 327 to 359 cubic inches, with an aluminum cylinder head as a stop-gap attempt to stay ahead of the competition in the HP race, pending the 1955 introduction of the all-new Packard V8.
That 1 year only alloy head was problematic, in part to owners and shops using the wrong anti-freeze, leading to overheating problems as the water passages in the head gasket became clogged with corroded material, or the head gaskets failed. Plus, the heads were prone to cracks radiating out from the spark plug holes from chronic overheating issues.
Today, with what the industry knows about aluminum blocks and heads, and improvements in anti-freeze, those problems can be solved, but back in the period of about 1960 to 1975, most owners and shops took the easy way out when the alloy head gave problems, as fitting the 1953 and earlier Packard 327 head was a quick and easy fix.
👍👍
@DSteele-that’s awesome about your two canine rescues from the old Packard plant. Your story tops a car find story any day.
The hood ornament reminds me of Humphrey Bogart in The Maltese Falcon.
Agree @Phil Maniatty!! Amazing movie. “If you kill me, how are you going get the bird? And if I know you can’t afford to kill me, how are you going to scare me into giving it to you?”
@Dave — It was tongue-in-cheek. I’ll add a /sarc tag next time! ;)
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