Want a restoration candidate you can drive while you slowly improve it? This ragged-but-right 1940 Packard 120 (or One Twenty) sedan in Mendocino County, California on Craigslist would seem to fit the bill. The asking price is a modest $7,500.
The owner says it’s a solid, mostly original car that hibernated for multiple decades before being resurrected and driven last summer from Troy, Montana to Fort Bragg, California.
“While not perfect, it’s a great start to a restoration/driver while you work on it, a classic vehicle,” the owner said. “I had allowed four days for the journey, but little did I know it would take more than double that to work out the bugs, and get the old boy to California. It’s a tale mostly about the incredible people one finds while broken down on the side of the road in a 1940s jalopy.”
The good things are a “smooooth-running” straight eight (presumably original), with a three-speed manual. Since arriving in California, the owner replaced the head gasket, lapped the valves, rebuilt the carb, replaced the thermostat and fan belt, rebuilt the distributor, and did “some other things.”
The tires are “decent,” with a brand-new spare. The brakes have been redone. All the original gauges are present, and the wiring is described as good. Erik’s photography is quite creative, like the description, but it doesn’t show: the interior, the underside, or the engine. A lot has to be taken on faith, but these were good cars.
The 120 was introduced in 1935 as a Depression measure to serve the lower-priced market. The 120 referred to the 120-inch wheelbase. There was a full range, coupe, convertible, sedan, wagon (only in ’37). The first generation started with a 110-horsepower 257-cubic-inch version of the straight eight, and in the later years (1936 to 1937) displacement increased to 282 cubic inches. The “Safe-T-Flex” suspension introduced independent front suspension. Prices started at $980, which was sweet music to the 24,995 customers who bought one in 1935.
The second generation was from 1939 to 1942, and it introduced innovations such as a three-speed all-synchromesh transmission. The One-Twenty gained a hyphen for 1940 when it was still offered in a wide array of body styles, including a Howard “Dutch” Darrin semi-custom convertible version. Sales in 1940 were 28,138. Total One-Twenty production until World War II was 175,027.
With this one, the photos seem to indicate a very solid, rust-free but definitely unrestored car with patina to spare. The interior probably follows suit, and it seems mechanically solid.
I always wanted one of these. Price of entry isn’t crazy. I imagine the interior is in need of some love at that price (and the lack of pictures would seem to confirm)
I always wanted an old car for a daily
driver and did a few times with a ’46
Plymouth P-15 DeLuxe sedan, a ’49
and a ’52 Chevy 4-door sedan, and a
’62 Rambler Classic Custom 2-door
sedan. All of these were great cars
with their own little quirks. Unfortunately for me, my two wives
weren’t all that enthused about driving
around town in a 20 to 30 year old car
but for me, it was a blast. To keep
peace at home, I either sold or traded
most of them to buy newer rides to
make them happy. Anyone can drive
a modern car, but it takes a real car
guy/gal to drive something like this
Packard day in and day out. And
that’s where the fun is.
Darn tooting. I drove a 1954 Pontiac Chieftain Special, straight Flathead 8(biggest car, EVER), a 1948 Ford coupe, a 1954 GMC truck, 6 banger, a 1963 Olds 98(power windows), 2 1967 Ford Custom(Galaxy’s), a 1965 Ford truck, 1968 Olds Vista Cruiser, 1964 Chevy Impala SS, 1968 Chevy(327/300hp), 1969 AMC Javelin,
and a 1967 Mustang GT.
My first wife always wanted a newer car and she got one AFTER she worked full time… I continued to drive the classic American cars. My second wife is a Mopar driver and she used to race ‘em. My kind of gal.
I hear you😀. I don’t believe in driving anything less than half my age. My family on the other hand likes new cars. As a result, they rarely ride in the 73 Eldorado, the 86 Bronco and least of all the 48 Packard. Glad to know I’m not alone in daily driver preferences.
What a great reason to take an early retirement. Fly to California and drive this back to Texas. The weather’s great this time of year.
I want the garage! Beautiful car, too. Love that hood ornament.
Best of luck to all
What a great Packard and at this reasonable price it won’t be around very long. I’m sure Bill McCloskey, here on BF has some interesting info on this pre war Packard. These straight 8s were full of torque and great engines. I’ve been bringing a 48 Chrysler L8 back to life recently and they are interesting engines. Great find.
HC,
Yep, I’ve had most of the 1940 Packard series cars, from the 110 [six] sedan, all the way to a 1940 Packard Super Eight 180 limousine. This was a very nice price, as evidence of this is it’s already gone.
And yes, one can meet some of the nicest people when you own & drive old cars. I used to visit England and Europe on a regular basis, and my old car friends over there just wouldn’t hear of me staying in a hotel or B&B, and when they came to visit the US, they always had a place to stay.
I was the USA representative for a large car club in Europe, the Club Ancient Autos & Rallies [CAAR]. Every other year CAAR would create a special rally for members, in 1991 They went from Amsterdam to Moscow and return, arriving in the Netherlands just a week before the USSR split up! In 1993 I hosted the Rally in America, we had about 150 vehicles come over to the US, thru the port of Baltimore, with about 400 people arriving by airplane a few days later. The group assembled in Washington DC, and drove to Chicago where they picked up RT-66, driving the old road all the way to the Pacific ocean! Whenever any car [or person] had a problem, the group came to their aid. Took them 4 weeks, and every night the locals feted them with parties and lots of food/drink. One of the participants, a young German lady, had brought her 1964 Cadillac Coupe DeVille, but the engine developed a bad rod knock the day before the rally started, so the mechanics at my shop worked thru the night to install a new set of rod bearings, and she [and the Cadillac] made it all the way to California.
You must have had some good, loyal mechanics to do a rod bearing job on that Cadillac in one night. Finally got my 48 New Yorker running great and just 2 wires away from wiring carb to fluid drive relay. This Packard looked like a great car.
HC,
I have to correct my first post. My memory isn’t what it used to be! We didn’t put bearings in it, we installed a rebuilt oil pump, the bearings turned out to be OK.
The 2 guys who worked on the Caddy were Viet Nam refugees who could work wonders on anything mechanical. We were willing to tackle the job because the group had to leave the next day. If the car was not ready she would have to leave it behind and hitch a ride with someone else on the tour. They did the job with the engine in the car, by disconnecting the motor mounts, removing the hood and using a chain fall to lift the engine up enough to get the pan off.
One of the cars on the tour was a Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud I. I specialized in Rolls-Royce & Bentley cars, and I told the owner I was going to richen up the carb settings so when he was in the higher western elevations the car would not be starved for fuel. Weeks later I got a nice postcard from the owner, he was sending the postcard from a rest stop at the continental divide, saying the car was running wonderfully!
They had planned on the tour setting off on Sunday when traffic was light, and all my shop guys had the weekend off. The whole shop volunteered to help get the cars ready and do minor repairs for free, and the biggest problem other than the Caddy, was so many cars needing new batteries. I learned later on that because batteries were so very expensive in Europe and the UK, more than a few vehicle owners deliberately installed old batteries, with plans on buying new ones here on arrival! I called my local battery wholesaler who put together the list of batteries needed, and he delivered them to the port of Baltimore storage yard the day US Customs released the vehicles to the owners.
I had made arrangements earlier for my own people to go into the hold of the RO-RO ship and drive the vehicles out [due to union rules this had never been done before or since!]. Everyone worked very hard for that event, and never a complaint.
Interesting for a few reasons: a. In my young teens I could have purchased a 1938 Packard w/ the same green color ,same straight 8, but w/ the long floor shift trans. for $85.00 ! … but, my Dad wisely said NO ;not until you (me) fix or do something with all the non -running jalopies in our yard ! …And b. another interesting note: I knew another “car nut Enthusiast w/ The name Kenneth Carney of Ho-Ho-Kus,NJ.
D.A. Bogert
1940 to 2023 – 83 years old and still able to get parts, repair and drive. I wonder how many of the current “all technology” automobiles will be around in 83 years ? Will anybody be able to supply batteries or the large interior display screens for an 83 year old Tesla? Maybe nobody will care and that in itself is sad. The old Packard and the Chandler Tree picture – those were interesting days which leave us with many pleasant memories, even if it is off the side of a road waiting for help.
I would be surprised if many of these new whizmobiles are going to be operable in even ten years. Some microswitch takes a dump and the car is inoperable. Try to find the part or if you can’t, are you to be able to find a part that might work and find someone who can adapt it. It won’t be easy. It is already hard to get proper components for vehicles on the assembly line. That is why we need to keep cars like the Packard around.
I love Packards. The early cars started my passion for old cars in my teens. They really were the American rolls. High quality, stunning styling, straight eight power. If you notice in the movie Bullet you’ll see Steve McQueen’s parkard parked on the street in front of his apartment. Great minds cool spirits think alike. If I had money at all I’d scoop this bargain up yesterday.