I've got a chance to buy a 1950 packard 4 door, straight 8, auto. I belive it's a del 8 sedan but I can't tell. It has a small bit of cancer in a door,nothing major, the trans has a seal leak and it won't go in reverse very well. The car is very clean on the inside, good compresion and no smoke blowing. I'll post some pic's in the morning. My ??? is at 4500 is this a good deal. I won't hang on to it very long, but I'm thinking with a little TLS I can make a nice little bit of cash to flip in to something I can chop up on. Any packard gurus out there that can help me know if this is a good deal.. Thanks... Crash
42-50 Packards, esp 4 doors are really not worth that much compared to earlier or later ones. They are pretty mechanically stout, but, IMO, not that good looking in the 4 door, and really top out at about 10-15k for value fully restored. If you like it, go for it, but if you want to do some work on it and resell it, it won't be worth that much. I love Packards, and my grandfather owned a Packard/Hudson dealership from 1939-1956, so they are in my blood, but if you want a Packard, I don't think I would recommend a 1950, especially a 4 door.
I had a '53 Packard Clipper 4-dr. for about a month. Solid, Straight 8, auto, missing door panels, carpet ,and grille. Gave $600 bucks for it. Let it sit for a month and sold it for $600. Don't really know why I told you this but 4500 seems like A LOT.
I have a 50 four door. It's an older restoration that I bough about 6years ago for $800. $4,500 is too much unless it's in very good condition but it doesn't sound like it is. How's the chrome, how's the rest of the body, does it need tires, are you experienced enough to repair the UltraMatic trans ($$$ if you can't do it yourself), how's the interior, etc...? I doubt you'd be able make any cash flipping it. These models (23rd series) in 4 door just aren't worth much BUT the potential is there for a very sweet custom if you're willing to do some work.