Fuel for the fire: One SBC-powered '38 vert coming up! This one was built by a 24 year old, and it was nice inside and out....do what you want with yours.
I gotta agree with Eisenfist... not so much because they are packards, but they appear to be complete and original cars.... especially with the 38.. find some old ****ed up one to hot rod. all you need is a frame and a body, everything else goes on ebay or to a swap meet. I'd get that 38 running and polish it up as good as it will get and cruise. the newer one is not as desireable... if I couldnt get the motor going as is I'd be inclined to cut it up a bit.
I agree with Tommy V..Because it's so complete and solid will make it that much of a nicer Kustom in the end and as for top dollar buyers....Didn't you see what chopit's Bubble top Kustom went for at Barrett Jasckson? Besides, whoever said the Packard will be or is for sale?.........Chop it and Drag it till you can't no more! PS. I bet The Barris Brothers caught a bunch of heat when they were chopping up brand new cars in their day and look what they started!! Keep the Kustom Kulture alive!!
FWIW...the 38 would take more to restore than it may EVER be worth. It's a "junior" series 110 or 120 (I can't exactly tell from the pics). So let's say some day down the road after someone made the awesome tail-draggin custom out of it. It's a "known car", done right, shows lots of restraint yet maximum quality and kool. Said owner falls on hard times. Needs to sell his pride and joy, heartbreaking, but needs to go. As a restored small Packard, even though resto costs topped $60K, the car has a peak value of maybe $30K to the right buyer. Or maybe the 2 people in the whole USA that want a perfect authentic one fight over it at auction and it brings that. Selling it as a custom, once again done right, really right, may cost as much but $$$ saved on mechanicals as well as sold off OEM pieces funding the custom, I'd think it could be done for 1/3 the cost of restoration and bring twice the money. There may also be a larger audience of willing buyers for a custom. The fun factor is a Mastercard thing...priceless. I guess what I'm saying is that just because it's a Packard it may not merit the tribute and cost of a full authentic restoration. V12 or Super 8 in a desireable body style...we wouldn't have this topic. For the record I spent over a dozen years specializing in Packard concours level restoration. Just offering some perspective and my .02
This is a wicked 2 way street. What do feel that you want to do with this car? Do you have another car that may better suited for customizing (note here that Murphy,Bohman & Schwartz even Don Lee & Coachcraft did factory style coachwork & customization on this very style of vehicle with very exciting results). Would the vehicle actually be worth more as a collectible to be sold & the money generated from the sale placed on a project that you would now have the capital to finance to a degree perfection that this Packard may otherwise not see for a while? (don't get wrong here as I have no idea about your current financial situation). Go with your gut, I own a 34 Hupp 3W, and I just love the elegance that it exudes. Do I want to "do it up"? oh yeah, but not touch the original art deco work, just put a 49-50 Olds 303 in there with a hydo so anybody can drive it & she still stays an "Orphan car" Nuff said!
Packards are big ugly cars.....even uglier as hotrods or customs. This is a board about TRADITIONAL rods and customs. Someone show me even ONE that has been made to look nice. I doubt there is one out there.....I'd turn em both for some profit and build something with hotrod lines.
Traditional hot rodders worked with what was available. The early fords were popular because they were plentiful and CHEAP. These days, thanks to people with your mentality, Buicks and Packards are cheaper to build than a Duece or an 'A'.
This discussion has been going on since caveman days,then "I can't believe you'd put a straight axle on that chariot". It never will be decided one way or the other. For my two cents,if it's original, complete or really rare,restore it. If it's common,junk or already changed,rod it. But this is a board about traditional hotrodding and that's just my opinion.
Never stopped the Dodge guys from fixing one of those up. I remember going to a car show and staring at this custom I couldn't figure out. The owner walks up and asks me if I know what it is. I'm a bit embar***ed cause as a car guy, I should know them all, right? He says "It's a Packard." I couldn't believe someone would cusomize a Packard. Not that it bothered me.
This is a fun debate. As a Packard owner now, i have talked to a lot of local Packard owners. The Packard group as a whole is very into the resto side of things. Mostly b/c the numbers of vehicles produced was SO much lower than the Chevy, Ford camps. Now mine is a 1956 4door, so any changes are welcome, but the car is an original one owner vehicle and there are parts of the car I'd like to retain b/c of the originallity. I like the taildragger idea with restraint to the mods. Make a custom of something rare is really a neat task. the keys to the original customs was to make the car "Look" better than what the factory was allowed to do. With some tasteful changes you can acheive this. I also agree with the Barris statement, Barris and the others worked a lot with brand new models right from the dealer. You found it, you do what you want. Good luck and more pics of both models!!!!! Jon
Is the clock lense curved? Sometimes clock repair places or jewellers will stock curved lenses. I say cut it and slam it. There's plenty of retored Packards already! Sell the stock drivetrain to some squeeker to help offset your costs
My opinion is to restore the 38, rod the other or sell to finance another coupe to rod. The 38 looks too comeplete to cut up. If it was damaged or not 90% comeplete I would rod it. I like the old cl***ic cars Packard, Duesenburg, Cord, older (30's) Cads, Studes, Nashes - you know the bigger luxury cars of that era. If they were fairly comeplete I'd restore them, if not rod 'em. Model A's,Deuce's, 33-34 Fords are real common cars there are plenty to cut up or restore, whichever you want. hell you might even find someone that would trade you their 29-34 or tailddragger for the 38 if you wanted a hotrod, hell I probably would.
I found these the other day. The Packard looks like it was started to be restored w/ a fresh motor, but that carb is sitting out in the wind drinking up all the water that comes its way. The front suspension and frame (I think) looks redone as well. I know it's for sale if anyone is interested. The other car in the foreground is a Pontiac. Both have straight 8's. I'm after the '48 Merc in the background ;o). Oh, and there's a Stude PU cab & frame too.
Yes, Buicks and Packards are cheaper.....because they are ugly, and nobody wants em. Early fords were used because they were light, and fast for the money. It just so happens they were good looking cars...which is why deuces are so expensive today.... because they are great looking cars....not fat, ugly, and hopeless as hotrodding material...but Buicks and Packards make great streetrods....for boring streetrodders.
Before I started working in the cl***ic car sales business I would have told you get that packard out of the barn and fire up the sawzall. However now I think you are faced with a question only you (and maybe your dad) could answer. Do you plan to keep this '38 as a kustom for the rest of your lives? Do you have time and the funds to take on a project like this? Is this one of your major father/son projects you will cherish forever and p*** down to generations after you? If you answered yes to all of these then I would drag it out and fire up the sawzall. Now, if you answered no to any of these questions then I would sell it as it sits. I attend literally 100s of cl***ic/collectible car sales a year, big and small, and can tell you for a fact if you are turning an early packard coupe into a kustom to make money you will NEVER recoup what you have in it. You would be further ahead to sell it as it sits and look for the next good barn find. Original/stock cars are only going up in value by the day as there are less and less of them. Do what you want with this advice, take it with a grain of salt. I'm sure if I would have found them I would be jonesin' to rip that motor out and put in a Nailhead. If you decide you want to sell that '38 though, let me know.
i dont give a **** what your goin to do with them... im just glad that ya got them!!!!nice find man!!
the HIGHLANDER: I'm pretty Packard ignorant, but from the information I've gathered in the last month, your ***essment seems spot on. I know it's the bottom of the line Packard, not a cl***ic by any means Cyclone Kevin:You ask valid questions. Definately food for thought hatch: I do think the '48 is ugly, the '38 is not. You're saying that a Packard can't be done in a traditionally styled custom, i.e. traildragger? Stevie G: amen 5window: it's original, complete and not rare and not junk. It can't be built into a traditionally styled custom? UnIOnViLLEHauNT: Thank You!! brainfrz: I agree with your idea of a custom flathead okie: It's only missing the lens for the clock, it's the bottom of the line Packard and like the HIGHLANDER said, probably not worth it to restore ChevyGirlRox: Food for thought, I'll let you know if we decide to sell breeder: thanks man!!! the HIGHLANDER (again):It will not be some pseudo flat black, it wouldn't be fair to the car. Thanks for the compliment. The '48 will be sold, I'll pm you when I know something.
Finally had a coming out party for the '38, it's been nearly 40 years since she saw the light of day. I dig the hood ornament...
Wow, looks nice. Wash all the **** off of it, detail it, and put on some new tires. That car doesn't need ****.
If TREE's plans offend anyone that much, man up and make him an offer he can't refuse. Otherwise, let the man do what he wants with HIS car. Did I piss off the entire Plymouth Owner's Club by rodding my original '37 coupe? Yes, and I'm not even a member! Awesome cars. The '38 is incredible. Show some restraint, and respect the beauty that attracted you to the car in the first place. Keep us posted and post pictures as you "ruin" another perfectly good cl***ic!
You could call it the "Pack***er" and have that lettered onto the sides. Kinda hu****ous for a drag car, don't you think?
One of the cl***iest noses of the 30s, love that whole art deco era...It may be low end, but how low end could a Packard have been back then? I think it would be a cool custom for sure..
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