History We ALL Love a DARE! PIX of TRULY Extinct Makes?

More Packard Concepts

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1954 Packard Panther-Daytona​

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1954 Packard Panther-Daytona
There were four of the Panther- Daytonas built all to be show cars. Two of these were returned to Mitchell-Bentley
to be restyled. The location of the two remaining Panthers is unknown.

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1954 Packard-Daytona Concept restyled 1 of 2

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1955 Packard Panther Daytona restyled 2 of 2​

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1955 Packard Request Concept​

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1956 Packard Clipper Rejected design​

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1956 Packard Predictor concept drawing​

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1956 Packard Predictor​

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1956 Packard Predictor​

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Packard Engineer Mule "Black Bess"
Bess was ordered destroyed in the last days at PACKARD.​

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Packard Engineer Mule "Black Bess"​

 

Packard Daytona
Concept​

It has a 212hp 359 cu. in. inline eight-cylinder engine, two-speed automatic transmission, independent front suspension with coil springs, live axle rear suspension with semi-elliptical leaf springs and four-wheel drum brakes. Wheelbase: 122"

Packard’s valiant efforts to restore its position at the pinnacle of American luxury cars were beset on all sides by adversity in 1954. Yet, the vitality and influence of this storied marque continued to be manifested with a series of developments that should have brought it success.

The venerable Packard straight eight line was augmented by an entirely new nine-main bearing engine, its 359 cubic inches breathing through a four barrel carburetor and giving an impressive 212 horsepower with an 8.7:1 high compression aluminum cylinder head. Packard’s stylish and luxurious concept cars attracted favorable attention and Packard’s engineering staff and production facilities were able to translate these charismatic image cars into production models quickly and effectively, taking advantage of the publicity and visibility they created to draw both traffic and buyers into Packard dealers showrooms.

On the other hand, Chrysler Corporation bought Briggs Manufacturing, Packard’s long-time body supplier, forcing Packard to tool up and manufacture its own bodies for the first time. The disruption not only siphoned off capital from engineering and marketing but also disrupted production, even though the Conner Avenue plant was converted to body manufacturing and assembly in the miraculous time of only 62 days in late 1954.

As well, there was the Studebaker acquisition. Motivated by prospects of economies of scale in both manufacturing and distribution, Studebaker proved to be anything but an economy move, weighting Packard down with debt and high cost, low productivity facilities and distracting management from all important operations and marketing. There was some prospect that Studebaker-Packard could merge with Nash and Hudson to create an entity large enough to compete with Ford, General Motors and Chrysler, but the leader of Nash and Hudson, George Mason, died suddenly before it could be realized. Later joined by Willys, those two historic marques went their own way as American Motors under George Romney.

Beset as it was, Packard still employed its resources and the creativity of its designers, vendors and engineers to generate exciting new cars. Concept cars created to attract attention and gauge prospective buyers’ receptiveness to new designs and models were relatively new to Packard. The first, the Pan American convertible designed by Richard Arbib at Packard’s professional car body supplier, Henney, had been introduced only in 1952. It was succeeded in 1953 by the Caribbean, a prototype show car that was put into production almost instantly to take advantage of its highly favorable reception. Caribbean production was entrusted to an outside vendor, the Mitchell-Bentley Corporation of Ionia, Michigan and some 750 cars were delivered in the 1953 model year. Later in 1953 Packard introduced the Balboa, a Caribbean-based two door hard top with reverse slope rear window. The success of the Pan American, Caribbean and Balboa led Packard in 1954 to create another, even more special and innovative, concept.

Initially called the Grey Wolf II, after the legendary Packard racer of 1903-04, Packard ultimately chose the alliterative name “Panther” for its 1954 concept car and backed up its dramatic styling and design with serious performance muscle under the hood.

The Panther’s body was an innovative one-piece fiberglass molding, a daring move for a full-size car that measured some 200 inches long. Created by Mitchell-Bentley Corporation, it was designed by Dick Teague who had designed the Balboa, working with Packard’s chief styling engineer Edward Macauley and engineering Vice President William Graves. Macauley and Graves had long been staunch advocates of modern design and styling to help bolster Packard’s image and visibility. The success of Packard’s concept cars, and polishing of Packard’s image for innovation and creativity, is largely attributable to the low-key behind the scenes vision and persistence of these two Packard stalwarts.

The Packard Panther was based on the standard 122 inch wheelbase Cavalier chassis and its design is a remarkable accomplishment. A two seat roadster, its body is so low that it becomes a sleek, aerodynamic package. Lowered over the wheels, the top of the front wheel wells were flattened over the top of the tires to further the low profile appearance while the rear wheels are covered with slightly scalloped skirts. At the front Teague managed to integrate a low, full width grille with the classic Packard radiator shape, picking up the dual tier intake feature of the Pan American, continuing it to integrate the headlight nacelles and then extending in an accent down the Panther’s sides to give perfect visual separation between its two-tone paint scheme.

The Panther was the first Packard to employ a wrap-around windshield, foreshadowing this important detail in the 1955 Packard line.

James Nance, Packard’s President since 1952, gave the Grey Wolf II/Panther the go-ahead on a fast track in mid-1953 with a target for its completion in time to appear at the increasingly important and well-publicized Daytona Speed Week in early 1954, a nearly impossible schedule for any new vehicle and one which challenged everyone with the requirement that it be a complete, running, high performance car ready to be timed at the Daytona Beach speed trials. Teague created a 3/8 scale model in under two weeks and turned it over to Mitchell-Bentley to create the body, which because of the size of its one-piece design, utilized fiberglass up to one inch thick for stiffness and durability. In an astounding performance, the Panther was ready in time.

Powered by Packard’s 359 cubic inch eight driving through Packard’s Ultramatic automatic transmission and driven by Dick Rathmann, one of the multi-talented drivers of the era who drove everything and would win the Indianapolis 500 in 1960, the Panther turned in a speed of 110.9mph through the official Daytona Beach time clocks. Since it later turned an unofficial 131.1mph after sanctioned and officially observed timing was completed, its early performance is likely to have been due to insufficient time for shakedown and development, not a surprise considering its telescoped design and construction schedule. Its performance induced Packard to rename the concept car the Panther-Daytona.

Packard and Mitchell-Bentley built another three Panthers that toured the country along with the Daytona Beach car generating publicity for Packard. Eventually all four were brought back to Mitchell-Bentley for updating. Two of them received only cosmetic attention with updated paint and trim. The other two were more extensively modified with new rear quarters incorporating Packard’s 1955 style cathedral taillights, a rear deck with dual accent ribs and updated paint colors.

The example offered here was further modified for the personal use of Mitchell-Bentley executive William Mitchell, Sr. In addition to the 1955 style quarters, taillights and rear deck, it received individualized trim including specific “Mitchell Panther” identification and triple v-emblems on the rear quarters. Most importantly, it is the only Panther with a removable hard top.

Mitchell drove his Panther for the next few years before selling it to noted Duesenberg collector Homer Fitterling. Fitterling lent it to the Studebaker National Museum where it was displayed for nearly 30 years until it was acquired by the famous Bortz collection of Detroit concepts, dream cars and prototypes in 1988 where it has been carefully preserved since.

Few concept cars are actually designed to be used on the highway as the Packard Panther is. Most manage a few careful drives onto show display stands and slow staged passes before film and television cameras. The Packard Panther offered here, however, was not only designed to be fully functional but also has demonstrated its usability in several thousand miles of regular use by Bill Mitchell, Sr.

Still with its original 1954 livery of copper over cream yellow with matching copper interior, the Bortz Collection Packard Panther is exactly as it was rendered for and used by Bill Mitchell, a “1954 1/2” Packard concept that pointed at a vibrant future for Packard that adversity – not entirely of Packard’s making – foiled. Completely original throughout, including the original Brown-tinted show car tires, it is in time warp, as found, condition and has never been modified from its original configuration. Included with the Packard Panther are period photos showing it with Mitchell-Bentley’s Bill Mitchell.

As a demonstration of the talents of Dick Teague, one of the most important designers of the fifties and sixties, it truly is significant in Packard’s history. It is, because it works like a real car, a singularly important and rare milestone in the history of Packard and the evolution of the American automobile industry in the second half of the twentieth century.

On January 20th 2006 This car sold at Auction for $363,000.00 to an unknown buyer.

1954 Packard Daytona Concept​

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1954 Packard Daytona Concept w/Bill Mitchell ​

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1954 Packard Daytona Concept w/Bill Mitchell
Note Car is sitting @ East Grand Factory
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1954 Packard Daytona Concept-Interior ​

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1954 Packard Daytona Concept​

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1954 Packard Daytona Concept rear ​

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1954 Packard Daytona Concept ​

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QUESTION: What sets the first Packard Panther apart from other "show" cars? Well, to put it in simple terms: How many show cars can turn the flying mile at Daytona at 131 miles an hour?

The first of the four Packard Panthers was sold by RM Auction in March 2009 for $700,000. The link below contains a TON of info on the drop-dead GORGEOUS, rare-as-a-dodo fiberglass-bodied Packard.
www.rmauctions.com/CarDetails.cfm?SaleCode=AM09&CarID

 

<table style="border-collapse: collapse;" id="AutoNumber1" border="0" bordercolor="#111111" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" height="82"><tbody><tr><td colspan="4" align="left" width="100%" height="1">Henney Carriage Works - Henney Buggy Co. - 1879-1916 - John W. Henney Co. - 1916-1927 - Henney Motor Co. - 1927-1954 - Freeport, Illinois 1958-1960 - Canastota, New York
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<table style="border-collapse: collapse;" id="AutoNumber2" border="0" bordercolor="#d3eace" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="chart" valign="top" width="59%">Carriage maker Jacob Henney came to Stephenson County, Illinois from his native Pennsylvania in the spring of 1848, but found the business climate not to his liking and returned to his family in Pennsylvania late in the year. The Stephenson business climate had improved by 1854 and he finally brought his family to Freeport establishing a carriage anufactory in nearby Cedarville, where he remained for the rest of his life.

His son, John W. Henney, born in 1842 learned the carriage building trade under his father's watchful eye and left the firm to apprentice with several regional firms before becoming superintendent of the Wiley Carriage Shop of Kansas City, Missouri. John returned to Cedarville in 1868 and assumed control of his father's shop, modernizing it with steam power and modern milling machinery, being one of the first builders in the nation to utilize it. His business and reputation grew and in 1879 he moved the business to Freeport naming it, John W. Henney & Company. The first Henney plant was located adjacent to Freeport's main rail line on South Chicago Ave and West Jackson St Most of their early business was focused on fine carriages and buggies, but they also offered a line of commercial vehicles and funeral coaches starting in the late 1890s.

In 1912 Henney's son and namesake, John W. Henney, Jr. became superintendent of the busy plant at the age of 29. A new larger plant was constructed that totally filled half of a city block, but his timing was unfortunate as the golden age of carriage building was coming to an end. Now called the Henney Buggy Company, the firm was eventually liquidated and the modern factory sold to the Moline Plow Company in 1915. Moline enlarged the plant and built the Stephens Salient Six automobile there from 1916 to 1924.

With plenty of cash in hand, young John W. Henney, Jr. was soon back in business as the John W. Henney Co. after purchasing the former Maurer building which was conveniently located between the Illinois Central Railroad lines and the Pacotonica River. Early production consisted of truck bodies and a motorized Henney funeral coach was added late in 1916, built on an assembled chassis with a six-cylinder Continental engine. Henney also purchased the building now known as the Lena Casket Company in East Freeport to make wooden frames for the coach bodies as well as walnut gun stocks for the US Army.

By the early 1920s the Henney name was among America's best known in the funeral car trade. In the decade that followed, the company produced approximately 30 limousine and sedan passenger cars to custom order, as well as a production run of 50 sport phaetons in the early 20s that were designed by Herman Earl (1878-1957) whose previous credits included work with Haynes-Apperson, Schacht and Halladay. He later worked for Des Moines Casket Company, and finally ended up in Piqua Ohio with the Meteor Motor Car Company where he worked for almost 25 years up to his retirement. The Henney passenger cars were, like the Henney hearses, powered by six-cylinder Continental or eight-cylinder Lycoming engines.

The 1923 Henney catalog showed a handsome light-grey 12-column carved-panel funeral coach built on a light truck chassis which featured huge nickel-plated disc wheels. In a speech given to the Professional Car Society in 1978, H. Reid Horner, Henney's director of personnel from June 1928 through November 1954 recalled that the firm utilized Dodge Brothers chassis in the period immediately following World War I.

The Moline Plow Company liquidated the Stephens car operations in 1924, and Henney moved back into their old building offering a full line of imousine-style coaches on their own assembled chassis which included a 70hp Continental six-cylinder engine. In addition to their distinctive cycle-style front fenders (Henney's resembled the popular Kissel Kar), these unusual coaches were now available with imitation leather - called Meritas fabric, a nitrile-coated imitation leather similar to Zapon - stretched over an ash frame. Like a Weymann, the body was incredibly light and the heavy Meritas fabric prevented the drumming frequently heard in other coachbuilt metal-bodied vehicles. Meritas-covered bodies were anywhere from 300 to 500 lbs lighter than a comparable metal-clad body.

A new funeral coach for 1924 was the landau-limousine, a Meritas-bodied coach which featured a Meritas-covered top with nickel-plated landau bars on the very attractive rounded rear quarters. Henney also offered a Meritas-clad short-wheelbase combination sedan-ambulance that also featured the increasingly popular landau bars.

Henney's modern-looking 1926 coaches included stylish cycle fenders and shortened running boards with integral step plates beneath each door. Options included a choice of a single side-entrance attendant's door or an extra-wide double side door that allowed easy access for a gurney or casket. More expensive coaches featured landau-bars, spot-lights and stylish Gordon spare tire covers and offered customers the choice of a Meritas-covered body or an all metal-skin sprayed with Dupont's new DUCO lacquer. The 1926 catalog displayed Henney's popular 7-passenger landau sedan-ambulance as well as their new Light Six line which was designed to compete with Mort and other low-priced coaches.

The name of the business was changed to the Henney Motor Company in 1927 and shortly thereafter John W. Henney Jr. sold his interest in the firm roughly a year before the stock market crash in 1929. During his absence the Henney Motor Co. produced 100 taxicabs on stretched Model A Ford chassis as well as their normal professional car line. They also supplied 3-piece ash roof rails to Ford who used the sub-assemblies on the 1929 Model A Fordor body framework.

According to H. Reid Horner, from the late twenties until the adoption of the Packard chassis in 1937, Henney frequently mixed-n-matched chassis and engines from different manufacturers.

"Chassis used in varying amounts during this period included Stephens (one assembled in our factory using a ontinental motor), Velie/Buick/Auburn (using Lycoming motors), Pierce Arrow/Reo (a special car marketed by National Casket), Pontiac economy model, Oldsmobile - Progress Model."​

"In addition we occasionally built a hearse or an ambulance on a chassis specified by the customer. This might be a Cadillac, LaSalle, Rolls Royce, Lincoln, Cord and others."​

In 1927 Henney introduced the NU-3-Way coach, a funeral car equipped with a three-way casket table patented by a Los Angeles inventor, William H. Heise. Very similar to Eureka's, the Heise table could be loaded from either side or from the rear. A bronze Heise tag can be found on the table ramework of Henney's 3-way coaches.

Horner recalled:

"Mr. Henney was repelled at the way hearses had to be backed up to the curb for loading, which he thought was very undignified. The 3-way idea was developed by a man named Heise out on the west coast, but Ed Richter perfected it. The 3-way feature added about $100.00 to the price of the car but Henney did very well with it. Henney was soon selling more than half the 3-ways in the industry, and we sold side-servicing equipment, including the mound, track and carrier to some of our competitors."​

The Henney Deluxe line continued mostly unchanged as did their lower-priced Light-Six models which were easily distinguishable by their old-fashioned artillery wheels. Henney coaches were offered with either a leather-back landau roof or a plain painted-metal roof treatment. As always, plain, frosted, leaded or combination frosted/leaded windows were available on all of their coaches.

In 1928 Henney was awarded a government contract to supply 23 ambulances to the United States Veterans Bureau (now the Veterans Administration) for use at their medical facilities. The NU-3-Way funeral coach featured prominently in their print advertising. This side-loading coach featured a Heise casket table that extended out 36" from either side of the vehicle and allowed easy loading and unloading of the casket. Previous side-loading coaches had small rollers inlaid into the floor that allowed bearers to slide the casket around. The Heise 3-way table allowed the casket to be firmly attached to the vehicle eliminating all chance of a mishap that could occur during inclement weather or on hilly streets. You could also load it from the rear, if the coach was equipped with a back door.

The 1929 Henney line featured a re-designed chassis with swept front fenders plus a longer and lower body with incredibly wide front and rear doors specially designed to take full advantage of their Heise 3-way tables. Henney claimed that the wide pillarless door opening could support over 1500 lbs. at its center. Heavy wrought-iron bracing placed within the strong ash-framing made it possible.

During the year, Henney launched what amounted to a smear campaign against Eureka, Sayers & Scovill, Meteor and Silver-Knightstown falsely accusing them of marketing side-servicing coaches built with bootleg casket tables. Ads that appeared in the nations funeral and mortuary magazines falsely stated that Henney was the exclusive licensee of the patented Heise casket table. In 1930 Eureka, Meteor and Sayers & Scovill filed suit against Henney and eventually won an injunction against them. In a year when they could ill afford it, Henney's victims' business suffered, while Henney's prospered.

As a direct result of their attack on Eureka, Henney won a contract to supply REO-chassised coaches to the National Casket Company who had just canceled their contract with Kissel because Eureka supplied Kissel with their funeral coach bodies.

Having survived the crash with his cash reserves, John W. Henney Jr. easily regained control of the company in 1930 and soon conceived a high-priced luxury car similar to the L-29 of his good friend, Errett Lobban Cord. The magnificent convertible sedan that resulted was powered by a Lycoming straight-eight and set on Henney's 137-1/2-inch wheelbase chassis. Only four examples were built and all were sold to Henney's friends and large customers.

1930 and 1931 Henney's rode on a purpose-built chassis that closely resembled that of the auto industry's style leader, Cadillac. Their ambulances were advertised as being completely equipped, and their NU-3-Way side-loading coaches were racking up sales at the expense of their competition. In addition to the frosted/leaded/beveled or plain rear quarter-window options, new interior window treatments were available as well and included wicker window inserts, mini-blinds or airline-style draperies.

Henney offered the industry's first electric-powered casket table in 1932 which was designed by William H. Heise, the designer of the original 3-way table. A centrally located motor was placed under the casket frame in a specially designed hump or "mound" that could be operated from either side of the vehicle using switches imbedded in the compartment walls. The "electric" option was available on select Henney and National-REO NU-3-Way coaches.

Henney introduced beaver-tail styling to their coach bodies in 1933. By 1934 they had abandoned assembly of their own chassis and were building on Cadillac, Lincoln, Oldsmobile, Packard and Pierce-Arrow chassis. Less expensive models were built primarily on Oldsmobile chassis during the mid-Thirties and were designated as Henney Progress coaches. Heise's electric 3-way casket table was marketed as the "Elecdraulic" and was standard equipment on a few high-priced NU-3-Way coaches. The Henny Arrowline was introduced in 1934 and was built exclusively on Pierce-Arrow chassis. Unfortunately, Pierce-Arrow went bankrupt during 1937-8, so Henney looked to Packard to furnish chassis for their high-priced coaches. By the end of 1935 Henney introduced the popular Henney 800 series that was built on a Packard 120A chassis. The Funeral Auto Company of Louisville, Kentucky purchased eight identical Arrowline funeral coaches during 1936. Funeral Auto Co. were just one of the many funeral livery services across the country that rented out hearses and limousines to metropolitan funeral directors who either couldn't afford to own one, or didn't have the room to park these huge coaches at their place of business. As today, hearses are an extra-cost item in most funeral services and can be rented as needed by smaller funeral homes. In large cities like New York City, the cost of parking a large coach can quickly exceed its cost, so funeral and limousine livery services remain popular to this day. Henney also built a handful of 1935-36 coaches on stretched Auburn chassis. Henny Arrowlines were built from 1934-1937.

During the 1930s, Brantford Coach & Body of Brantford, Ontario built Henney bodies under license for sale in Canada.

By 1936 both Packard and General Motors were offering extended-wheelbase commercial chassis to the professional car industry. The Packard chassis was based on their successful 120 Series while G.M.'s were offered by their Buick, Cadillac, LaSalle and Oldsmobile divisions. Consequently all Henney coaches were built on purpose-built Oldsmobile and Packard commercial chassis from 1936 onward, although Bernie DeWinter reports that they built a single Cord 810/812-based funeral car sometime in 1936-1937. The only other Cord 810/812 professional cars were built by Owen Bros. of Lima, Ohio.

1937 was the final year for Oldsmobile-chassised Henney-Progress coaches as Henney made a permanent switch to the Packard chassis in 1938 and would remain with them until their demise in 1954.

At the 1937 National Funeral Director's Convention, Henney introduced a streamlined flower car as well as a self-leveling suspension system that they called the Leveldraulic. The flower car was built on a Packard chassis, featured a collapsible convertible top, and could be used as a first call car or to transport altars, chairs and other necessities to the home of the deceased or to the gravesite. The complex Leveldraulic system used a number of electric motors and hydraulic pumps and actuators to assist in leveling the coach while the casket was being loaded or unloaded on hills and uneven roadways. The manually operated system could also be used to level an uneven load and was available on both Henney funeral coaches and ambulances.

"Weather-Conditioner" air-conditioning appeared on Henney ambulances for the first time in late 1938. Developed by their new partner Packard, the mechanical system included a huge evaporator, called a 'cooling coil,' which took up most of the equipment cabinet that separated the driver from the rear compartment. This cumbersome AC system lacked a compressor clutch and could only be controlled with the blower speed switch. The horsepower-sapping pump was on whenever the engine was running and the only way to turn it off was to remove the drive belt to the compressor. Packard started installing the system in on production Packards in 1939 advertising that purchasers would "Forget the heat this summer in the only air-conditioned car in the world".

GM's Cadillac Division tested an R-12-based vapor compression system in 1939 and introduced it on 300 1941 production vehicles. The gradual acceptance of fresh air heating and the cowl ventilator started a trend toward modern automotive air-conditioning that gained in popularity in the late 1940s though automotive air conditioning was not an instant hit - only 10,500 cars were sold with the option by 1953. In 1938, Nash had offered a different evaporative cooling system called the "Weather Eye" that reduced interior temperatures by passing interior air over a water bath, but the cooling portion was ineffective and it was not a true air-conditioning system as we know it.

Late in 1939, Henney proclaimed that the current years production of 1200+ vehicles was "The Largest Number of Funeral Cars and Ambulances Ever Produced By One Company in a Single Year." To celebrate their record, a commemorative booklet titled "The Story of the 1200th Henney-Packard Produced during 1939" was distributed to the firm's distributors and employees. Another entitled "Program Of Progress" followed in 1940.
Included was a list of Henney's factory showrooms and regional sales reps and distributors which follows:

Henney Canadian Co. Ltd., 340 Confederation Life Bldg., 17 Queen St. East., Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Henney New England Co., 1265 Boylston St., Boston, MA

Henney New England Co., 123 W. 64th St., New York, NY

Henney Motor Co., 2900 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL

Henney Pittsburg Co., John G. Fair, 1123 Penn Ave. Wilkinsburg, PA

Brantford Coach & Body Co. Ltd., Brantford, Ontario, Canada

Wm. H. Heise Co., 733 W. Washington Blvd., Los Angeles, CA

Wm. H. Heise Co., 1724 E. 13th Ave. Seattle, WA

A. Geissel & Sons, 485 N. Third St., Philadelphia, PA

Williams Carriage, Hearse & Auto Co., St. Louis, MO
C.F. Loflin, Asheboro, NC

C.A. McCarthy, 1312 E. 72nd, Chicago, IL

R.F. Chaffee, 1040 N. Windomere St. Dallas, TX

H.S. Agar, 286 N. Liberty St., Delaware, OH

Charles Mack, 808 W. Forest Ave. Detroit, MI

Roy M. Anderton, 1403 Hudson St., Denver, CO

John H. Spearing, 3575 N. Keystone Ave., Indianapolis, IN

Harold T. Keister, 731 Pecan Blvd. Jackson, MS

L.D. Penticoff, 3839 Springfield Blvd., Jacksonville, FL

E.A. Lattig & C. F. Wenninger, 4040 Main St., Kansas City, MO

R.P. Gibbs, Lebanon, TN

P.E. Knauff, Marion Hotel, Little Rock, AR

Harold H. Wright, 3717 Morris Blvd., Milwaukee, WI

Harry W. Smith Co.,
2100 Lyndale Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN

John Weekly, 6350 N. 33rd St., Omaha, NE

C.J. Gilliland, Sterling Hotel, Wilkes-Barre, PA

C.F. Loflin, Raleigh, NC

C.F. Loflin, Richmond, VA

Donald Deane, West Coxsackie, NY
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Henney offered a Formal Limousine model in 1939. This limousine-style hearse featured huge 30" wide x36" tall art-deco metal shields featuring the owner's name mounted on all three rear compartment doors. When equipped with Henney's Leveldraulic suspension and Elecdraulic NU-3-Way casket table, this coach was the most technologically advanced hearse available this year. Long wheelbase airport limousines were in great demand during the late 1930s and Henney built a number of 8-door (4-doors per side) using extended-wheelbase Packard chassis.

Henney also introduced a Landaulet funeral coach this year that was its answer to the laundau-style coaches offered by their competition. The Landaulet was a dedicated side-servicing coach and was available in town car or enclosed drive versions. Henney styling had evolved slowly but surely during the late 1930s and the Landaulet hearse featured a rather dramatic roofline complemented by its shortened side windows built exclusively for the Landaulet. The roof was not covered using synthetic leather, its padded Burbank-covered top and large landau bar gave it the appearance of an expensive 4-door convertible sedan. In Landaulet town cars, the divider panel was hinged in the middle, allowing the casket easy access to rear compartment when the driver's seat was slid forward. Most other 1939 Henney coaches featured a more conventional rear roofline with an integral rear door.

Henney also introduced a very unusual "Super Formal" coach in 1939 which was continued through 1940. The centerpiece of the "Super Formal" was a huge, slightly heart-shaped window that was used in place of the standard Henney side compartment glass. A picture exists that shows a 1939 Henney Super Formal Town Car Hearse on a Packard Super Eight chassis with a Manning nameplate on the front doors. (TPC#60) The 1940 catalog show a regular (non-town car) Super Formal Coach although no pictures of the vehicle exist and it may never have been built.

Henney flower cars were mildly redesigned in 1940 and were available painted, or with a Burbank-covered faux-convertible roof. Access to the casket compartment was through small side doors located behind the driver's door or through the tailgate which had built-in casket rollers that matched those on the compartment floor. The height of the stainless steel flower deck was hydraulically adjustable so that different-sized floral tributes could be accommodated and a tonneau was included to cover the bed when not in use. Henney also anufactured a small number of sedan-ambulances using standard Packard limousines with a removable B-pillar that could accept a gurney through the passenger-side doors as well as a few multi-door airport limousines built using stretched sedan chassis. New this year was Henney's graveside jukebox, the "Singing Chapel On Wheels". A compact record player/amplifier installed under the right-side instrument panel, it included two remote speakers located under the hood and could provide music during the graveside ceremony.

Just before the London Blitz of 1940, Packard presented a fleet of Henney-Packard ambulances to the American Ambulance Corps in Great Britain. For four and a half years, these Henney-built ambulances sped through the bomb-pocked and rubble blocked streets of London, transporting casualties for emergency treatment.

Packard introduced their new streamlined Clipper during the spring of 1941 just as Cadillac introduced their new redesigned Series 60-62 models. However the Clipper had to wait until the after the war before placed in service underneath Henney coaches. All pre-war 1940s Packard-Henney coaches were built using the older Series 120, 160 and 180 chassis although some Clipper-influenced styling made its way onto the older chassis by 1942. Henney was the largest professional car builder in the country yet only managed to produce 300 vehicles before the firm turned to war production work early in the year.

Civil Defense vehicles were in short supply at the start of the war and Henney filled the void with a number of attractive numbers purpose-built for domestic service. Henney deserves credit for being the first professional-car manufacturer to produce a modern modular-styled ambulance body. Built on a Packard chassis, the extra-wide box-back ambulance included room for four patients and was painted with an art-deco paint scheme that integrated beautifully with the cross-shaped windows. Later versions included black-out trim and just like today's retired modular ambulances, the boxy Civil Defense Henneys were popular as used work-trucks during the late Forties and early Fifties. Portions of the large Henney plant were re-tooled to make parts for the Packard-built Rolls-Royce Merlin aircraft engines. They also produced Army ambulances, two-wheel trailers and nose caps for WWII heavy bombs and munitions.

John W. Henney, owner of the Henney Motor Company and son/namesake of the firms founder, died in Freeport, Illinois on November 26, 1946 and the family sold the firm to C. Russell Feldmann (1898-1973), a millionaire businessman whose original claim to fame was 1927's Transitone radio, one of the first units mobile designed exclusively for installation in an automobile. The Transitone was not only bulky, but costly ($150) and initial sales were well below expectations. However, by 1930 the radio's bulk had been greatly reduced and sales had increased to the point where the radio giant Philco became interested in Feldmann's Automobile Radio Corporation, purchasing it in December of 1930.

Another one of Feldmann's prize possessions was the National Union Radio Corp. a firm he founded in September of 1929 in order to acquire the assets of three radio tube manufacturers; Sonatron Tube Company; Televocal Corporation; and the Magnatron Corporation. The National Union Radio Corporation became Henney's parent company when Feldmann purchased the coachbuilder in 1946.

Feldmann had weathered the Depression better than most, and bought a controlling interest in the Detrola Corp./International Detrola Corp. (1931-1948), one of the world's largest radio manufacturers. The reason that you may not be aware of them, is because Detrolas products were usually re-badged and sold by the county's major retails chains as their own product. They manufactured Western Auto's Truetone radios, Sears & Roebuck's Silvertone radios plus as many as 100 other brands for smaller national chains and retailers. International Detrola was acquired in 1954 by the Newport Steel Corporation, another Feldmann-controlled corporation.

Feldmann gave Henney immediate access to large amounts of capital that was previously unavailable, strengthening their already healthy position in the industry as well as their relationship with Packard. The firm's acquisition coincided with an agreement to manufacture Packard's new 7-passenger limousine and 8-door 15-passenger airport limousines which were both in great demand immediately after the war. Production finally exceeded demand in mid-1947 and Henney re-tooled in preparation for production of their brand-new 1948 coaches that were unveiled at the 1947 National Funeral Director's Convention. Contrary to popular belief, Henney only built Packard limousines for the 1946-47 model year. 1948-50 Packard limousines were built by Briggs as Henney was too busy building hearses and ambulances to do any extra contract work, even for Packard, an important business partner.

The 1946-47 Henney-Packard seven-passenger sedans were also sold as combination cars, built for use as either a conventional limousine, or a side-loading invalid car or sedan ambulance. The right front seat is removable and the passenger side B-pillar is designed to either stay on the car or come away with the door, enabling a wheeled cot to enter from the right side.

Henney's all-new 1948 coaches were powered by a 160hp straight-8 built on Packard's new 158" wheelbase commercial chassis. Packard's 22nd series "inverted bathtub" styling was controversial and Henney's prices were expensive, yet they produced close to 2,000 coaches in 1948 and were once again the largest professional car manufacturer in the world. In order to provide adequate interior headroom and maneuverability for the casket and gurney using the new Clipper bodies, Henney was forced to section the body in order to raise it by a couple of inches. A consequent extra row of teeth was also added to the bottom of the new eggcrate grill, a similar system to that used by Flxible to match their coaches with the Buick chassis.

Funeral coaches were available with either NU-3-Way side-servicing or dedicated rear-loading versions. Ambulances, hearses and combination coaches were all available in either straight limousine styles or with a textured landau roof over the blanked-in rear quarter windows. Combination coaches were only available as rear-loaders, but could be changed from a funeral coach to an ambulance by simply snapping in the ambulance badge on the inside of the rear quarter windows, unfolding the attendant's jumpseat, and placing a removable Federal beacon on the roof. All of the pre-war options remained including air-conditioning, leveldraulic suspension, elecdraulic 3-way casket tables, and the "Singing Chapel On Wheels". Ambulances could be ordered with an illuminated roof-top "ambulance" sign and pod-shaped warning lights and a choice of sirens.

Henney's flower car was clearly the most beautiful of its brand-new 1948 professional cars. Standard equipment included a stainless-lined casket compartment as well as an all stainless flower deck topside. As with most other flower cars, a body-colored folded faux-cabriolet top was built onto the rear of the flower deck. A conservative-looking service car was also offered that used the limousine-style body with all the windows blanked-in.

In 1950, Henney was awarded a special contract to build a fleet of nine custom-built, long-wheelbase Lincoln Cosmopolitans for the Truman White House. The contract stipulated that the coaches be armored by Henney's competitor, the Hess & Eisenhardt Company of Rossmoyne, Ohio, as they were the only armoring firm "approved" by the federal government.

Entering government service with the convertible that became the "bubbletop," these armored Lincolns were primarily used during the

Truman and Eisenhower years, and at least one survives. It is on display in the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum in Mr. Truman's home town, Independence, Missouri.

A great influence on the postwar Henney designs was their designer, Richard Arbib. In the late 1930's Arbib began his career working with Harley Earl as a consultant to GM Styling. After a stint in WWII, his penchant and talent for car design brouight Arbib to the Henney Automobile Company. His creativity reached new levels with the beautiful 1951 Packard Caribbean and the beautiful 1951-1954 Henney-Packards professional cars. Henney converted a 1951Packard 250 convertible into the Pan American show car for Packard to display at the 1952 New York Auto Show. It was an instant hit and eventually saw production as the Packard Caribbean from 1953-1954.

After an absence of four years, Packard re*entered the long-wheelbase limousine business in 1953, offering a 149-inch wheelbase Eight-Passenger Sedan and a Corporate Limousine whose bodies were built by Henney. Only 150 were built in 1953, including 100 eight*passenger sedans and 50 limousines. Even fewer were built for 1954, (65 sedans and 35 limos) and the limousine ended production that year.

Henney built a prototype Packard "Super Station Wagon" in 1953-54. Built using a long-wheelbase (159") Packard professional car chassis and a Henney ambulance body, it included four center opening side doors, Henney's distinctive curved rear quarter windows plus a fourth side window inserted into the C-pillar exclusive to the Super Stations Wagon.

In 1953 and 1954 Henney offered a budget-priced short-wheelbase (127") companion to their long wheelbase (156") professional cars. In order to keep down it's price, the Junior's chassis, unlike that of the Senior, was from the budget Packard series and the interior trim was made from cheaper materials. Henney was well into the production of the Junior before it realized that they were losing money on every Junior built and instituted a huge price increase that effectively killed the model. Total production of the appropriately-named Henney Junior's totaled 500, 380 in 1953 and only 120 in 1954. A substantial number of the 1953 coaches were sold to the US Government at a loss a fact that helped contribute to Henney's already-poor financial picture.

The Junior was awkward-looking at best, a window between the side door and the rear quarter window would have helped the car's looks immensely. Another factor that hurt the car was its rear compartment length, which looked good measured at the floor, but translated into a less than ideal length at the beltline because of the angle of the rear of the body and the amount of floor length that ran under the top of the front seatback. Stiff competition from emerging "budget" coach producers in Indiana and Tennessee doomed the project, and Packard's cancellation of their long-wheelbase chassis for the 1955 model year doomed the full-sized coaches as well.

Surprisingly, the Henney Motor Co. did not die when they ceased professional car production in Illinois during 1954.

C. Russell Feldmann went straight to work following the closure of the Henney plant in Freeport. He brokered a deal whereby two struggling truck manufacturers, REO and Diamond T, would combine their individual strengths into a new larger firm that would be better positioned to compete in the dwindling 1950s truck marketplace. The combined firm, would offer the new truck buyer the power and reliability of REO's Gold Comet engine and the rugged cabs offered by Diamond T. Unfortunately, Feldmann's deal ultimately failed, however White Motor Co. accomplished what Feldmann could not when it purchased both firms (REO in 1957 & Diamond T in 1958) and created Diamond REO, a brand that survived until 1975, far longer than most of it competitors.

During his negotiations, Feldmann became aware of a struggling Diamond-Reo customer in Canastota, NY and purchased the firm, giving the still surviving Henney Motor Co. a new subsidiary, the Oneida School Bus Co. It was inside the Canastota factory that Henney assembled the first transistor-regulated electric car, the 1959-1960 Henney Kilowatt.

The Kilowatt was a joint project between National Union Electric Corp., the Eureka Williams Corp., the Exide Battery Corp. and a collection of public utilities headed by the Atlantic City Electric Co. and was initiated by National Union Electric's Feldmann and Atlantic City's president, B.L. England. National Union Electric Corp. manufactured batteries for the Exide Battery Corporation, and Exide's chief executive, Morrison McMullan Jr., participated in the vehicle's development as well. Curtis Instruments was hired to build the complicated speed controller which was designed by Victor Wouk, an electrical engineer at Cal-Tech.

The Kilowatt was produced using Renault Dauphine's supplied to Henney by the French automaker without a drivetrain. Two models were produced, 1959's 36-volt version used 18 two-volt batteries and had a top speed of 40 mph. Although the car could travel over 40 miles on a single charge, its somewhat pokey top speed was deemed unacceptable so an all-new 72-volt system was developed by Victor Wouk using a new controller and 12 6-volt batteries. It debuted on the 1960 Kilowatt which had a top speed of 60 mph with a range to match (60 miles per charge).

Renault sold 100 rolling chassis to Henney for the project, but less than half that number were built as Henney's parent company, National Union Electric Corp., was unable to produce the revised 72-volt systems cheaply enough to keep the car within it's $3600 target price. The unfinished Kilowatt chassis were reportedly sold to a Renault dealer in Florida who retrofitted them with standard Renault drivetrains, and then sold them as new, stock Dauphines.

An article in U.S. News & World Report states that 32 Henney Kilowatts were purchased by various US electric utilities. twenty-four (24) 1959 Kilowatts and eight (8) 1960 models. Of the often-reported figure of 47 completed Kilowatts, it's unclear when the remaining 15 cars were produced, or who purchased them. The article states that some may have been sold as 1961 or possibly 1962 models.

Of the documented 32-47 Henney Kilowatts produced, two remain in a drivable state and it's believed that four to eight others remain in various un-operable states. Even though the Henney Kilowatt never reached mass production volume, its transistor-based electric technology paved the way for modern EVs like GM's EV1.

Henney Motor Co. sold the Oneida School Bus Company to Marmon-Harrington in 1960, following the Kilowatt's failure and late in the year National Union Electric Corp. merged with the Eureka Williams Company with the resulting firm reorganized as the Eureka-Williams Corp. Eureka-Williams continued to build lead-acid batteries, vacuum cleaners and a new line of steel office furniture and was eventually purchased by the Swedish vacuum cleaner giant AB Electrolux in 1974.

C. Russell Feldmann retired to his hometown of Greenwich, Connecticut but soon became active in the booming Manhattan real estate market. Just prior to his death, Feldmann purchased the massive (575,000 sq ft) McGraw Hill building at 330 West 42nd Street for $15 million.



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Owen&#8217;s swan song was two side-loading ambulances they constructed during 1936-37 on the Cord 810/812 chassis. The first, a1 936 810, was for their Lima, Ohio neighbor, the Bowersock and Chiles Funeral and Ambulance Service, the second, a 1937 812, was ordered by an Athens, Ohio livery service operator named Jaeger.

Built using stock 4-door 810/812 sedans, Owen Bros. cut them in half just behind the pillar and inserted a hand-constructed center section between the two pieces, just as today's modern stretch limousines are constructed. Painted white, the Bowersox & Chiles car was sold in 1942 to a firm in Auburn, Indiana. According to Kit Foster, it re-appeared in the Champaign/Urbana Illinois area in 1964 and was turned back into a stock 810 Westchester sedan.

The Jaeger Cord 812 turned up for sale during the early- to mid-50's and Bernie DeWinter IV learned that it was subsequently destroyed in an accident on Route 35, east of Dayton, after speaking to the purchaser of the wrecked coaches' salvaged motor.

The two Cord 810/812 were the last known Owen Brothers conversions offered to the trade, although the firm remained in business at least through 1948 doing auto body repair and painting. Their 111-121 S. Central Ave. factory still exists and has been occupied continuously by various automotive repair businesses.

 

I'm confused

In post #988 it shows a 1953 "Panther" which I had referenced with the '53 Flower Car. Now we are talking about 1954 Panther fiberglass car and a reference to 1953 Speedster Special. Huh .

Then we mention Henney desiigning and building the 1952 Pan American similar to Packard-Henney Flower Car. I wonder if designing and building the concepts paid for the development of the Flower Car.

 

Where are the Packard Experts when we need them?????

 

Jimi Shemi,

The cylinder heads from this timeframe may have said "Thunderbolt".

Remember, folks have very crisp opinions on the Packard Ultramatics. So mine likely differs.

From what I understand the earlier Ultramatic was fine just a bit slushy from the drivers standpoint.

There were issues with the V-8 version of the Ultramatic. Frequently, you can purchase one of these cars that needs transmission work. I understand the '56 was improved over the '55. I believe, there are improvements that the re-builder can be make to improve V-8 Ultramatic longevity.

Vintageride

 

Yeah! No joke. Thats two steps abover a Holiday Rambler around here. Vintage!

 

Just because they died doesn't mean they were no good!

At the turn of the 19th Century, idealistic James Ward Packard (1863-1928) asked for an audience with automotive pioneer Alexander Winton. Packard came to complain -- and to make constructive suggestions -- stemming from his dissatisfaction with the 1898 Winton car he'd bought. Winton took offense and told upstart Packard that if HE thought he could build a better car, well, GO DO IT!

Still a young man, James Packard proceeded to take Winton's advice! Soon, Packard was making cars of such quality and durability that sales climbed steadily, and Packards survived grueling races that killed off most other competitors. "Ask the Man Who Owns One" became the motto of the "upstart" car line that, along with Cadillac, became the longest-running American luxury auto makes.

Fast-forward: It has been said that a candle often burns brightest before it fades out. It's a perfect metaphor for Packard, proud, creative to the end -- and ever committed to giving customers the best possible quality for each hard-earned dollar.
Looks and performance distinguished Packard, right until the end.

Below is a realistically marketable version of how Dick Teague envisioned the 1957 Packard. With the old Packard plant shuttered in July 1956, an ovation was made to FoMoCo to utilize the chassis of the ongoing land-yacht Lincoln Premier. Ford declined. The Packard would have sported a 440-CID vervion of the OHV V-8 and Dual-Ultramatic transmission.

Source: Publications International

Even in the company's declining years, Packard still strove to design and build striking cars of high quality -- even after they were obliged to do so on Studebaker platforms.

1958 Packard Hawk, rear view

1958 Packard two-door hardtop coupe. Besides these grafted-
on fiberglass fins, the front, unfortunately, featured obtrusive fiberglass quad-headlight pods. Grasping at straws for sales!

This beautiful and exciting Hawk convertible prototype was actually made but not mass produced. The one-of-a-kind 'vert (everybody's dream) resides in the American Packard Museum, Dayton, Ohio. This photo was taken by J. Clear and does have some copyright restrictions. (Basically the folks who own the image mainly just want credit. Reasonable, right?)

 

BigBlock, upon relection . . . NO flames. I LIKE
the original patina!!!

 

Did we already cover the henney Kilowatt ?

 

Weel, any-who, I'd asked the question before: Anybody know if ANY Henny Kilowatt SURVIVES???

 

The Packard Hawk Convert is Cool. A friend of mine owns 1 of the 588 Packard Hawks built.

I never knew a Convert concept existed. The Packard Hawks grow on you after awhile.

 

SunRoof, having owned and driven a 4sp Hawk, they were keen and NOTHING like anything I'd driven before -- or after. I am sorry they are so scarce.

 

Another Jordan at the Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum


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1920 Jordan Playboy Roadster ​

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This is the one and only last one by Studebaker.

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1964 Studebaker Avanti R-3 2-dr.Hardtop (last Avanit made by Studebaker) ​

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Just in from the Graham Club;

The dual ignition system was very simple. It consisted of dual points only and was used on the 1929 Graham-Paige 8 cylinder cars.
,
Jack Sill
GOCI Webmaster

 

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1929 Jordan Speedboy G ​

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1950 Frazer Manhatan convertible sedan,
the first post-war ragtop?

 

Love that paint scheme!

 

Okay, still no one has been able to come with a PIC of a Jordan "Little Custom," the car that single-handedly did in Ned Jordan's company.

 

HJ; Isn't there a unique Peerless in the Crawford Museum,???? I believe it's a 1931.

 

Roosevelt

From Wikipedia


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Roosevelt 4-Door Sedan 1929

Roosevelt was a brand of American automobile that was manufactured by the Marmon Motor Car Company of Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, during model years 1929 and 1930.

The Roosevelt was named after President Theodore Roosevelt and designed to be priced as an "affordable" automobile.

 

Yes!! See Post #250

1932 Peerless Prototype Touring Sedan​

 

This was Dutch Darrin's plaster model for what was to have been
a 1953 Willys Aero wagon. The one-of-a-kind scale model was
bought early this year by HAMBer Plodge55Aqua in Alberta. But
UPS, who packed and shipped the model, crushed the carton some-
where along the way, and the piece was destroyed. It seems ironic
that virtually the only remnant of a car that never went into production
should be destroyed carelessly all these decades later.

 

Paul Bryant and the E-1 Cord ​

Paul Bryant was 7 years old when he saw a newspaper photo of the 1936 Cord. It “just jumped off the page,” he said. As a youngster, he would ride his bike to Tadlock’s Garage near 43rd and Mission Road just to glimpse one. The Cord left an image on his soul that has blossomed into a lifelong obsession with this unique automobile.

Bryant, of Prairie Village, is a retired physics professor from the University of Missouri Kansas City, and his life has become intertwined with Cords in ways he would never have imagined when he saw his first picture.

He bought his first, a supercharged convertible coupe, more than 40 years ago, and he has also restored a 1936 prototype called the Coppertone Cord. But the Cord that resonates with him most of all is the E-1, a prototype that may be the rarest of all Cords. Bryant saw the body 26 years ago in a barn near Plato Center, Ill. It had no engine, no fenders, and no grille shell. Careful examination revealed that it was the prototype for a gigantic 1932 Cord limousine town car that was likely to be the personal car of E. L. Cord. With a wheelbase of 157.625 inches, it was 20 inches longer than the L-29 Cord and bigger than a Duesenberg. The engine was initially a V-16 engine of 200 horsepower, but it was reduced to 12 cylinders. The prototype was driven 779 miles, but the stock market crash killed plans for the big Cord and it was dismantled.

After finding the body, Bryant displayed the hulk at the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum in Auburn, Ind. Bryant then moved the car to Stan Gilliland’s Auburn/Cord Parts restoration shop in Wellington, Kan., where it sat for years. One by one, the missing parts were located. The grille shell was found in Ohio, the fenders in Arizona and the engine in a remote corner of the Auburn Automobile Company’s power plant.

Bryant’s dedication to restoring Cords is amazing. When he was working on his Coppertone Cord, he lived in Gilliland’s shop. For 10 months, he worked six days a week, sleeping in a sleeping bag on a pad behind the hulk of E-1. He would rise at 7 a.m. and work until 10 p.m. On Saturday afternoon he would drive back home to his wife Martha, and leave again on Sunday evening.

Last August, after 26 years, E-1 was completed just in time to be trucked to California for the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. The E-1finally had an elegant coming-out party.
So what did Bryant do with E-1? He donated it to the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum in Auburn, Ind., where it has a place of honor. Why give away a car of such incredible value?

“He’s a very giving person,” said his wife Martha, “that’s his nature.”

“It’s so much a part of the history of E.L. Cord,” Bryant said, “that it belongs in the museum.”

What he didn’t say was more obvious. The E-1 will always hold a special place in his heart no matter where it is parked.

 

This impressive vehicle is know as E-1. It is a prototype for the vehicle that was supposed to replace the Cord L-29. When E.L. Cord was looking forward to his next range of vehicles, he ordered a car to be built with a sixteen cylinder engine which was replaced with another prototype twelve cylinder engine of the same displacement. This vehicle was to have gone into production for the 1932 model year. Unfortunately, it was not the right time economically to introduce a vehicle that was bigger then a long wheelbase Duesenberg and the program was scrapped. What remains of this idea is one tremendous vehicle that gives us a hint at what might of been.

This 1932 prototype is powered by a 491 cubic inch displacement V-12 engine producing 200 horsepower. The wheel base measures 157 inches. The vehicle weighs in excess of 6000 pounds. Only one such vehicle was built.

Televisions were available in 1932 at the deluxe suites of the Hotel New Yorker in New York City. Guests were able to tune in for up to five hours in programming on the local CBS station