HomePick of the DayThe last pre-war Packard?

The last pre-war Packard?

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Might this be the last pre-war Packard produced? 

According to the Milford, Ohio, collector car dealership offering this 1942 Packard 160 in an advertisement on ClassicCars.com, this convertible rolled off the assembly line on December 4, 1941. 

Three days later, Pearl Harbor was attacked, the U.S. entered World War II and Packard switched its production from automobiles to aircraft and marine engines for military use.

The dealer reports in the advertisement that a review of production dates and vehicle serial numbers authenticates that this is, indeed, the final pre-war Packard automobile.

The ad notes that the car was retained by Packard for six years, finally sold to its first individual owner in August 1947.

“The car is reported to have been assigned to Edward McCauley, head of styling for Packard,” the dealership says, adding that, “fewer than 200 of these cars were built.”

Unusual for the day, however, was the fact that the car’s 356cid, 160-horsepower straight-8 engine, linked to a 3-speed manual transmission, was equipped with dual carburetors, “believed to have been installed by Packard,” the dealer notes.

“The first owner, who purchased the car in Detroit, MI, has stated the car had over 30,000 miles when he bought it and that it was equipped from the factory with the dual carburetor set-up as seen today. Evidently, Ed McCauley was not only interested in more highly stylized automobiles, but he also advocated higher performance from the cars as well.”

The car underwent a body-off restoration by Glenn Shaffer in 1989 and afterward won Best of Show at the Packard Grand Salon with what the seller notes was the highest score in the show’s 20-year history.

The car is available for $183,200.

To view this listing on ClassicCars.com, see Pick of the Day. 

Larry Edsall
Larry Edsall
A former daily newspaper sports editor, Larry Edsall spent a dozen years as an editor at AutoWeek magazine before making the transition to writing for the web and becoming the author of more than 15 automotive books. In addition to being founding editor at ClassicCars.com, Larry has written for The New York Times and The Detroit News and was an adjunct honors professor at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.

3 COMMENTS

  1. While this makes a good story, there were Packards made until the first week of February of 1942. Further, I suspect that the date is the date of delivery,perhaps to Edward Macauley. The highest serial number known for this body style and series is 1579-2165. If I recall correctly, this car has a much lower serial number .

    • How can your pick of the day be a $183k car that the seller can’t even take the time to present it properly?
      Pictures all rotated and out of focus and not even enough of them to justify this cars beauty and details.
      You should have some minimum expectations of a quality ad to make you choice for "Pick of the Day"
      the seller should be ashamed of themselves

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