Owner`s Manual - Spring 2011

 FROM THE DIRECTOR The Owner’s Manual
Published by The Lone Star
Packards
Spring 2011 In This Issue
1899 Mahoning Avenue NW Warren, Ohio 44483 Phone: 330.394.1899 Visit: www.packardmuseum.org By: Ben Carter The 34th annual Texas Packard meet was held in Salado, Texas again at The Stagecoach Inn. As a member of Lone Star Packards, you should try to aFend at least one Gme to see what it is all about. Besides showing your car to other Packard lovers, it is a good Gme to meet members from other Packard clubs from across Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Indiana to name a few of the states represented at this year’s gathering. This was the 4th meet for Janice and me and each one has been more enjoyable. LSP had 35 members in aFendance with 8 cars on display. As usual, our members were awarded a good number of the 1st and 2nd place plaques. Twenty-­‐
five or so of our members enjoyed dinner together on Saturday night at the Oxbow Steakhouse just a few miles from the hotel. At the annual meeGng on Sunday morning, a discussion was held concerning the future of keeping the meet at The Stagecoach Inn. The expansion of I-­‐35 is going to come very close to the Inn and may take some of the parking lot where the cars are displayed. The decision was made to conGnue at the Inn one more year and see if the changes that are coming will interfere with
holding the meet there. The Inn is also for sale and the potenGal new owners plans could interrupt holding the future events at this locaGon. There was also discussion concerning the judging of the cars and the number of categories and awards. Our club has been charged with coming up with a plan to correct the disparity that exists between pre-­‐
war and post-­‐war Packards. We will be working on a plan that will make the awards more equitable. Put the last weekend in March, 2012 on your calendar for the next Salado meet and plan to go. Our next LSP meeGng was held May 15 and there is some info and photos in this issue that captures this great meeGng. FROM THE EDITOR: By: Mike Grimes Doug Carlson Needs the Most Current Digital Photo or High Quality Photo That Can Be Scanned of Your Packard(s) To Update the Member’s Car SecKon of the New LSP Website… THANKS! 2 SALADO 2011 By Tommy Baccaro The 34th Annual Texas Packard Meet was another successful event and the planning for the 35th Annual MeeGng is now underway. The annual Friday “early bird tour” was organized once again by Gordon Logan. This year we cruised the back roads between Salado and Georgetown. In Georgetown, places were roped off around the the town square so the local folks could view the Packards while members selected a fine eaGng establishment or visited the many anGque shops in the area. A total of 19 Packards and a Packard-­‐powered Studebaker made the trip. On the way back we visited a local winery and enjoyed a small sample of their product. Gordon is CEO of Sports Clips. He arranged to have one of their staff photographers take pictures of our cars on the square. The swap meet appeared to be the biggest ever. Packard lovers from Ohio to Colorado shared their items of hard to find parts and memories. Another highlight for me was the unexpected appearance of a 1940 160 Club Sedan. This is a sister car to our 1940 Packard we call Franklin. This car was, unGl then, not listed on Jim Hollingsworth’s PAC roster. Only 176 of these 160 Club Sedan’s were built and this one lives in Bastrop. There were 100 master registraGons and 54 Packards compeGng for awards this year and two more for display only. These Packards ranged from a 1925 to several 1956 model year cars. As usual, our members took home a fair share of the awards. (See photos on the following page.) The 35th Anniversary in 2012 will offer another opportunity for Packard lovers to gather together and celebrate their shared interest in a truly great automobile. 3 Bernie and Ann’s 1940 120C Gary’s 1946 Clipper Sedan Taxi Jim’s 1940 180 Club Sedan Tommy and Carol’s 1948 LWB David and Jeanne’s 1950 John and Vivian’s 1953 Mike and Carolyn’s 1955 400 Ben and Janice’s 1956 Clipper Ron and Juanita’s 1956 Caribbean 4 LSP CHAT: By: Carol Baccaro Spring is in the air and Salado, the Packard lovers' Mecca (as Tommy calls it), is a memory in our past. The weather this year was full of sunshine. Even though it was a liFle warm Saturday ahernoon, it was beauGful and much beFer than rain and hailstorms which have hit us in the past. Speaking from a female point of view, I love a trip most anywhere and Salado is always an exhausGngly fun trip. Driving, visiGng, shopping, games of chickenfoot, dining, taking pictures, doing some Packard polishing, watching the guys “kick the Gres”, and seeing who gets an award is what it is all about. We missed you LSP Club members who were unable to aFend the weekend. A special “Sunshine Award” goes out to the “Katy Bunch” and Bernie Stebenne. Bernie is under going intense medical treatment and the guys pitched in to help get his car in shape for the trip. Speaking of the “Katy Bunch” as we on “the Southside” call them, special kudos go out to Doug Carlson for gejng our LSP website back up and running. Great job! And speaking of great jobs, a big thank you to Bob Supina for developing and running the former website all these past years. If you have not visited the LSP website lately, the website address is sGll www.lonestarpackards.com. Check it out. Everyone’s birthday is an important event and if you have a birthday in May, June, or July that is not listed in The Owners Manual, please be sure to add your birthday to your renewal applicaGon next year. A NOTE FROM BEN:
5 May’s LSP meeGng was aFended by 50 members and guests gathering first at Boudreaux
Cajun restaurant and then traveling
to Gene Glover’s facility to view 2 great Packards and other makes. Club highlights… Jay MaFhews wins the 50/50 drawing, Dan Becker is elected to the City Council
of League City, the Darrows returned from a four month cruise, the club membership stands at 42 families. BONES By: Dale Musgrove One day as we were driving into Katy on I-­‐10, I looked to my right and there it sat. It was outside, parked in the weeds at a storage company. A few days later I made a trip from our home in Richmond to the locaGon of the Packard. Aher checking with the storage company manager, I learned that the Packard Henney hearse was owned by The American Funeral Museum in Houston and more importantly, it was for sale! I learned that the hearse was all-­‐original and that it had accumulated just 16,000 miles. Upon further inspecGon, the engine and transmission looked as if the mileage was accurate, however, the interior seat covers, front and rear door panels, and the rear compartment were faded from a beauGful red velvet to a sad yellow due to the sun shining through the clear glass windows. That Didn’t bother me because at that point I was only interested in the engine and transmission. (A note from the editor…Janice (Dale’s wife) reports that at that Gme, Dale had promised no more Packards would be purchased… perhaps that had some bearing on Dale’s focus on engine and transmission?) Aher contacGng a person at the museum, a price was negoGated. However, I needed more cash than I had saved, so I asked Janice if she would help out. At first she said she wasn’t interested, but aher she heard how badly I wanted the engine and transmission she agreed to look at the hearse. Aher she saw the hearse, she agreed to help buy the car, but not for the engine and the transmission, but to restore it and drive it to Packard meets and shows. There went my engine and transmission. We purchased the hearse and moved it to the school where I taught auto mechanics. At first many students were afraid of the car, but aher they heard it had a hydraulic leveling system, they all pitched in to bring it back to life. 6 Bones (cont’d) One of my students had worked in a funeral home and was able to get the casket table removed so we could repair the hydraulic system. The repair consisted of adding hydraulic fluid. Aher the table was repaired we moved to repair the power seat. Aher two aFempts the seat was operaGonal and now all of the hydraulics were in service. A top-­‐of-­‐the-­‐line model, this Henney featured the Nu 3 Way Loading system…note photos below. Aher the mechanical repairs were completed, we did the bodywork and painted it. The hearse was now ready for a test drive. One of my students brought in a small skeleton that was hung from the inside rear view mirror, hence the nick-­‐ name, “Bones”. We drove “Bones” to Salado where it won First Place in its class and later that year drove it to Dayton, Ohio for the NaGonal Packard Meet where “Bones” won another first place. “Bones” has been in many magazines, in a movie, and used in one funeral during our ownership. We have enjoyed it for many years and now Janice, who saved it from losing Its engine and transmission and funded its restoraGon, has decided to let it go to a new owner. But our Packard family will not shrink in size when “Bones” finds a new home. We recently purchased a 1951 200 sedan, all-­‐original, and I have also traded for a 1953 limousine. 7 FAMILY REUNION? By: Mike Grimes In the final days of December 1950, Mr. Joesph B. Spitler took delivery of his beauGful black 1951 Patrician 400 at the Packard factory in Detroit. This factory delivery was set up by The Henney Motor Company. You see, Mr. Spitler served his community in Montoursville, Pennsylvania by owning the local funeral home. Of course the purchase of this Partrican 400 was a significant investment for Mr. Spitler as was the purchase of the 1951 Henney hearse that was also delivered that December. Given the tax laws at that Gme, I’m sure it was not just circumstance that caused the purchase of over $10,000 of Packard livery that December. In the picture above is Mike Grimes’ Matador Maroon 1951 Patrician 400, Gtled in Pennsylvania on December 29, 1950 and the Musgroves’ 1951 Henney, also originally Gtled in Pennsylvania. Examining the data plate on the Maroon Patrician 400 we discover that it leh the factory with black paint. Could it be that these two Packards shared the same garage over 60 years ago? If those Packards could speak to us, what would they say? 8 National Packard Museum Warren, Ohio Birthplace of Packard All of these vehicles and many more are currently on display along side some 30 vintage motorcycles through the end of May. By Mary Ann Porinchak Thanks for the generosity of our friends and donors; we 9inished the construction of the museum’s expansion program debt free. The real work begins now as we implement our plans within the con9ines of our new and expanded budget. This is your museum; some see and experience Packard history. Glenn Malme of Downey, California recently donated his 1956 Caribbean convertible to the museum. Finished in its original Dover white, Scottish heather, and Maltese gray, it was sold new in 1956 by Hack Motor Company of Painesville, Ohio to Mr. David Rollins. Mr. Malme purchased the car when he was only 19 years old and the car had accumulated just 15,000 miles to that point. He has maintained the Packard in its original condition. Dick and Evie Best have loaned the museum their 1932 Packard 902 series Standard Eight 5 passenger coupe, which Evie affectionately refers to as her “pink Packard”. Mrs. Lida Kroehle of Warren, Ohio has kindly loaned the museum the 1955 Packard Clipper Panama hardtop that was one of her late husband’s favorite cars. This Packard has been exhibited in every one of the museum’s annual shows. Long-­‐time museum member and friend, Jim Economos was thrilled to loan his 1937 Business Coupe Model 115C. Jim has owned the car since 1975. A relative found the car at a Youngstown antique dealer. Jim paid $1,000 for the car, 9illed it with gasoline, checked the oil level, jumped the battery and drove it home to Warren. 9 Beginning in June and running through July 9, 2011, Dick and Evie Best have inspired the exhibiGon of Micro Cars. This exhibit will feature three-­‐
wheeled cars that were built from 1915 into the 1950’s as a means of inexpensive transportaGon for a single passenger/driver. Vehicles scheduled to be displayed include a 1927 Morgan Jap Cyclecar, a 1915 Ritz in primer, a 1937 Bantam Pickup Truck, a 1941 Crosley covered wagon, a 1957 BMW IseFa 300cc, a 1955 MesserschmiF and a 1957 LambreFa. The Museum’s 2011 annual car show is Gtled “Packard for the People” and is scheduled July 19 – 24. The car show events kick off with an AutomoGve RestoraGon Workshop presented in conjuncGon with Kent State University. Presenters will include Jerry Vinarcik, owner of “Yesterday’s Radio”, Guy Shivley of “Guy Shivley’s Graphics” with other sessions in metal forming and FabricaGon. Robert Lichty, former president of the Lincoln Highway AssociaGon, will deliver a presentaGon Gtled “Henry Joy, Packard Automobiles, and the Development of the Lincoln Highway”. 10 National Packard Museum (cont’d)
This is your museum. Help us ensure the Legacy lives on by becoming a member, joining 500 For The Future, Buying a Brick, Buying a Collector’s Corridor Plaque, Becoming a Super 8 member, and supporGng our shows and events. StarGng with 7,500 square feet the museum is now housed in 22,000 square feet. As a 501 (c) (3) non profit organizaGon, our operaGons are not funded by the city of Warren or any large trust. We simply depend on the generosity of people who enjoy and promote Packard’s many achievements. To insure that our museum remains on solid financial fooGng, we must raise $2.5 million for the Endowment that will generate the necessary funds to maintain and fund our operaGons. Join us in this effort by supporGng the museum with your contribuGons and your parGcipaGon. LSP Members on the National Stage
Supina’a at the 100th Anniversary of the Indy 500
Bob and Gail on the oval with their 1937 LeBaron passing a 1948 Tucker on the final turn… creaGng another “First” at the Indy 500. Bob and Gail leave the Tucker in the dust…more on this really unique event in the next issue. We wish to extend a heartelt thank you to all Texas Packard AssociaGon members who have already given so generously and who have extended such a warm welcome to us in Salado! NaGonal Packard Museum 1899 Mahoning Avenue NW Warren, Ohio 44483 Phone: 330.394.1899 Email: [email protected] Visit: www.packardmuseum.org 11 Richard and Irina Mitchell’s 1930 Stutz Lancefield
Supercharged Coupe Wins Its Class at Amelia Island
12 HENNEY’S “THE ONE FOR “51” By: Mike Grimes On October 23, 1950, The Henney Motor Company announced the first complete redesign of its models since the Spring of 1947 when the models based on the 22nd Series Packard were introduced. To create further differenGaGon in this new product, Henney hired the renowned industrial designer Richard Arbib (also of Caribbean fame) to style this new generaGon of professional cars. Recognized by the Society of MoGon Picture Art Directors as the most beauGful car of the year, Arbib was building on a great design created by the team at Packard. Arbib took full advantage of the low fender lines and introduced wrap-­‐around windows in the rear quarter panel. In the 1951 model year, Packard sales of new cars reached 100,312 units, a market share of 1.8%. With the first redesign since 1947, Henney’s 1951 model year sales reached 401 units, a 9.6% share of the professional car market. Henney’s price points started with an entry level of $6,760 and a fully loaded hearse that sold for $8,335. With 3-­‐way servicing and LevelDraulic, Henney was “The One for 51”. And Now A Word From Our
Sponsors…
[email protected] Graphics and ProducKon by Willowbrook 281.890.0200 13 1-­‐800-­‐472-­‐2573 14 LSP MARKETPLACE THE OWNER’S MANUAL
PUBLISHED BY THE LONE STAR PACKARDS
JERRY EHRMAN has the following parts for sale from a 1951 Clipper 4 door: All 4 doors-­‐-­‐front doors fit all 24th and 25th series -­‐-­‐rear doors fit 24th and 25th series Clipper and Clipper Deluxe * Front fenders-­‐-­‐fit all 24th thru 54 series * Door hinges for all four doors * Interior window moldings for windshield, rear window and all doors * Set of headliner retainer bows Contact InformaGon: 6202 Soaring Forrest Drive Orange, Texas 77632 409-­‐882-­‐9650 (If no answer, leave a message) DALE MUSGROVE has the following for sale: ­ 1951 and 1952 Cormorant with Base, Very Good; $150 each ­ 1956 Senior Parking Lamps, Good Driver CondiGon; $100 for the pair ­ 1955/56 Four Barrel Intake Manifold; $50 ­ 1955/56 Driver Side Exhaust Manifold, Very Good; $45 ­ 1955 Four Barrel Carburetor Core; $50 ­ 1955/56 Used Pair of Cylinder Heads; $100 ­ I have a lot of trim and body parts for 1951-­‐1956 Packards and Clippers Please call for more informaGon. Dale Musgrove Email: [email protected] Home: 281-­‐934-­‐1335 Cell: 713-­‐302-­‐8797 Lone Star Packards was chartered by Packard Automobile Classics (PAC) in 1964. Our charter requires that Lone Star Packard members also be members of the PAC. For informaGon, please contact our Treasurer. 15 The Owner’s Manual is published quarterly. Editorial offices are at 144 Red Sable Dr; The Woodlands, TX 77380; 281.793.3377; [email protected] www.lonestarpackards.com
Winter 2011
Volume 46, Number 1
Regional Officers: Director:
Ben Carter 281.341.6595 Asst. Director: Tommy Baccaro 281.338.0156 Treasurer:
Rich Trokey 281.371.0498 Secretary:
Karen Trokey 281.371.0498 Membership:
Bill Kendall 281.497.4545 AcGviGes:
Robby Markman 281.752.0098 Technical:
Bernie Stebenne (to 1942) 281.347.3746 Tom Timmins 281.338.1967 Technical:
John Lortz (Postwar) 281.354.4034 Gene Oeding 713.941.5047 NewsleFer:
Mike Grimes 281.793.3377 Historians:
Carol Baccaro Anthony Baccaro May Birthdays: 4 Vivian Lortz 7 Chris Baccaro 12 Sharon Kendall 14 Zoe Baccaro 22 Jamie Baccaro Calendar of Events: June 2-­‐5: Euro Packard Meet VIII; Normandy, France June 12: “Cars & Stars” at The Packard Proving Grounds July 11-­‐16: 46th Packard AutomoGve Classic Meet; Galena, IL July 20-­‐24: 22nd Annual NaGonal Packard Museum Car Show; “Packard for the People”; Warren, OH Sept 11-­‐15: Annual Henry Joy Tour; Clinton, NJ Oct. 5-­‐8: AACA Meet and Car Show; Hershey, PA Nov. 10-­‐13: 1st Annual Packard Laughlin River Fun Run; Laughlin, NV Sponsored by www.PackardInfo.com September 12-­‐21, 2012: 47th Annual PAC Meet June Birthdays: 7 Robby Markman 30 Jim Hollingsworth July Birthdays: 5 Maya Baccaro 10 George Becker 25 Maureen Carlson 31 Shirley Darrow 16