O scale Motor Vehicle Chronicle March 6

Packards. "Just ask the man who owns one". Were he still around, you could ask my dad about Packards; they were the only car he would own after WWII. The last one was a 1955 400. He bought a second one in 1960 just so he could have parts.

Thanks for posting this; it's clear I need to get some Packards for the Beer Line.

The only car of my dad I remember, was his 1938 Packard 110 touring coupe (a two

door coach).  Coaches were a common choice for young families before lockable back doors and child seats, belts, etc.  I remember many Ford and Chevy coaches on the

roads when I was a kid.  People who bought Packards were generally not young families, so this cheapest body style is not common.  I am sure there are a lot of

different opinions over what caused the demise of Packard.  Mine is that I don't

think they should have followed the bulbous styling trend that began in 1942,

and that they should have jumped on the OHV V-8 engine trend in time to get the

bugs out of it before it was marketed.  Styling is always a function of personal taste,

so it is just my opinion that Packard styling after WWII consistently stunk.  They had

lost their distinction, followed styling trends (unsuccessfully), and became generic cars.  With GM using archaic side valve engines in Pontiac until 1955, Packard had

lower priced company, but as a leader with the first auto air conditioning, they should

have had modern engines much sooner.

There are a lot of reasons why Packard went bust, but to see a great big one all you need to do is look at the picture of the '54 Patrician. That thing is bone ugly, and there were plenty of better-looking cars to choose from. The obsolete power train didn't help a bit. 

Here are a few Packards from my collection. 

 Tin Wizard and Brooklin

Collectors Classics

Dinky Toy and Franklin Mint

Matchbox, both 1930

Rextoys, Army and civilian

Solido

Tin Wizard

I have only two, and both are on the layout.  

Nick and Nora Charles and the cloest I could get to the Packard they drove in some of the movies.  Nick Jr. is just visible behind his mother, and Asta is in the front seat, unseen here. 

And then this very handsome, plain Packard sedan.  

One reason why they did so well in WW2 was that they made some very good motors for various military applications.

One of the best known was their V-1650, a license-built model of the Rolls Royce 'Merlin' aircraft engine. Many P40s and P-51 fighters in WW2 had Packard engines powering them, along with lesser numbers of other fighters and bombers. Even some British aircraft carried Packards.

Packard also built different models of V-12s for use in PT boats, where they served well on water, too.

As no guidebook exists for every post war piece of three rail, nominally O gauge,

rolling stock manufactured (all mfrs.) to date, alphabetically listed by roadname (I want one), I am sure there is not one for nominally 1/43rd models/toys (1/43-1/50, every obscure mfr.), also alphabetically listed by prototype marque, AND listed by year of prototype.  Then you would have a clue as for what to waste your time hunting.  I usually only look at Brooklin, as consistently offering pre WWII vehicles, while everything else is panning a lot of sand to find the gold. (Rextoy, too, but production

has ended and is known and finite)

My dad had tremendous respect for Packard's engines - he flew mostly bombers but his Pilot Log Book shows he flew a P-51 a few times near the end of the war/just after.  I recall him saying they were incredible airplane engines.  But he never liked Packard cars.  Not sure why.  He was an Oldsmobile man all his life.

When I was a kid right after WWII, and building warplane models was my rage at the time,  the Navy's F4U Corsair and the Lockheed? P-38 (called forktailed devil... something Teufel,  I don't remember the German word for "forktailed"), were thought, by me, at least, to be the fastest fighters of the war (in airplane races after the war, to which I  paid little attention, I seem to remember the P-51 as popular).  But what engines did the P-38 and Corsair use?

The P-38 had Allison V-12s I think, at least at first.  Not sure later int he war.

The Corsair had a big double row radial by Pratt and Whitney.  

My dad had flown B-25s and 26s and had a military rating for anything non-jet that was single or twin-engined, but he did not like to fly the P-38.  He told me the P-38 was difficult to fly.    Not to control, apparently it was a delight aerodynamically, but there were a ton of manual adjustments the pilot had to remember before going to full power, etc., apparently you had adjust fuel-air mixture, and spark advance manually in order to ope the throttle all the way, and the plane was very fussy about it, and it was a lot of memorize and do.   It could take ten seconds to go to full power in an emergency.  Among fighters my dad liked the P-47 much more than the P-38, the 47 had an engine like the Corsair.  My dad never flew a Corsair, but my uncle, his older brother was a Navy pilot, and flew them a lot.  He always insisted it was the best plane of the war - on all sides.

Welcome back, Richard!  Love your column.  Packards have made their mark on my 1950 layout.  Must have at least a 1/2 dozen of them ranging from 1938 to about 1949, just before the "cigar box" shape models in 1951.  As I recall from when I was a kid, Packards were not all that rare.  Seems to me that you'd see them about as often as you would Cadillacs.  On the other hand, Lincolns and Imperials were more rare. 

Packard was certainly active during WWII, (as they were during WWI) making aircraft engines, plus PT boat engines.  I had a friend that had one of those 2,500 cu in V-12's from a PT boat installed in a 1931 Hackercraft 40' runabout.  The boat could actually get up to about 70MPH, although it was pretty skittery at those speeds.  Ultimately that engine was removed, the original Packard from 1919, rebuilt from an aircraft motor to marine use, was rebuilt and reinstalled in the boat and I understand that it is now up in Minnesota on Lake Minetonka.   That engine when it runs doesn't make noise:  it makes music!

Paul Fischer

One of my dreams is to own a Packard 120. Right now it's more of a pipe dream, but maybe someday.

Jeff C