1934 Packard Super 8 Coupe-Roadster 1104

1934 Packard Super 8 Coupe-Roadster 1104

We'll start this description with a picture of a magazine - why? Because this magazine from 1955 has an article about our subject '34 Packard. Not just any Packard, this very one!

They ran a road test of "3 Packards from the Past" including this 1934 Packard, George Jepson's famous '30 boat tail speedster, and Bill van Benschaten's '31 Roadster.

At that time, it was Palmer Kelly's car. I can't tell for sure if he was the original owner or not, but getting a car's history back to the 1950's is pretty far back there. The importance of this article is this - we can be 100% sure that this car started life as a Super 8 roadster! Another thing we can be sure of - it was always a good car - it was always owned by people who took care of it, and kept it up in an enthusiastic way. It was never allowed to deteriorate.

The copy mentions the delivery date of September 23'd, 1933, by the Monmouth County Packard Co, Red Bank, N.J.

And, now 53 years after that magazine article, here is the factory original body tag, with that same delivery date and dealer on it! Packard number analysts will note that the 759 is the correct body number for the roadster body style. the following 35 means the sequence number of the body.

The 1934 Packard is regarded as a true high-water mark for the Packard company – the greatest of years for the greatest of automobile manufacturers. Often, when Packard enthusiasts gather, and the merits of all Packard designs are considered in the harsh and unrelenting glare of hindsight, the 1934 Packard Super 8 is considered the ultimate 8 Cylinder Packard, the perfect combination of ultra Classic Styling elements and engineering refinement that resulted in a beautiful, graceful, powerful and easy to drive car. If we ignore for a moment the economic conditions of the era, the product being made by Packard in 1934 was unutterably superior to it’s competition, and superior to everything Packard had built before. Packard was the Luxury car market sales leader then, and it’s easy to understand the reason. If you had wealth and good taste in 1934, you were likely to be seen in a big senior Packard!

The Super Eight 384 cubic inch straight eight had been the subject of continuous improvement since 1930 – Packard’s largest 8 cylinder engine now had higher compression, dual throat downdraft carburetion, an air cleaner, automatic choke, oil rectification and temperature modulation, vibration damping, and rubber vibration isolation. This engine was smooth and powerful, developing 145 horsepower. The 3 Speed transmission was a masterpiece, with synchro-mesh gears that eliminated the annoyance of double-declutching! The brakes were big, powerful and vacuum servo assisted , undoubtedly the best mechanical braking system until that time. Even when considered today, the brakes are powerful and surefooted, and the absence of hydraulic fluid makes routine maintenance and storage a bit easier.

The level of detail and unification in the styling is spectacular – the Headlamp Lenses were deeply V’d to match the radiator shell, and the top edges of the lenses matched the Packard trademark grille lines. Even the parking lights carried this theme! The Barbed hood molding carries along the entire length of the car, giving it the effect of lengthening and lowering the car.

The car’s ride quality was dealt with in a sophisticated way as well – the giant 142 inch wheelbase reduced the impact felt by the occupants, by the simple expedient of geometry – the further away from the driver the bump is, the less jarring it is! The Tires were big soft riding Balloon 7.50 X 17’s, mounted on drop center wire wheels, the Lockrings having been eliminated in 1933. Further, a Ride Control lever adjusted the hydraulic resistance of the shocks, which allowed for a range of control from soft and easy to firm, depending on the desire of the owner.

The car in profile could not be any nicer looking!

This is an excellent old car - although it's not a show car, it's in very nice shape, with an older lacquer paint job.

Beautiful interior woodgraining and dashboard.

The woodgraining is stunning! The carpeting, however, is a little old. Ok, it's really old, and should be replaced.

Nice doorpanels.

The woodgraining is luscious.

The seats are leather, and in good condition. Not new anymore, but good.

Dash and steering wheel.

The top bows. The top fabric is getting old, and could stand to be replaced.

The Rumble seat. The kids really love this feature!

This is a section of the paint just forward of the rumble seat, showing some lacquer cracking. This is by far the worst section of the paint, I show it because most of these other photos make the paint look like new, which it isn't.

Here's the heart of the matter, the 384 cubic inch straight 8. It runs wonderfully - nice and smooth, lots of power. It's fresh from a professional tune-up, and it's really great. They ran the compression, and it is between 105 and 110 psi on all cylinders, which is a perfect factory specification reading. The oil pressure is excellent, the car runs nice and cool, between 160 and 170 degrees.

The brakes are in excellent condition, the factory power booster works exactly as it should, and it handles and steers beautifully. The transmission is lovely, the synchro's are nice, and it shifts in a superb manner. It drives so nice I am going to hate to see it go away.

Sidemounts are a great feature!

The door and panel fit on this car is excellent. The wood body structure is the original, and it reflects the excellent care this car had.

Absolutely beautiful!

Wow!

The best bodystyle on the best 8 cylinder chassis, in great colors, and with documented history !