History My Great-Grandma and Grandpa's 1947 Packard Clipper

They bought it in 1951, that's when these pictures were taken.

 

They bought a newer car in the early 60's so the Packard was parked in the mountains on our family's ranch out of site and out of mind. It didn't move again for over 46 years. The mice quickly moved in of course, destroying the upholstry, but luckily it was parked in a makeshift garage protecting most of the paint and chrome. The garage was getting old, though, about to fall in on itself, so my dad and I decided the time was right to bring it home. I took a couple weeks of leave and flew out to California.

I'll let the pictures do the talking...

 

slick pics man ! ! thats what this site was about i thought ? ?

 

My grandpa said that his dad liked to run oversize tires on his cars. These are Federal Airwing 760-15's. Surprisingly all of the tires held air except for one. We fired up the old cat and pulled it out. This was the fun part.

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Man, she looks good. So what's next?

 

It took awhile to get her on the trailer. The welds on the spool of the Harbor Freight 4 ton Come Along we bought broke after the first pull, but she got up there eventually.





Me and Dad


Here's the view out the back coming down the Mountain.
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that is haunting , kinda creepy man. like i just saw a ghost...........cool stuff indeed !

 

That is waaaaaaaay too cool man. Bringing a member of the family home

 

Stop half way down for more pics.







It took all day to get back home. Under the gas station lights.



We wanted to give her a good bath before we put her in the garage and returned the trailer, so the next morning we dropped by the local do it yourself.



The paint came out so good after we washed off the 46 years of dirt and dust. The top was still nice and black. We tested out a little bit of wax in a couple spots and it came out nice and shiny.

 

Man that is great, having your great gradparents car, and its in great shape. Whats your plans for her?

 

Nice...

 

The only thing missing is the radiator. Oh, and it turns over so smooth by hand. After we chase down a couple wires the mice got to, change the oil, and poor a little gas down the carb, I have a feeling it'll start. The service sticker on the door says that it was last serviced at a little over 68k miles, which matches the odometer.



At home in the garage.




Mission Accomplished!


The plan right now is to do the brakes first. We had to take off the passenger side drum before we pulled it on the trailer because the shoes were seized. They were down to the rivits, that could be another reason why it was parked. We are going to track down the little things, put some fresh white walls on her and see if we can get her to run. Someday I would like to do a frame off nut and bolt restoration back to her original glory, but for now she's going to be a driver.

I am back in Virginia now, were I am stationed, but I'll try and update as we go along.

Thanks, hope you enjoyed the pics and vids!

 

That is just too cool for words. Throw some gas and voltage at it and tell us it runs too! Rodded or restored it is still cool. Like finding a long time gone friend come back into your life aint it?

 

I dug out a couple of the original Packard hubcaps awhile go from the dump further up the mountain, but three of these were on the Packard when we pulled it out. Anyone recognize what they could be from?

 

You're a lucky guy. The only car related stuff that got passed down to me is my dad's personalized license plate and some books.

 

Cool!

 

I'm tempted to say those caps are Oldsmobile. There, I said it.

What a great piece of family history to enjoy for the rest of your life!
68K isn't any mileage at all for a Packard.

 

I always liked that body Packard.
Here's some inspiration maybe:

p.s. I think those hubcaps are Oldsmobile.

 

Thanks guys, I looked on google and they are indeed 1950-1953 Oldsmobile caps. Cool!

 

looks like a nice project. good luck with it.

 

Very cool story and car. Its good to see a car stay in the family. I wish I had my dad's 50 Ford he had in high school. That was his first car that he bought for $100. He went through several other cool cars. Its funny a lot of people didn't know what they had back then. Everytime I talk to him about it, he wishes he kept at least one. Sorry for rambling.

 

Wow, cool car...What part of California is you grandparent's place in? It looks like it could be near me. Good luck w/ that big Packard. It should make a great cruiser w/ a little work or could be a badass custom (see Cletus' pic) w/ a ton of work. Either way keep us posted!

 

wow, too cool. your a lucky guy. its in great condition for being parked so long. thanks for sharing, this made my day. awesome!!!

 

Bet the old girl was glad to be outta that shed. You could almost see her smile going down the road.

 

You are now the caretaker, do her proud

 

Thats cool,,thanks for sharing

 

What a great posting!! To have the same car that was in the family from so long ago. It would be a shame to do anything to it other than cleaning it up, period interior, get it running (and safe) and enjoy it. As we get older, nostalgic feeling surge at light speed. You'll see. (smiling) Keep us informed and, please, photos!!

 

What a beautiful, classy piece of American history! It's great that you have the opportunity to preserve and enjoy it.