President s Message Steve Ross

Transcription

1 San Diego Region President s Message Steve Ross The time has flashed by in a microsecond, as usual, and I am always amazed. It has been a great Packard spring and summer for the club. We have had some super events for us to enjoy. I have had a fantastic time with our Packard automobiles and the Packard folk this year. We have just completed what we like to call our show piece event of the year, Crusin Grand. We had a parade down Grand Avenue, a rallye and awards along with loads of fun with our Pierce-Arrow friends and fellow automobile enthusiasts. I am sure you have noticed how appreciative and interested that the public is of our vintage automobiles that are so much a part of our American History. Crusin Grand weekend continued with a rallye through the dams in North San Diego County. The Rallye was appropriately named the Dam Rallye. Photos and a narration of this fun filled event appear in this Predictor. This show case Packard weekend was planned, organized and hosted by Mark Burnside and Syd Kirkland. This is a significant undertaking. A BIG PACKARD THANK YOU TO Mark and Syd! I hope that many of you were fortunate enough to attend SpeedFest at the North Island Naval Air Station either Saturday or Sunday September 24 and 25. This not only a very nice car show but an opportunity to visit the Pits, talk to the drivers and watch the mechanics getting the cars ready for the races. Watch future Predictor s for more about this vintage race car event and photos. So, what is up for the rest of the year? We have a San Diego Police Museum and an old highway 80 tour. These promise to be not only fun things to do but informative and even educational. Until next month happy Packarding And Remember if you ain t havin fun you ain t doin it right. Volume 48 Issue 9 October 2011 Published: Inside this issue President s Message 1 Ads 2 Packard Tour Announcement 3,4 Packards and Airplanes 5 Packards and Pebble Beach 6,7 DAM Rallye 8,9 Pebble Beach 10 Crusing Grand Packard Event Calendar President/Treasurer Steve Ross (619) inewsx@sbcglobal.net Vice President Ron Steffey ccaptron@aol.com Secretary/Historian Brian Wagner wagnerindy@sbcglobal.net Membership Karl Ramsing kpramsing@sbcglobal.net (760) Projects Paul Santy pjsanty@sbcglobal.net (760) Webmaster Mark Burnside markburnside@cox.net Tour Director Richard Schauer packard1934@sbcglobal.net (760) Newsletter Kira Campana Kcampana9192@gmail.com Website: packardsandiego.org Find P.I. San Diego information, links to P.I. Chapters & P.I. National Events

2 FOR SALE CARS AND PARTS 38 Opera CPE Model 110. In running condition, was restored about 40 years ago $15,000 Tony Paradowski /11 56 Packard Patrician sedan, ext. blue, int. blue, good condition, $8,500; , 4/11 22 Packard Touring, ext. deep royal blue, int. black, straight six, easily started, #30396, $45,990; , specialtysales.com 4/11 Members: Your Board needs your Recommended Services/Parts persons or firms that you have had favorable dealings with during restoration and preservation of your Packards. Please send person/firm (name/address/phone number) to Mark Burnside at where he will post this on our updated website. We are also accumulating a list to publish for your use Karl Ramsing Losing garage space, must sell: 55 Super Clipper Constellation 55 Super Clipper Constellation 56 Clipper Deluxe (not complete) 57 57L-P8 Clipper Donald Smith, rd St., San Diego, CA Packard Super Coupe, maroon, o.d., sidemounts, trunk rack, restored CA car, $58,500 Tom at /11 51 Packard Patrician 400, black, rust free, good chrome, original headliner & upholstery, recent mechanical repairs, $17,000; , rjmatthews@comcast.net 5/11 For P.I. San Diego Members: Do you have a collector car or parts for sale? To place an ad in our newsletter, send an to Kira Campana at kcampana9192@gmail.com If you have an address at home or work, but get your newsletter by regular mail, Kira Campana to be placed on our list. 38 Packard six 4 dr not running, complete, not bad, engine cranks on starter-good oil pres. No compression. Includes extra parts. #3500 or offer. C D Finney /11 49 Packard Custom 8, Sednet. repainted Packard Blue, 3 speed with Overdrive, renewed gas tank, new battery. Original interior $20,500 Irvine, California, Tel: (949) , 7/11 48 Packard Patrician. Interior has been re-done /11 55 Packard 400 Hardtop, engine runs, excellent sheet metal, torsion suspension works, located in SoCal; Gil at /11 53 Packard 300 Cavalier. $2500 Call Devon /11 49 Packard Super Eight, 23 rd Series, blue, engine runs, excellent sheet metal, will not part out, make offer, , ask for Gil 5/11 53 Packard Convertible, black ext., white top, black/red int., chrome wires, restored southwest car, new [ hydraulics, top, drive-line, asking $38,500 Tom at / Packard parts for sale: parting out a 56 Patrician, including rebuilt engine, overdrive transmission, etc. Also parts from 55 Patrician, 56 Executive, and 56 Clipper; trunk lock assembly, two 352 c.i. engines, one 374 c.i. engine, rebuilt Chrysler 727 transmission-fits Ultra-torque for V-8 s, V-8 senior tail lights, load leveling motors, 4-barrel carb, instrument panel with gauges-probably from Executive, third member for 55 Patrician-missing left axle, plus other misc. parts. Robert Dougherty, , P.O. Box 337, Poway, CA Packard 110 Touring Sedan, side mounts, fender skirts, visor, garaged since 85, contact: msgs967@live.com 3/11 41 Packard Rollson 180 All Weather Cabriolet, CCCA National Winner, Frank Childs at ; P.I. Website 3/11 Buy Packard parts at the packardsandiego.org website 20 Packard Touring, great running and driving with no rust! With a 3 speed transmission $34,950 Beverly Hills Motor Cars /11 37 Packard 120 Convertible Coupe, trunk rack, fender skirts, recent tune-up, service and drive-line, $73,500 Tom at /11 See McLellan s Automotive History for Packard Sales Literature, Dealer Literature, Magazines, Out-of-Print Books, Manuals & Memorabilia or mclellansautomotive.com Check these two websites for Packard Information: Packardinfo.com yesterdays-cars.com/packard_clubs.htm

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4 The October Tour; A Passport Through Time For our October 22 nd tour, we are planning to join with many other car clubs and individuals in the Historic Highway 80 Corp. s Passport Through Time. This is their sixth annual event and there are always lots of interesting cars on the tour, all types and ages. Of course, our Packard s should stand out and draw a lot of attention if we can stay together. I have attached their flier that contains the application that can be sent in early or you can do it on the day of the event. The address to send the application to is: Historic Highway 80, 5005 Willows Rd., Suite 221, Alpine, CA if you do it early. The tour starts on Historic Highway 94 at Simpson s Nursery in Jamul and sign-up is from 8:00 to 9:30 AM. Because some of us live far from Jamul, I thought that we should shoot for 9:00 AM or before for us to do our sign-up and leave together about 9:15 AM if we can. We will pick up the packages of tour information there and follow the route defined by the HH80 team. They have eleven (11) Pit Stops along the way. I have two additional stops for the Packard Club. When we reach Campo, we will stop at the Stone Store Museum and Bryon Harrington, the author of a new book entitled Campo, The Forgotten Gunfight, will give us some details about that event way back in We will take a quick look around in the Museum and then travel a short distance up the road to the Leach-Johnson Ranch. It is located at 1259 Dewey Place in Campo if you need to put it into a GPS. There, lunch will be served buffet style. It will consist of a variety of finger foods, sandwiches and drinks. When we are done with lunch, we can hit the road again and continue the tour on into El Cajon via Historic Highway 80. The HH80 organizers would like the entrants to arrive before 3:00 PM at the Downtown Café in El Cajon on Main Street. Obviously, each of our members can decide to stay and participate in the closing event or take off and head home. It should be an interesting, low stress and educational outing. The temperature should be cool so we can worry less about our cars overheating. If you have questions please give me a call at or I would be interested to know a rough count of how many are planning on taking the tour. Thanks, Larry Johnson

5 PACKARDS & AIRPLANES GATHERING AT PAUMA VALLEY AIRPORT SUNDAY, NOV 6 NOON - 4P Cole Grade Road Directions: From I 15, exit east on Hwy 76, drive past PALA CASINO and as you pass PAUMA CASINO, turn right on COLE GRADE ROAD. Proceed ½ mile. Turn left into airport (Oak Tree Ranch on right) Must park Packard by 11A Lot fills with spectators quickly. A fun time to mingle with nice airplanes and fine automobiles. Contact Karl

6 PACKARDS AND PEBBLE BEACH The Pebble Beach Concours d Elegance was breath taking as usual. There were Packard s there that one will probably only view if you know the man who owns it or visit every car collection in existence or go to every auction. The two most interesting Packard s there were a 1955 Panther and a 1938 Packard Cabriolet that was delivered in Switzerland and bodied by the Swiss coach builder Graber. This Packard was at Pebble Beach in 2010 in an un-restored condition. The Packard was there this year sporting a complete body off restoration. The following is a brief history of the car. We will begin with the before and after. Taken August 2010 at Pebble Beach Taken August 2011 at Pebble Beach with current owner Paul Andrews Jr. of Fort Worth, TX The Packard in these photographs is a 1938 Packard 1601 Graber Cabriolet. This Packard was at Pebble Beach in 2010 un-restored and was on the field again at Pebble Beach this year completely restored. A description of this automobile is: A 1938 Packard model 1601 Graber Cabriolet. This unique 1938 Packard Cabriolet by the Swiss Coach builder Graber has the 4.6 liter (280CI) 8 cylinder engine on a shortened Super Eight Chassis with a 120 motor. This was done for tax purposes in Europe. First shown at the Geneva Auto Salon in 1938, this is just one of two or three Packard s that were bodied by Graber along with three Duesenbergs. This Packard was a barn find over 20 years ago but it took the better part of two decades to convince the reluctant owner to sell. The Packard has spent all of its life in Switzerland and had not been driven since At that time the car was owned by Mr. and Mrs. Walter Messerli. Mr. Messerli became ill and his wife put the car away in garage in Switzerland. Erich Traber an antique car collector in Salenstein, Switzerland bought the car in After some minor mechanical work the car ran like new again and was shown at Pebble Beach in The original color was cream or more correctly Packard Ivory. There was an article on this car in a 2010 issue of Old Car Magazine last. I have been fortunate to learn a lot more of the history of the Packard since I saw it last year. When I was on the Normandie tour with the French Packard Club in June of this year I met numerous Packard owners from France as well as Switzerland who had known of this Packard for many years. The two Swiss guys, father and son, had actually looked at the car and were in the market to buy it as were a lot of other people. As stated earlier Mrs. Messerli was not in the selling mood. She had at least twenty other cars on her property most setting outside. This Packard however, was in a stored in a shed, barn or similar facility. When I saw the car at Pebble Beach this year you might imagine my surprise and excitement. It was early in the morning and the cars were just arriving on the field. There were several guys prepping the car for the judging and they did not know where the owner was so I hung around hoping he would show up. I didn t have to wait long when Mr. Paul E. Andrews Jr., of Fort Worth Texas arrived. I told him that I had seen the Packard last year and I related to him what I had learned about the car in France. Mr. Andrews had purchased the Packard through a third party and know virtually nothing about the car so he was very interested in learning what I had been told. Paul was taking notes as I talked when a gentleman walked up and wanted to know who the owner of the Packard was. The gentleman s name was none other than Mr. Erich Traber of Salenstein, Switzerland the man who had purchased the Packard from Mrs. Messerli. Mr. Traber had the complete history of the Packard. He related to Paul and me the story of the Packard. It was delivered in France bodied by Graber and was shown at the Paris Auto show in Mr. Messerli purchased the car and took it to Switzerland. When WWII started the Packard was acquisitioned by the Swiss Army where it was a Staff Car for a Swiss General. Thus the blackout head lamps in the un-restored photos. Mrs. Messerli finally agreed to sell the Packard as the Swiss government was going to confiscated all of her automobiles because she was not complying with the environmental regulations (sound familiar?). Mr. Traber purchased the Packard and the rest is history. Mr. Traber did not indicate that he bought any of the other automobiles in the collection. Since he is an Antique Car Collector I would be surprised if he did not. I wanted to ask him a lot of questions but he and Mr. Andrews were deep in conversa-

7 tion while looking at the restoration photos. Mr. Andrews had a complete photo history of the restoration process. This Packard was completely restored in less than one year! Judge has just placed a winner s ribbon Rear view, tail lights appear to have been raised Note lower tail lights installation Anything wrong with this picture?

8 THE DAM RALLYE Mark and Syd's 1949 Miss Daisy recently returned from France Bright and early Saturday morning September 17, 2011 Packard s, Pierce-Arrows and assorted other automobiles gathered at the Westfield parking lot to begin the Great THE DAM RALLYE. The drivers and navigators were given their rallye instruction papers as well as a briefing by our Rallye Master Mark Burnside and his worthy assistant Sydney Kirkland. We had many questions to find the answer to as well stay on the route. The rallye took us through Escondido, San Diego County, Rancho Santa Fe, Valley Center and Pauma Valley. It was a beautiful day, perfect to take our vintage cars for a drive. Departing in two minute intervals to find and record data on the Dams of North San Diego and East County the drivers and navigators, filled with anticipation departed the parking lot. I have been on many tours and rallyes in San Diego County and I still see things I did not know were there and traveled roads that I did not know existed. This is one of the joys of rallyes/tours in my opinion. I think all agreed that it was a very scenic enjoyable ride. The rallye Masters were Mark Burnside and his bride Sydney Kirkland. They organized, planned, and conducted the rallye. Our hats or off to Mark and Syd and A GREAT BIG PACKARD THANK YOU to Mark and Syd. After a three hour drive (more for some) we arrived at the undisclosed location for the rallye end point which turned out to be the Lazy H in Pauma Valley. After a great lunch overlooking the garden and watching the Humming Birds an awards ceremony was held to award those drivers who were perhaps more observant than others. Coming in first place in the Packard/Pierce-Arrow category was Syd Harris and his crew of three. Syd was driving a 1930 Pierce-Arrow. The first place trophy for non Packard pre 1974 was yours truly driving a 1969 Mercedes-Benz 280SE with my sister Marilyn navigating. It was her first rallye so we struggled a bit in the beginning. I was surprised that we were not disqualified for taking too much time. Some Rallye Master s do have a heart.

9 The Burnside 1949 Limo and the Woolsey 1935 V-12 Limo. The Kings of the road. Lunch at the Lazy H It was a fantastic day, a fun rallye and we really had a great time. Hope to see you at the next tour and or rallye.

10 PEBBLE BEACH 2011 Unbeknownst to most members we enjoy inputs from a freelance, roving, caroriented reporter/photographer (tongue must be planted firmly in cheek) by the name of Jay Rees. Mr. Rees, a 45 year friend of mine (he must be dead, dumb, and blind to admit he has known me that long), is THE ONE who introduced me to the glorious Pebble Beach Concour. He never misses a chance to go. Below is his report on a beautiful unique Packard. Jay of course only knows me from the Packard Club. Nevertheless, he snapped excellent photos of the exquisite Packard AND candid shots of our illustrious president who was unabashedly drooling over this wonderful car. I swear, in the first photo Steve must be trying to convince Mr. Andrews to write him into his will. Ok I have been remiss in sending along some of the pics from PB. You may find this one of interest. PB initialed a new system of recording car model info to the unwashed rabble. I heard some negative comments amongst the crowd, but having now used it & giving it some thought, I think that it is a really neat system and it works well and has several advantages [more on this later, perhaps]. The subject automobile in the attached pics is listed in the new style PB Car Guide as being in the American Classic Open Class, entry C1-11: 1938 Packard 1601 Eight Graber Cabriolet Paul E. Andrews Jr., Fort Worth, Texas Road conditions & tax considerations led to the frequent use of Packard s shorter chassis for European custom body creations. This handsome cabriolet from the Swiss firm of Graber is built on a 127-inch wheelbase Packard Eight chassis. It is powered by the 257- cubic-inch straight eight engine developed for Packard s very successful One Twenty series. By: Richard Schauer

11 Packard Night at Escondido s Cruisin Grand - by Mark Burnside - Packards from all over Southern California converged on Escondido for the 8 th annual Packard Night at Cruisin Grand on September 16 th. In addition to our Neighbors to the North, the SoCal Region of Packards International, we were joined this year by members of the Southern California Region of the Pierce Arrow Society. The evening began at 4:45 when a caravan of 20 Packards and Pierce Arrows paraded down Escondido s Grand Avenue - all in year order. The oldest car in attendance led the parade and once again it was Dale and Debi Costanzo in their 1928 Model 526 Phaeton Open Convertible. The crowd was already in place along the route giving us thumbs-up and snapping pictures as we drove by. We concluded our parade at 5:00 when we arrived at the corner of Grand and South Broadway where we were soon parked and ready for the admiring public. All cars were backed into their spaces with those beautiful tall chrome grilles facing out onto South Broadway. And what a crowd we drew. In case you haven t yet heard, Packard Night is the third most popular night of the 26 Friday nights that Cruisin Grand is held. (Nitro Night is number one and Fire Truck Night is number 2). Once again, we packed em in - and we heard lots of ooh s and ahh s among questions asked and pictures taken of America s finest motorcars. Of the 24 Packards and Pierce Arrows in attendance all but 7 were pre-war. It was quite an impressive display with a great variety of vehicles represented: 1928 Model 526 Phaeton Open Convertible - Dale & Debbie Costanzo 1928 Packard Roadster - Wallace Goldie 1929 Packard Convertible Coupe - Karl & Peggy Ramsing 1933 Pierce Arrow Brougham 2-Door - Ralph McQuoid 1934 Packard Convertible Sedan - Doug Skeen 1934 Pierce Arrow - Wendell Shoberg 1935 Packard Twelve Limousine - Jim & Catherine Woolsey 1935 Packard Twelve 7-Passenger Sedan Tom Hamlin 1936 Packard Twelve Roadster Coupe - Jay & Dee Johnson 1937 Packard 120CD Club Sedan - David & Gayla Louzek 1937 Packard Station Sedan - Art & Linda Wesselman 1938 Pierce Arrow - Bill Sandvik 1939 Packard 120 Touring Sedan - Phil & Heather Pizzuto 1939 Packard Super Eight Sedan - Steve & Carol Ross 1939 Packard 2-Door Coupe - Bill Somsak 1940 Packard 120 Touring Sedan - Joel Patterson 1941 Packard 110 Coupe - Richard & Janice Petrosino 1947 Packard 4-Door Clipper Super Eight - Chuck Brasswell 1949 Packard Deluxe Eight Sedan - Larry & Arvilla Johnson 1949 Packard 7-Passenger Family Sedan - Steven Scott 1949 Packard Super Eight Limousine - Mark Burnside & Sydney Kirkland 1953 Packard Mayfair 2-Door Hardtop - Fred & Carol Mauck 1955 Packard Caribbean Convertible - Ron & Karen Crampton 1955 Packard Patrician Don Hull Also on display was a 1910 Locomoblie, brought to the event by a member of the Pierce Arrow Society. Perfectly restored and the only brass-era car at the event, it drew quite a crowd. Peoples Choice voting started as soon as the cars were parked. Paul Santy handed out ballots to every passerby he could stop and the voting was heavy. At 7:30 ballots were counted and the 2 top

12 vote getters were Doug Skeen s 1934 Packard Convertible Sedan and Jay & Dee Johnson s 1936 Packard Twelve Roadster Coupe. The public definitely got it right as both cars were exquisitely restored and magnificently presented. The cars were moved to the Winner s Circle on North Broadway and at 8:00 Steve Waldron, Director of Cruisin Grand, presented crystal trophies to Doug and Jay at the Award Ceremony. Each owner was given the opportunity to tell us about the history of the car and its restoration. By that point, it had become darker than dark and the event was sadly already over - time for us to head home (most us driving with 6-volt headlights). A big thank you goes out to San Diego Region Board Members Steve Ross, Karl Ramsing, Paul Santy, and Richard Schauer who worked hard to make this event happen. Gents, your enthusiastic and tireless efforts were appreciated by all. READY FOR PARADE PICTURES: Dee & Jay Johnson s 1936 Packard Twelve Roadster Coupe and Fred & Carol Mauck s 1953 Packard Mayfair 2-Door Hardtop Tom Hamlin s 1935 Twelve 7-passanger sedan Jim & Catherine Woolsey s 1935 Twelve Limo Steve & Carol Ross s 1939 Super Eight Touring Sedan

13 Joel Patterson s1940 Packard 120 Touring Sedan Dee & Jay Johnson s 1936 Packard Twelve Roadster Coupe in the Winner s Circle

14 2011 Event Calendar Date Region Title Location Tour Leader Sep 16 SD Cruisin Grand Packard Night Escondido Mark Burnside Sep 17 SD Rallye/Tour Escondido Steve Ross/Mark Burnside Oct 22 SD Highways 94 and 80 Tour East County Larry Johnson Nov 12 SD SD Police Museum Tour/Lunch San Diego Scott Napora/Richard Schauer Dec 4 SD Holiday Party Lazy H Steve Ross 2011 Dates For Optional Car Show Events That We Have Attended In The Past Date Event Title Location Sep Car Show/Race Coronado Speed Festival Coronado Sep 30 Cruise-In Cruisin Grand Final Night Escondido Nov 20 Parade Mother Goose Parade El Cajon