1951 Henney-Packard Hearse - $2450 (Warm Springs)
Date: 2012-02-01, 11:09PM EST
Reply to: qc6mh-2830406663@sale.craigslist.org
It's been fun having this thing in the yard, but it's time to make room for something else.
First of all, check out all of the pictures at: flickr.com/photos/stevenbr549/sets/72157627918912534/with/6247732815/ . You'll have to copy and paste the link; craigslist doesn't like it when I put an active link in a listing. I have more pictures I can email you if you'd like.
This is one of 401 Henney-Packard funeral cars built in '51. It was actually a service car and has probably hauled a little bit of everything (and everyone). It's almost totally complete and surprisingly original, apart from the purple paint and plaid curtains. Being a service car, it wasn't fitted with rollers, but it does have all of the hardware that they would have attatched to. I threw a casket in it anyway.
When I bought this thing it hadn't run in 20 years. The engine turned over by hand, so I figured I had something I could work with. I pulled the plugs and filled the cylinders with transmission fluid and whatever else I had lying around and let it sit for a couple of days, just in case. I sanded the points, ran a line from the fuel pump into a gas can, stuck a 6 volt in it, and the sucker fired right up. The 327 inline flat-head 8 is a huge hunk of old iron, and it's fascinating to listen to it idling smoothly. It has a manual transmission; the shifter feels good and tight and it pulls in all gears, but the clutch does feel a little weak. The car has no brakes. I couldn't get the master cylinder to bleed, so I bought a new one (which I still haven't put on). While I was fooling with it, I shot air to the lines and I could hear the brake shoes moving, so maybe all it needs is the master cylinder. I still move it around the yard, but I have to be really careful.
As for the rest of the car, the worst of it is the rocker panels. They're rusted pretty badly. The rest of the body isn't perfect, but it's not bad at all for a 61 year old car. The frame seems to be solid, and the suspension components, etc. look okay. All of the glass is in great shape except for a crack in the windshield, which is a regular Packard 300 glass. I've seen 20 year old interiors in worse shape than this one. It's all maroon leather and all there. Of course, the seat is badly torn and a few seams have come undone, but again, it's 61 years old. A few things that surprisingly work- wipers, rear dome lights, gauges and warning lights, headlights/taillights, dash lights, and the gas pedal starter switch. I won't try to list the stuff it needs, for obvious reasons. I don't believe, however, that it would be much of a chore to get this thing road-ready.
This car isn't for everyone. But, if it's your kind of thing, give me a call- 706 881 2101. Thanks, Steven
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Don't see service car claim. More probable combination that used a skeleton rack?
Date: 2012-02-01, 11:09PM EST
Reply to: qc6mh-2830406663@sale.craigslist.org
It's been fun having this thing in the yard, but it's time to make room for something else.
First of all, check out all of the pictures at: flickr.com/photos/stevenbr549/sets/72157627918912534/with/6247732815/ . You'll have to copy and paste the link; craigslist doesn't like it when I put an active link in a listing. I have more pictures I can email you if you'd like.
This is one of 401 Henney-Packard funeral cars built in '51. It was actually a service car and has probably hauled a little bit of everything (and everyone). It's almost totally complete and surprisingly original, apart from the purple paint and plaid curtains. Being a service car, it wasn't fitted with rollers, but it does have all of the hardware that they would have attatched to. I threw a casket in it anyway.
When I bought this thing it hadn't run in 20 years. The engine turned over by hand, so I figured I had something I could work with. I pulled the plugs and filled the cylinders with transmission fluid and whatever else I had lying around and let it sit for a couple of days, just in case. I sanded the points, ran a line from the fuel pump into a gas can, stuck a 6 volt in it, and the sucker fired right up. The 327 inline flat-head 8 is a huge hunk of old iron, and it's fascinating to listen to it idling smoothly. It has a manual transmission; the shifter feels good and tight and it pulls in all gears, but the clutch does feel a little weak. The car has no brakes. I couldn't get the master cylinder to bleed, so I bought a new one (which I still haven't put on). While I was fooling with it, I shot air to the lines and I could hear the brake shoes moving, so maybe all it needs is the master cylinder. I still move it around the yard, but I have to be really careful.
As for the rest of the car, the worst of it is the rocker panels. They're rusted pretty badly. The rest of the body isn't perfect, but it's not bad at all for a 61 year old car. The frame seems to be solid, and the suspension components, etc. look okay. All of the glass is in great shape except for a crack in the windshield, which is a regular Packard 300 glass. I've seen 20 year old interiors in worse shape than this one. It's all maroon leather and all there. Of course, the seat is badly torn and a few seams have come undone, but again, it's 61 years old. A few things that surprisingly work- wipers, rear dome lights, gauges and warning lights, headlights/taillights, dash lights, and the gas pedal starter switch. I won't try to list the stuff it needs, for obvious reasons. I don't believe, however, that it would be much of a chore to get this thing road-ready.
This car isn't for everyone. But, if it's your kind of thing, give me a call- 706 881 2101. Thanks, Steven
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Don't see service car claim. More probable combination that used a skeleton rack?
