MECUM Monteray-42 Packard Hearse
- Thread starter Richard Vyse
- Start date
Mike Burkhart - Deceased 1948 - 2016
December 30, 1948 - October 21, 2016
Ugh! I hate it when they do that. I'm sorry, I'm kinda a purist. But better that than the junk pile........... I don't know..
Ugh! I hate it when they do that. I'm sorry, I'm kinda a purist. But better that than the junk pile........... I don't know..
Mee too and not too bad except for the flames. But that is me!
This is a perfect example of my biggest pet peeve with modified cars. Anyone else notice something about this Packard's suspension? Look at the front end:
The suspension is a mess. They have subframed the car with a front end that's way too wide, so the front tires sit out too far. It looks bad and unprofessional. Chances are it tracks bad too because the front end is wider than the rear axle. Notice the rear wheels sit inside the fenders, yet the front tires hang out of the fenders? Imagine pulling off the street onto uneven pavement... those front tires will rub as the now independent front suspension gives as it should.
This problem always arises when someone uses a front suspension that's too wide. My other pet peeve is wheelbase... ever see a $60,000 hotrod with the wheels not centered in the fenders? I hate that, it looks cheap & my eyes are instantly drawn to it. Why spend all that money on a car and not get the wheels centered when setting up the suspension? It's not hard, all you need is a tape measure & take your time during mock-up.
This Packard is neat, but the suspension really needs help. The cars of the 1940's, no matter how big they are, are narrow. That's why front passengers are elbow-to-elbow even in a car like this. I built hotrods from the ground up for many years and was always anal about the chassis... it has to look right & feel right under you. It's a shame someone spent so much time on this Packard and didn't even go with a set of front rims with a negative offset to try and tuck them in the fenders where they belong.
The suspension is a mess. They have subframed the car with a front end that's way too wide, so the front tires sit out too far. It looks bad and unprofessional. Chances are it tracks bad too because the front end is wider than the rear axle. Notice the rear wheels sit inside the fenders, yet the front tires hang out of the fenders? Imagine pulling off the street onto uneven pavement... those front tires will rub as the now independent front suspension gives as it should.
This problem always arises when someone uses a front suspension that's too wide. My other pet peeve is wheelbase... ever see a $60,000 hotrod with the wheels not centered in the fenders? I hate that, it looks cheap & my eyes are instantly drawn to it. Why spend all that money on a car and not get the wheels centered when setting up the suspension? It's not hard, all you need is a tape measure & take your time during mock-up.
This Packard is neat, but the suspension really needs help. The cars of the 1940's, no matter how big they are, are narrow. That's why front passengers are elbow-to-elbow even in a car like this. I built hotrods from the ground up for many years and was always anal about the chassis... it has to look right & feel right under you. It's a shame someone spent so much time on this Packard and didn't even go with a set of front rims with a negative offset to try and tuck them in the fenders where they belong.
John ED Renstrom
PCS Member
most of us don't pay any attention to the car and dismiss it. but I to don't like the crammed look that most are doing. they try to buy the kit and make it the car fit it. you can buy the sub frames cheap enough but you get what you buy. had they put on the car the inboard wheels to space it in as they do on all the new cars then added the spaces to the rear to bring it out the same it would have looked like a Johnsonville brat ready to take off the grill. to make it look right they would need to split the car down the middle and add 6 to the body. or at least space out the fenders and running boards. then the big meat tires would look like they fit. noticed the same thing in our locale car show last week.
If they just left it as built, and restored it back to original, that would have been the best thing for it.. Also, it probably would have more than $20,000 bid on it.
Not my style, but it's interesting to see one come across the auction block. I'm in Monterey until tomorrow, so I'll see if I can track down the coach for a few good photos. I went to the RM auction last night, which had no professional cars, but was pretty exciting!
John Royark JR
PCS Member
Anyone know thew coachbuilder? For some reason it dont look like a Henney to me, maybe becaise of the bad camera angle.
Mike Burkhart - Deceased 1948 - 2016
December 30, 1948 - October 21, 2016
I'm nearly positive it's a Henney, given the Henney-Packard pact of that era...
John Royark JR
PCS Member
Thanks, I wasnt sure when the Henney Packard partnership went into effect.
Bill Carlin
PCS Life Member
This car is a mess. It is no longer usefull as a hearse, it's to big to drive around and enjoy as a 'toy" and it is just plain UGLY with those flames!
It is a Henney-Packard. The body is the same as my '38 Henney-Packard".
Packard and Henney partnered in 1938. No other coach builder was allowed to build on a Packard chassis after that time. Henney, however did build on other chassis in their Canada plant. Henney closed it's doors in 1954. The Henney plant in Freeport, IL is now owned by 3M.
It is a Henney-Packard. The body is the same as my '38 Henney-Packard".
Packard and Henney partnered in 1938. No other coach builder was allowed to build on a Packard chassis after that time. Henney, however did build on other chassis in their Canada plant. Henney closed it's doors in 1954. The Henney plant in Freeport, IL is now owned by 3M.
Bill Marcy
PCS Member
I have just one word to say about this piece of $%&#, YUCK!!
If you don't like it, then get out there and find one to save. This one sat in a salvage yard for 20 years.
http://mecum.com/auctions/lot_detail.cfm?LOT_ID=CA0811-113170
http://mecum.com/auctions/lot_detail.cfm?LOT_ID=CA0811-113170
Brady D Smith
PCS Life Member / PCS Past President
It WAS a Henney..
All it is now is a parts car. They ought to horse-whip whoever did that.
All it is now is a parts car. They ought to horse-whip whoever did that.
For all you nay sayers; post a pic of what you have done, along with the reciepts and shop location. I'd be glad to pic apart your work, if you even did it.
All you really have to say is you dont like it. To go into your knowledge of why you dont like it is
I'm sure when I do eventualy post pics of my 63 M&M thats being finished up, you'll find fault in whatever. I paid the bills, and I made the decisions.
All you really have to say is you dont like it. To go into your knowledge of why you dont like it is
I'm sure when I do eventualy post pics of my 63 M&M thats being finished up, you'll find fault in whatever. I paid the bills, and I made the decisions.
For all you nay sayers; post a pic of what you have done, along with the reciepts and shop location. I'd be glad to pic apart your work, if you even did it.
All you really have to say is you dont like it. To go into your knowledge of why you dont like it is
I'm sure when I do eventualy post pics of my 63 M&M thats being finished up, you'll find fault in whatever. I paid the bills, and I made the decisions.
I understand your point Russ, but I can assure you I speak from experience. Before I discovered the world of procars I built hotrods... mainly from the ground up. Many of my frames were hand fabricated using 2" x 3" box steel, front suspensions were mainly Mustang II but did use a Camaro subframe on the 1940 Chevy and even popped for a 4" dropped SuperBell straight axle for a 1935 Plymouth slantback sedan done old-school with a 327/Muncie 4-speed. Always ran Chevy small blocks in everything built.
I built all my own cars & did everything myself except paint and upholstery. Mainly I built cars during winter into "turn-key" cars for the purpose of hustling them. Build a car over winter (ran them in gray PPG sealer and no upholstery usually), cruise them all summer, then sell in the fall for a profit. Start the whole process over in winter. Did this for years and honestly got burned out on it. The money was nice and the hotrods sold well because guys like to buy them with the hard stuff done, all they need to do is pick a paint color and fabric to finish them as they please.
Didn't say I don't like the Packard, only said that the front end is a mess... and it is. It just looks "hokey" because it's not been done right. Hotrods are a whole different world than being here and being able to pick out poor chassis work is a badge I earned through years of hands-on experience. Will provide photographic proof of my work in the coming days, many of my pictures are before I had a digital camera, so it'll take some time to get them digital, post to Photobucket, and then link them here. I've built some bad@#% pro-streets and tricked out wagons.
I promise not to pick your coach apart unless you scabbed a subframe under it that's far too wide or got the rear end way off-center when you built it... but have never seen you turn out that kind of work bud.
Rocky Fluegge
PCS Member
Dwayne, i think you summed it up well, it has i messed up front end, and no i dont really like the flames. But it is nice to see some one put some money into it otherwise it might of been just a memory. It can be fixed, all it would take is some more time and bucks to have it sitting better.
Dwayne, Its hard to judge a book by its internet cover. Seen too many guys pick cars apart at car shows, who seem to never bring their car.
Would definatly enjoy some picks of some cool lookin street rods. I'm a closet fan actually.
As promised, here's a few pictures of some of my past projects. Some are in-progress, others at various stages of completion. Photobucket is really acting up & it's taken over a week to get 8 photos to upload!
First up, my high school ride. 1955 Chevy 2 door wagon, even fitted it with a fiberglass flip nose & no front bumper for an old-school look:
1964 Impala TRUE "SS" loved this car, was a mess when I found it:
First "from scratch" pro-street, a 1939 Oldsmobile 2 door sedan. My ex-father-in-law taught me frame fab on this one:
Blown 1923 T-bucket... happiest day of my life when I sold it & delivered it to Detroit:
A few more...
First drag car, built from scratch. 440 Magnum & ran 10:50's all day long, yanked the front tires 12" high off the line every time:
1935 Plymouth slantback sedan, built old-school with a 327, muncie 4-speed, and Super Bell dropped straight axle:
1960 Brookwood 2 door wagon, when I saved this one it was being used as a dog house:
1933 Willys coupe. Photo taken during mock-up. Had to narrow the Mustang rack 3" to tuck the front tires (so it didn't end up looking like this Packard)
First drag car, built from scratch. 440 Magnum & ran 10:50's all day long, yanked the front tires 12" high off the line every time:
1935 Plymouth slantback sedan, built old-school with a 327, muncie 4-speed, and Super Bell dropped straight axle:
1960 Brookwood 2 door wagon, when I saved this one it was being used as a dog house:
1933 Willys coupe. Photo taken during mock-up. Had to narrow the Mustang rack 3" to tuck the front tires (so it didn't end up looking like this Packard)