1950 Packard Eight Series 2103 Touring Sedan

In 1949, (and still in Oregon and New Jersey today), gas stations pumped gas for their customers, and there was a skill in not overfilling the tank.  Packard had to be a favorite for gas station attendants.  As a Packard gas tank was being filled, there was a whistling sound.  When the tank was full, the whistling stopped and there was no overfill.  Now the pump does this for you.

For consignment, a torpedo back pontoon fender styled Packard 2103 which was lovingly referred to as a "bathtub" type.  While this was considered futuristic, during the post-war era the 1948–1950 Packard styling was polarizing.  To some it was a sleek and blended classic with modern; others nicknamed it the "pregnant elephant".  Test driver for Modern Mechanix, Tom McCahill, referred to the newly designed Packard as "a goat" and "a dowager in a Queen Mary hat”.  This consignor stated 59,414 mile car was purchased new by our consignor's father's business partner's wife on December 22nd 1949 and when the business partner passed away in the 50's our consignor's father bought the car from the widow.  Come 1993 the car was passed down to our consignor and the rest as they say is history.  A very original example ready to be driven, shown and enjoyed and as an extra morsel of deliciousness the original bill of sale and owners manual are included with your purchase.

Exterior
A miles deep application of Grenadier Maroon bathes the exterior of this car.  It has a few areas of scratches and just chip offs, but nothing that detracts from the overall beauty of the design.  Plenty of chrome trim adorns this maroon bubble and is in mostly good condition excepting a few areas on the front and rear bumpers that have a light misting of tarnish.  Speaking of the chrome, the designers at Packard clearly couldn't get enough of it as it encompasses nearly the entire front of the car.  Multi layers of wrap arounds, steps and bars ooze class and style and chrome trimmed headlights are tucked into the top fronts of each semi-pontoon fender.  A simple stainless spear front to rear on the bulbous sides and more bright work adorns the front, rear and side wing glass.  All of this glass is clear, and Packard badged dog dish style wheel covers are shiny and clean mounted to the Grenadier Maroon 15-inch steel wheels.  

Interior
On the doors, very nice fuzzy broadcloth mixes with lower vinyl panels, with in tan.  A slight bit of chrome edging and chrome handles have bakelite bezels and the top rails of the doors are adorned with faux wood grained metal.   Inside the seating is a tan and cream striped broadcloth, and the front split back bench and rear bench with arms sit in brown vinyl covered tubs which float on rubber flooring upfront, and tan carpet on the rear.  The faux wood grained metal continues on the dash front and dash top which has a chromed bezeled instrument cluster, and massive central horizontal chromed grid radio speaker cover.  All lighting controls and blower controls are pushbuttons, lined up at the bottom of this grid and just below are cream bakelite knobs for the heater controls.  The instruments are a beautiful charcoal black backed design with hashmark circling with 3-dimensional off-white art deco styled numbers and pointers.  A tight mohair headliner in tan is seen above.

Drivetrain
An inline 288.6ci 8-cylinder engine is in an original engine bay.  Surface rust abounds on the block and head, but new spark plug wiring can be noted.  A Carter downdraft 2-barrel carburetor feeds the fossils, and a 3-speed manual selective sliding gear transmission with a 3.90 gear back end completes the drivetrain.

Undercarriage
An array of varying degrees of surface rust is seen all over the undercarriage.  None of this though appears to be impeding the structural integrity of this car, even on the rockers.  It is more a visual annoyance than anything else.  Drum brakes are all around and in front providing the quality Packard ride is an independent coil spring suspension up front, while in the back are traditional leaf springs.

Drive-Ability
A great running and driving example that starts right away and performs as it should.  These Packard's are reliable and mechanically sound.  A few frowns to note are the head and tail lighting not illuminating, the signal markers not flashing, and the brake lights not lighting.

A 2 family owned car, with the consignor having owned the car for the past 30 years after being passed down from his father.  A very clean interior, really nice paint, and an interesting design line will lead you to “ask a man who owns one”, when referring to the Packard

239256503

23-1950 Packard
925-Eight Series Touring Sedan
6503-Sequential Unit Number

Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special interest automobile showroom, featuring over 850 vehicles for sale with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle barn find collection is on display.  This vehicle is located in our showroom in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, conveniently located just 1-hour west of Philadelphia on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The website is www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888) 227-0914. Please contact us anytime for more information or to come see the vehicle in person.