1937 Packard 1508 Twelve 7-Passenger Limousine (the “Packard-Pierce”)
Few cars carry coachwork older than their chassis. The formal limousine body here began on a 1917 Pierce-Arrow, moved to a second chassis as the first wore out, and then a third, before landing on this 1937 Packard Twelve.
As James Melton recorded in his book Bright Wheels Rolling, the Packard chassis had covered roughly 3,000 miles when the body was transferred, and the same chauffeur had driven the car every mile of its life from a Pierce-Arrow showroom in 1917 through to 1950.
Melton acquired the car from Mrs. Gordon that year and presented it to his wife as a Christmas gift, and by his own account, she put it to use, with the children’s miniature cars riding in the baggage rack on the roof when they traveled.
The Packard chassis is the Model 1508, carrying a 473 CID L-head V-12 rated at 175 bhp on a 144.25-inch wheelbase. Appointments include jump seats, bud vases, and dual side-mounts with full metal covers and pedestal mirrors.
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