To Be OFFERED AT AUCTION WITHOUT RESERVE at RM Sothebys' Arizona
event, 17 - 18 January 2019.
Estimate:
$180,000 - $240,000
- Formerly of the S. Ray Miller collection
- Sophisticated prestige phaeton
- Smooth Super Eight power
Packard greatly expanded its catalogue for 1934, from six models on
five wheelbases to six wheelbases and a full nine different models.
New fender contours graced this Eleventh Series, the fronts curving
downward nearly to the front bumper, which themselves were heavier.
Other changes were more subtle: hood door handles, radiator caps,
running boards, better upholstery, and a fuel filler integrated
into the left taillamp. In the engine compartment, there was a new
oil cooler and an oil filter was installed. Provision was made for
an optional radio, which necessitated a larger generator. The long,
147-in. wheelbase became available in the Super Eight series, and
with it a line of catalogued custom bodies from LeBaron and
Dietrich.
Among the 13 standard bodies offered on the three different Super
Eight chassis was the four-passenger phaeton, as Packard called its
touring car. Seating two in the cockpit, it had a rear seat wide
enough for three, although it was considered a four-passenger car.
The same basic body, with a counterbalanced rear cowl, was called
"Sport Phaeton."
Formerly in the S. Ray Miller collection in Elkhart, Indiana, this
car was acquired by the current owner in 2004. The car has a thread
of history from new, having been originally purchased from the F.B.
Francis dealership by Peter M. Hacket of Foxcroft, Pennsylvania. An
importer by profession, Mr. Hacket sold it two years later to Bill
Blakeley of the Chester Cambridge Bank in Chester, Pennsylvania.
Blakeley kept it until 1941, when it went to Joseph Sacks in
Delaware, who sold it to W.W. Portz in 1954. After a few changes of
ownership it was purchased by Bruce Robinson of Oil City,
Pennsylvania, who kept it for many years. In his ownership, then
painted two-tone green, it achieved AACA and CCCA National First
awards. It was also designated "Outstanding Vehicle of the Year" by
the AACA.
Ray Miller bought it in 1989, having seen it advertised in club
publications in 1989. Originally beige with red pinstriping, Miller
gave the car a complete restoration by the LaVines in Nappanee,
Indiana. Completed in the 1990s, the car was finished in the
two-tone red it now wears, and was shown at the Gilmore Concours
d'Elegance at which it earned a Best in Class award.
Since acquisition by the current owner in 2004, the car has
appeared at the Meadow Brook and St. John's Concours d'Elegance,
and has been maintained in very nice condition. The Packard Super
Eight Four-Passenger Phaeton represents a rare crossbreeding of
elegance with sport. Ready for road or show field, this one is
eager to please a new owner.
To view this car and others currently consigned to this auction,
please visit the RM website at rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/az19.
