Vehicle Description
1934 Packard 1104 Super 8 Convertible Roadster
Early cars weren't reliable. Well, not as reliable as a horse or,
say, a good pair of boots. Fewer moving parts and no unproven ones,
you see. Getting potential customers to overcome their fears
required plenty of long-distance driving adventures for those
pioneering automakers to show off their work. Packard engineer and
foreman Tom Fetch partook in such a journey, spending two months
driving a single-cylinder, two-horsepower Packard Model F entirely
across the country in 1903. His 63-day journey in Old Pacific from
San Francisco to New York took him across large swaths of territory
where roads were only a suggestion and where locals could only
vaguely point him in the right direction. The railroads became his
navigational aid. But he arrived successfully, exhausted, as he
entered New York City. Packard, of course, was able to use that
mission to trumpet the quality, durability and reliability of its
early cars.
For consignment, an automobile built and restored ready to go and
show will allow you to travel in style, and have an air of
sophistication while doing so. Fully restored by the consigner it
was within a 6 year journey from trailering it and the boxes of
parts from Canada back to Connecticut, until driving it to shows.
Noted Packard restorer Doug Fernandez did the work, and we now have
it available for your enjoyment, and we guarantee it will take up
plenty of space in your garage. An award winner of the highest
magnitude including an AACA Nation Junior, AACA Nation Senior, AACA
President's Award, AACA Grand National Junior, AACA Grand National
Senior, CCCA Grand National Junior, CCCA Grand National Senior,
CCCA Grand National Premier as well as an AACA Zenith in 2020 and a
CCCA Pilgrim Grand National Senior 100 point winner. Now that's
some serious provenance and rightfully so with this work of
art.
Exterior
Panels, stripped down to bare metal, carefully repaired and
massaged to smooth perfection have been mig welded. Various panels
are Glavanneal, (a hot dipped steel galvanizing process using
zinc), then painted with Nordic Blue from Mitsubishi, and Jeep
Silver from Jeep. The advantage of Galvanneal is less scratching
when painted. The panels were also ceramic coated to lessen even
more the chance of scratching when wiping down. All brite work was
either rechromed or recast in stainless steel, so it shines like a
crazy diamond. A massive radiator cowl with the goddess of speed
adorning the radiator cap leads the way for a long silver cowled
hood. Vertical ribs are flanked by a single headlight on either
side, all shiny and beautiful, as well as a horn just below each. A
dual bar curved bumper is framing the bottom and this wraps around
an english wheel shaped front fender, painted in the Nordic Blue.
Spare tire covers are embedded within the fenders, and have a rear
view mirror atop each. Pinstriping in single stage red and hand
painted accent the cars edges throughout. Steel wire wheels were
blasted then powder coated in the deep red, and are wrapped by wide
whitewall tires. Running boards are solid and rust free, and
connect the front and rear curvaceous fenders. One of the largest
convertible 2 door roadsters you will encounter, it is topped with
a convertible made from blue Stayfast canvas and it's also accented
with red piping. A large spacious rumble seat is on the curved
downward trunk area. This trunk deck dives downward gracefully to
the rear of the car where it sports stalked taillights and a steel
luggage rack. A step is mounted to aid in the access to the rumble
seat. Another dual bar curved bumper brings up the rear of the car.
All in perfect condition.
Interior
5 hides of 3 oz corrected grain medium sheen with protected harder
finish in red orange leather adorn the perfect door panels. These
use lacquered burl as their upper framing and shiny knobs and
actuator reside here as well. Inside 2 overstuffed bucket seats
courtesy of Hide House in California with tuck and roll red leather
covering use some buttons as accenting. These chairs float on a sea
black carpeting. The dash is more lacquered burl and has rebuilt
gauges that reside in a central stainless steel panel. A glovebox
is noted on the passengers side and the large bakelite steering
wheel has a central burl hub with concentric chromed circular
accenting. Glass is new tinted safety glass, and the windscreen is
wiped with wipers driven by NOS wiper motors, so no waiting for
them to clear the screen! Also no stone was left unturned on this
interior restoration.
Drivetrain
Under the cowled hood resides a 384ci inline 8 cylinder engine. It
has a 1 barrel carburetor atop and a 3 speed manual transmission on
back actuated by a rebuilt clutch. The transmission is not original
to the car, but certainly correct. This engine has undergone
extensive upgrading and has some modern attachments for more
efficiency. The block is painted green, and Pertronix electronic
ignition now fires the plugs. Also noted is a new wiring harness,
electric fuel pump, battery kill switch, a rebuilt starter with a
Bendix drive, and the generator has been changed to an alternator
for better charging.
Undercarriage
Immaculate blue framing, drive shaft and rear suspension has been
painted blue. A black X frame holds it all together and is also
perfect, no dirt or leaks. Leaf springs provide the ride on all 4
corners, and vacuum assisted mechanical drum brakes are on all 4's
as well. A stainless steel exhaust is on.
Drive-Ability
I followed the instructions to a T and she fired right up, and was
off to the test track. I had never driven such a large 2 door
coupe, and it was nothing short of a spectacular experience. All
functions were working as they should, it ran smooth as silk,
handled well, and displayed excellent braking. One gets a sense of
social power driving this car, and it is really a head turner.
Winning many awards, it is still in its break in stage, so some
bolts may need to be tightened, braking adjusted eventually, and
just overall checking to be sure everything is worked in correctly.
A fabulous job with attending to every detail, and a wonderful
color combo, make this car in the category of Concours in its
quality.
Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special
interest automobile showroom, featuring over 450 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.
