1930 Packard Series 734 Eight Speedster Runabout

Packard unveiled the 734 Speedster in 1930 and was the brainchild of Col. Jesse Vincent, Packard's vice president of engineering. Essentially a factory hot rod, it was built atop a shortened and narrowed DeLuxe Eight chassis, and equipped with 19-inch wheels, finned brake drums, a high-speed rear end, and a tuned 385 cubic-inch eight-cylinder engine. Featuring an optional high-compression head, a Detroit Lubricator carburetor, hemispherical combustion chambers, and a ribbed exhaust manifold, the Speedster offered an impressive 145 horsepower. This made the Packard 734 the most powerful American car available to the public in 1930, behind the Duesenberg Model J.

The Packard 734 Speedster could achieve 60 mph in second gear and had a top speed that exceeded 100 mph.

The Packard 734 was offered in five distinct body styles including the Runabout, Phaeton, Victoria, Sedan, and Roadster.

In 1929, Colonel Jesse Vincent had a one-off speedster constructed to prove the benefits of a lightweight vehicle mated to a potent powerplant. The result was a car that could exceed 109 mph, which was an astonishing accomplishment at the time. Alvan Macauley, the Packard chief at the time, was impressed and commissioned the 734 Speedster Series.

This example is a Speedster Runabout with a boat tail rear end. Building in this configuration reduced the overall weight of the vehicle by around 455 pounds. Under the hood, the stock 106 horsepower engine was given a twin throat carburetor, high compression head, and a finned exhaust manifold, among other improvements. The result was an increase from 106 to 145 bhp.

This Runabout has body number 442-23 and was sold new to A. McClure 'Mac' Halley of Brooklyn, New York. In period, the car was finished in a single dark color and outfitted with painted wire wheels, chromed spare covers, French-made Marchal headlamps, a radiator cap-mounted tachometer, a clip-on V-shaped radiator grille guard, running board footman loops, a monogram on the door, and a variety of auxiliary lights and horns.

At some time prior to WWII, Mr. Halley sold his 734 Speedster to Leo Pavelle of Mount Vernon, New York, who kept the car until 1942, when it was sold to Ralph Stein. Mr. Stein retained the car for about a year. The next owner was John Putch of Shreveport, Louisiana, who acquired it around 1948 from his local filling station and kept it for nearly two decades. In 1967, he sold the car to William Carney of Kansas, how later sold it to an owner in Wisconsin and then, in the mid-1970s, made its way to Southern California, where it joined Barry Hon's collection.

The Packard returned to the East Coast by 1981, when it was sold to Peter Bogren of Massachusetts, and then resided in the Grand Manor Classic Car Museum in Glen, New Hampshire, in the late 1980s. The next caretaker was Tom Hollfelder, who had the car displayed at the Packard International Grand Salon in 1990, where it was displayed in the Circle of Champions. He also drove it in the 1994 California Mille.

In 2001, Mr. Hollfelder sold the car at Christie's Pebble Beach Auction to Otis Chandler who put it on display at the Chandler Vintage Museum of Transportation and Wildlife in Oxnard, California, until 2004. In 2004, it came into the care of its current caretaker, who entrusted the Packard to the tone Barn Automobile Restoration in Vienna, New Jersey, for a complete show-quality restoration. It was refinished in dark green, highlighted by tan leather upholstery, and equipped with period Woodlite headlamps. The car made its post-restoration debut at the 2006 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, where it captured First in Class C-1, American Classic Open 1925–1931.

In 2007 it won the Breitling Award for Timeless Beauty at the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance and First in Class at the 2009 Kirkland Concours d'Elegance.

Packard built just 113 examples of the 734 Speedster and just 39 were originally sold with the Runabout body. It is believed that just 18 Runabouts are known to survive, of which just eight are believed to exist today with essentially original bodywork and correct Speedster components.

By Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2019