1936 Packard Model 1408 Twelve All Weather Town Car

This Packard Twelve All-Weather Town Car is one of approximately twenty-four 1407 and 1408 chassis ordered with this formal coachwork by LeBaron for the 1935 model year. The shorter 1407 chassis were fitted with the All-Weather Town Cabriolet (Style L-294) while the 1408 chassis were given All-Weather Town Car (Style L-295), which were distinguished by their rear-hinged doors and quarter windows. This example, Packard vehicle number 295-203, was the third example produced in the limited series.

It was sold on January 28th of 1936 by the Packard Motorcar Company of Boston, Massachusetts. It sold for $6,850, some $2,000 more than the average factory-bodied 1407 Twelve. It remained on the East Coast for many years before being acquired by a collector in San Diego, California, who planned on restoring the aging car as a Dual-Cowl Phaeton. In 1992, it joined the Tom Moretti collection of automobiles. It is one of three examples known to survive.

Mr. Moretti began a five-year, body-off restoration with the goal of presenting the Packard at Pebble Beach. The car was finished in factory-correct dark blue, complemented by matching wheel covers and whitewall tires. Inside, the passenger compartment was reupholstered in blue-gray broadcloth sourced from the United Kingdom, and, in front, the driver's compartment was correctly upholstered in dark-blue leather. Other interior features include a Jaeger clock rear of the division.

The car was presented at the 1997 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance where it was featured in a competitive class of closed, custom-bodied American classics. The judges awarded the Packard with a First in Class.

In 1998, the Town Car earned First Place in Primary at the CCCA Annual Meeting, a First Place in Senior division at an Indiana Grand Classic, and a First Place in Premier division at a Michigan Grand Classic. In addition, the Town Car also won the Warshawsky Best of Show award at the Annual Meeting in San Antonio. It went on to receive Best of Show at the Burn Foundation Concours, Best Restored at the New Hampshire Concours and an AACA National First Prize. In 1999, the Town Car received the prestigious AACA President's Cup Award which honors an outstanding restoration of a 1921–1942 automobile. Other awards include a First in Class at the 2006 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance and Outstanding Formal Car at the 2010 Geneva Concours d'Elegance.

In 2012, this car was offered for sale at Gooding & Company's Scottsdale, Arizona auction. It was estimated to sell for $250,000 - $325,000. As bidding came to a close, the car had been sold for the sum of $203,500 inclusive of the buyer's premium.

By Daniel Vaughan | Feb 2012