1948 Packard Eight Station Sedan

Packard was building wood-bodied station wagons prior to World War II, on both the six-cylinder 115 and eight-cylinder One-Twenty model lines. The new Clipper styling of 1941, however, was not compatible with timber construction.

When World War II came to a close, the production of the Clipper resumed, and wagons were no longer constructed. By 1949, Packard introduced its all-new 22 Series, which was a wider and lower adaptation of the sleek Clipper lines. Packard used this to build a hybrid wagon, which was a design that consisted of a steel substructure augmented by wood frames and panels on the doors and upper body.

Packard took four-door, six-passenger sedans off the production line, and the body supplier, Briggs Manufacturing Company, changed the roofline to incorporate a lift-gate and tailgate. Using ash and maple, Briggs converted the sedan into a full station wagon, with steel supports at the B-posts and D-posts.

This 1948 Eight Station Sedan is finished in its original color of Cavalier Maroon over a tan interior. The car was last restored in the mid-1990s while part of a large collection of classic cars. It was purchased by its current owner shortly thereafter.

Accessories from the factory include a driver's die and passenger's side spotlight, fog lights, an AM radio, and a heater with flow-through ventilation.

By Daniel Vaughan | Jan 2014