1933 Packard 1002 Eight Convertible Victoria

The Packard Eight was first introduced in 1924 and was the first Packard to employ four-wheel brakes. The side-valve engine offered 85 horsepower from 5.9 liters. In 1927, the engine was enlarged to 6.3 liters and a smaller 5.2-liter Standard Eight was introduced in 1929, the larger engine continuing to power the Custom and DeLuxe Eights. The latter was-renamed 'Super Eight' in 1933, by which time all Packards were given synchromesh transmissions.

This Model 1002 is built on a 136-inch platform and is one of 13 individual body styles offered by Packard. The Convertible Victoria coachwork was built by Dietrich, Inc. of Detroit Michigan.

10th Series Packard production total just 4,800 units, a far cry from the 16,613 for the 9th series, and drastically down from the nearly 55,000 sold in 1929. The 10th series would represent Packard's smallest output of the Classic era.

The Model 1002 Convertible Victoria carried a $2,780 price tag and was one of the more expensive body styles available. It is believed that fewer than 100 Convertible Victorias were produced in 1933, a small percentage of the 1,099 Eight chassis built. This example is the 39th produced.

In the mid-1960s, the car was acquired by Josiah K. Lilly, III. The car was purchased from Tom Mix. For more than 45 years this Packard has resided in the Heritage Museums & Gardens Automobile Collection, where it has for the most part been on display in their Sandwich, Massachusetts-based Museum.

The car has a period-correct radio installed in the dash.

By Daniel Vaughan | Jan 2014