1928 Packard Model 526 Six Runabout

This Packard Model 5-26 Runabout is one of 20 believed to have been built and was produced in August of 1927 during the first month of Packard's production for the model year. The 5-26 designation denotes Packard's 5th models series built upon a 126-inch wheelbase. Packard offered both a six- and eight-cylinder model with the more moderately priced Six outselling the Eight by a margin of four-to-one. Models changed little from the previous year, though thanks to minor improvements, the 300 cubic-inch six-cylinder engine got a boost to 81 horsepower.

While the larger eight-cylinder Packards are more typically associated with custom coachwork, the smaller six-cylinder models were also available with custom bodies. This car wears coachwork by a firm not typically associated with automobiles. Pullman was better known as a builder of railway sleeper cars, though the Chicago firm bodied custom automobiles for a period of time starting around 1919.

David Steinman and his friend Freddy discovered an ad in the Sunday morning New York Times for a 1928 Packard Convertible Coupe being sold in Delaware for $200. Despite having a combined $35 between the two of them, they decided to drive from Philadelphia to Yorklyn, Delaware, the next day. When the funds were not enough, Steinman had his parents wire additional funds to the local Western Union. Following the successful acquisition of the Packard, it was driven back to his home in Philadelphia. Mr. Steinman later restored the Packard and showed it at numerous AACA and CCCA events, eventually winning a National First Prize with it in 1957.

In the late-1980s, he sold the Packard Convertible Coupe and instantly regretted the decision. In the early 1990s, he filled the void by purchasing this example, a Packard Six Model 5-26 Runabout. Shortly after taking delivery, he began a full body-off restoration.

This Runabout was originally sold at the Los Angeles showroom of dealer Earl C. Anthony. It is believed that this Packard was featured in Buster Keaton's 1928 classic Steamboat Bill Jr., where a college girl Kitty King, portrayed by Marion Byron would drive a Packard Six.

This Packard wears a green over tan color combination in a similar fashion to an original two-tone Packard color scheme displayed in the company's Art Deco advertisements.

Mr. Steinman displayed this Packard at numerous AACA events, including The Elegance at Hershey and the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance. It received an AACA National First Prize Winner in 2013 and was later displayed at the Hershey Antique Auto Museum in Hershey, Pennsylvania, between October 2013 and October 2014.

By Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2023