1930 Packard Series 745 Deluxe Eight Convertible Victoria

The Packard cars were presented in Series, not model years. This gave the impression that Packard made changes to its automobiles only when Packard thought they were important enough to be warranted. Near the close of the 1920s, Packard was making annual changes. Packard still presented them as Series but they came annually. They kept the ruse alive by selecting their own introduction dates, usually in the summer. This gave the new Packard series a period without competition from other marques' new models.

Packard introduced the Seventh Series Packard on August 20th of 1929; this gave Packard's Seventh Series models two months more time in the market before the stock market crashed in October and the new car market, even for luxury cars like Packards, began its Depression plunge.

The Seventh Series was comprised of four models, the 726 Standard Eight offered only with factory sedan coachwork, the 733 Standard Eight on a longer 134 ½ inch wheelbase with a variety of catalog coachwork, the 740 Custom Eight had a 140 ½ inch wheelbase and the 745 Deluxe Eight topped the line with 145 ½ inches between the axle centerlines. Powering the 740 and 745 Models was a 385 cubic-inch inline eight-cylinder engine offering 106 horsepower and mated to a four-speed transmission with an extra-low first gear.

The 733, 740, and 745 models were offered on eleven catalog bodies, all designed by Raymond Dietrich and built in Packard's own coachworks. A further offering of fifteen catalog customs was offered in the 745C Individual Custom line from LeBaron, Brewster, Rollston, and Dietrich.

The standard 745's extra five inches of length was added to the hood, with the engines moved back five inches to preserve a common driveline with the 740. Packard built just under 1,000 Seventh Series Deluxe Eight 745 chassis.

In September, Packard added another model, Col. Jesse Vincent's 734 Speedster with a high-performance engine making 125 horsepower, and 140 horsepower with a 6:1 high compression cylinder head. Produced in limited quantities, just 112 Speedsters are believed to have been built, but some of their engine upgrades were carried over to the Eighth Series.

Although Packard offered a vast array of bodies, they did not offer a Convertible Victoria. It was a style that offered practical and discrete seating for four with the full weather protection of roll-up windows, a thick padded folding top usually with three positions, and blind quarters for privacy.

A client in France, seeking a Packard with a Convertible Victoria body, tasked carrosserie Maurice Proux of Courbevoie, Paris, to build him one.

The Proux company appeared with some fanfare at the 1929 Parc des Princes Concours d'Elegance with a rather astounding seventeen well-received creations on prestige chassis including a 20CV Panhard with faux Cabriolet coachwork which won 1st Prize in its category, another Panhard with four-door sedan body and a Hispano-Suiza H6B. His employment prior is not known, but the quality and craftsmanship of his coachwork suggest work at a prominent firm. After 1932, Proux's work seems to disappear, perhaps due to the Depression.

This Packard is based on an early Packard 745 chassis and has elements of Packard coachwork from a Packard Club Sedan incorporated in the passenger compartment, but with all-new steel panels. The firewall tag's number, 179021, is different from the frame's number, 179019 and Proux may have used the Club Sedan's firewall tag.

In the back is a luggage trunk nestled between the rear fenders. It is extended by dual rear-mounted spare wheels and tires, extending the length of the 745 chassis with its Continental appearance.

It is believed that this car may have been built for a concours d'elegance in Cannes. According to a former owner, Frank Miller, Jr., it may have been purchased by the French ambassador to Argentina where it remained until the 1980s when it was purchased, sight unseen, by the Millers who brought it to the States and entrusted it to Packard expert and World Championship driver Phil Hill's Hill & Vaughn for a complete restoration. The work took four years to complete. It was then put on display at the 1984 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance where it was judged First in its Class and awarded the prestigious Most Elegant Open Car. Later awards included first in class at the 1986 Classic Car Club of America Grand Classic.

In the late 1990s, the car was acquired by T.J. Day for whom a comprehensive new restoration was immediately undertaken to bring it to 100-point condition. Completed in 2000, it has a new livery with Indian Yellow body sides and Siena fenders, and a hood top. The luggage trunk is covered in complementary Umber while the cloth top and covers for the spare tires are a light Ochre. The interior is upholstered and trimmed in Beige leather with matching carpets.

Equipment includes a Packard Adonis mascot atop the triangular radiator cap that was unique in 1930 to the Packard 745 and 743, basket weave chrome radiator stone-guard, Pilot-Ray lights, and chrome wire wheels. Proux retained the Packard headlights with their crest in the shape of the top of the Packard radiator and a single Packard combination taillight that displays the same radiator top motif. Chrome wire wheels frame the Indian Yellow brake drums and are themselves set off by subtle blackwall tires.

By Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2017