1930 Packard Series 734 Eight Speedster Runabout

The 734 Speedster was designed to be a high-performance, robust iteration of the Packard - a driver's car. Built on the shortened Deluxe Eight wheelbase, the Speedster was rigid and dependable. Only 113 cars were built across all body styles and this example is rendered even rarer by its unusual genesis. The Heaton Packard was a 1930 Model 734 with a custom body, finished in 1932 by J.L Heaton, owner of the Packard dealership in Terre Haute, Indiana. Heaton's friend Ed Macauley, son of James Alvan Macauley, the president of Packard, was building a Speedster appropriately named the 'Macauley,' and Heaton emulated his friend's design. Facilitated by the Packard Experimental Department, Heaton incorporated various nonproduction items into his Speedster, such as chrome-plated 18-inch wheels, also used on the Twin-Six Prototype seven-passenger sedan. The finished product was, according to period photographs and caption, capable of 117 mph, and as is evident here, is a unique and resplendent example of the Packard Speedster.