1937 Packard 1507 Twelve Coupe

Packard offered three different wheelbase lengths for the Twelve chassis for 1937 and thirteen different coachwork styles. Updated from the Fourteenth Series, these new Fifteenth Series Packards wore an even more rakishly angled radiator, redesigned bumpers, and front and rear doors that both opened from the center. The Senior modes' technical innovations included the company's first use of independent front suspension and hydraulic brakes with centrifuse drums.

It is believed that fewer than fifty examples of the 15th Series Twelve chassis were clothed by the factory with 2/4-passenger coupe coachwork. This particular example has Trippe lights, a radio, a deluxe heater with defroster, and a rumble seat. It was sold new by the Packard Motor Company of Delaware to Wilmington resident William Fenn. Frank Ewing acquired it in 1939, and he parked it around 1941 for a prolonged period of storage that lasted until July 1970.

After nearly thirty years of slumber, the car was acquired by Harold and Betty Bujwit of Lowell, Indiana. Jeff Peace of Lafayette, Indiana, purchased the car in 1984, and five years later, he sourced new gears (with the final drive ratio modified to 3.58:1) from the Hill and Vaughn for a rebuild of the rear end.

Chad and Barbara Hunt of Saratoga, California, purchased the car in 1989 and reportedly commissioned a body-off restoration and engine rebuild. After the work was completed, the car won first prize at a Packard National Meet. It is believed that the car was owned by two additional caretakers before it came into the care of its current Connecticut-based owner in 2018. In late 2020, marque specialist Parker's Packards was retained for mechanical freshening, which included a rebuild of the front brakes and shock absorbers.

Since the 1990s restoration, it is believed that this Packard has accrued roughly 1,000 miles.

By Daniel Vaughan | Feb 2024