1948 Packard Super Eight (2272)
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Unmolested original car - 69,618 showing on odometer
Repainted in 1960s - early 1970s - Original Interior, Chrome & Accessories
"Van Auken Co., Detroit" Grille/Bumper Guards presumably from new
327 cid Straight 8 Cylinder Packard Engine
3 Speed Column Shift Manual "on the tree" with Overdrive & Electromatic Clutch
Presumably in one collection or another since the early 1960s - see oil change stickers below

I acquired this car from the estate of the late Lester Sadoff of Sioux City, IA through an acquaintance of mine. Lester bought the car in 1980 out of a collection in Chicago, went through the brakes thoroughly, had it tuned up, put a succession of batteries in it, and drove it very little. When he died, his wife held onto it for a while, then decided to move - and the Packard wasn't coming with her!

This is what an original Packard interior looks like! Doorpanels, seats, carpet, steering wheel - all are in excellent unrestored condition.

Note the faded nylon rear seat cover on the seatback. When I received the car the seat bottom still had that same material tacked/stapled to it, ostensibly from new. I removed it to inspect the material, but left the seat back cover on to protect the top of the seat from sun fading.

The chromed pot metal frame for the license plate lamp is broken in two pieces - I have not found a replacement yet, but I do have a new lens and have restored the lamp body in my glass bead blaster and with reflective silver paint.

The original spare tire in the trunk, along with various spares.

Another shot of the rear seat area from earlier in the day!

And another shot of the front seat area from the passenger's side.

The giant hood opens to either side by moving a lever on whichever side of the dash you want to open.

The big 8 cylinder 327 engine makes 160 hp - not bad for a 55 year old car with a 2bbl Carter carburetor!

Sorry for the glare from the flash. The Top sticker is from a Packard dealership (the last one went out of business sometime during 1959!) and gives a mileage of 57,xxx. The lower two stickers are within 3,000 miles of that one. That's the best estimate of the car's history I can glean until Lester bought it. The fuel gauge and speedometer/odometer do not currently work - I am to understand that they did as recently as 2 years ago, as did the Overdrive. I suspect the two problems are interrelated. An NOS overdrive governor and kickdown switch are included with the car. I have no idea as to the proper operation of the Electromatic clutch. The service manual does not cover it, other than how to rebuild the components and that the red clutch pedal and "TRANS" button on the dash (which raises idle speed about 100rpm) indicates that everything is there. The right hand windshield has a couple of very old cracks in it. It is a flat pane of glass and can be acquired for under $100 per piece. I have the much more expensive new old stock weatherstripping and am including it with the car. The car body is dented behind the license plate bracket and in the dogleg of the left front fender. There are minor dings and scrapes in other places as you would expect from a 55 year old car. There is some putty in the rear wheel skirts but not noticeably in other areas of the body. Chrome is presentable but nowhere near perfect. Most pot metal bits are pitted as one would expect. Rust is minimal - usual small hole through the left rear wheel well in the trunk above the splash guard. The underside of the car has old surface crust but no noticeable cancer. Tires are Delta Sierra 8.15 tubeless Bias-Plies, probably 35-40 years old from the era of "wide whitewalls are ugly". They are horrible, other than that they hold air. Lights/Horns/Heater work fine, Charging system works. New battery just fitted today. Radio works but probably needs a tube. The vibrator is in good shape. Vacuum wipers work, new wiper blades fitted. Brakes were gone through over 20 years ago with DOT 5 silicone fluid. Most, if not all of the solid lines, hoses, cylinders, linings and hardware were replaced at that time. The car stops well but has a pull to either side - this may be due to the tires. I noticed today that the car gets hot - fast. I will put a thermostat in it. It also is sputtering under heavy acceleration. The carburetor may need a rebuild; I may use the new tuneup parts in the trunk and see if a fresh cap/rotor/points/condenser/coil will solve it. Maybe it's just old gas. Also included with the car - reproduction of the 46-50 Packard Service Manual, a period sunvisor, the spares in the trunk, and the aforementioned parts I have acquired.

why am I selling this car?

I lost a tremendous amount of car storage space a few months ago, and had to liquidate a lot of my potential project cars. I did not immediately get rid of this one. Rather, I parked it outside of my office door in the carport and waited to do something with it. Anything! I run a small niche vintage European car parts and restoration business, and I've had a hard enough time staying on top of other people's problems this summer and fall, let alone mine. This morning, I decided that I was tired of letting this pretty car sit idle, and moreover that it was taking up valuable space sitting where it was!

If you're new to older cars such as this - beware. This is not a 20 year old Jaguar or a 30 year old Mercedes. Immediate post war automobiles are very similar to pre-war automobiles in many respects. For one, they require constant maintenance - greasing the suspension, looking for leaks, resetting ignition points, and so on. Hence why the now-forgotten "Service Station" was so important in the day of cars such as this. This is also not a car you can just jump in - now, anyway - and drive home to Wyoming. It might make it into Williamsburg from here at the moment, and I wouldn't even guarantee that. While it is a very uniquely well preserved original specimen, it has been sitting for a LONG time. Longer than perhaps most cars have been anything but rolled sheetmetal which currently reside at the local VINTAGE CAR junkyard up the road.

That being said, it's not an ambitious restoration project as are so many cars of this era - spend the winter with this old girl and you'll have something pleasant and very very different to drive come Spring.

I am always looking for vintage SAAB 2-stroke and V4 cars in similar or better condition than this, as well as 1960s and early 1970s Cadillacs, manual transmission gas Mercedes-Benz, 4-speed manual transmission Jaguars, and prepared vintage British and European sportscars and racecars of the 1960s. If you have a good car you would like to trade, I could be interested in it. Right now due to space constraints I have to be a little picky, but the right small engine turnkey vintage racer would be very interesting to me (Austin-Healey Sprite, MG, small formula car, et.c.).

Payment is required within seven (7) days of auction close. Pickup arrangements must be made ASAP, and unless alternate arrangements are made with me PRIOR to the close of auction, car must be retrieved within fourteen (14) days of auction close. I will be happy to assist you or your shipper in picking up the car at our mutual convenience. I am located between Richmond and Williamsburg, VA in Charles City County.

Deadbeat bidders - stay away. Do not bid successfully unless you have the wherewithal to complete the transaction.

Questions? Comments? Concerns? E-mail me directly.

Thanks for looking!