Packard’s handsome “Senior” Eights of the 1931 Eighth Series offered 20 percent more horsepower than the previous year, thanks to more efficient breathing and carburetion, as well as fully automatic Bijur chassis lubrication and a Stewart-Warner mechanical fuel pump. Two lengths of chassis were offered, the 840 and 845.

The 840 offered here is the very desirable five-passenger phaeton, a fleet open design begging for summer touring. While the vehicle number plate on the firewall is a reproduction, it identifies the car as having been originally sold by the Hon, Smithson, and Raymond dealership in Chicago. In the 1970s it was reportedly acquired from Packard enthusiast Dr. Harley Deere by his fellow Long Beach, California resident, Bob Vitz, who commissioned the well-known Bob Mosier to complete a full restoration. Mr. Mosier later recounted that the body was very straight and solid, and all correct materials were used throughout, including the properly grained leather upholstery and correct shades of maroon paint, as Mr. Vitz wanted the car to be the very finest example of its kind. It was indeed a regular award-winner, including 1st in Class at Pebble Beach in 1981, and it scored a perfect 100 points at the CCCA Far West Grand Classic that same year.

Around 1982, the phaeton was sold to longtime collector Bill Schutz, then passed in 1985 to Harold Walters of St. Louis, Missouri. It returned to the West Coast in 1987 and was purchased by the present collection several years later. While not actively used in some years, its restoration is largely holding up well—a testament to the quality of the workmanship—aside from minor paint chipping around the shut lines, and some light staining to the canvas top. The engine compartment and undercarriage show some minor soiling from use on the road.