1938 Packard Twelve Convertible Sedan

{{lr.item.text}}

$198,000 USD | Sold

{{bidding.lot.reserveStatusFormatted}}

  • Recent servicing by LaVine Restorations
  • A well-known, multiple-award winner
  • Restored to show-quality standards by George Fore

Model 1608. 175 bhp, 473.3 cu. in. L-head V-12 engine, three-speed synchromesh manual transmission, independent front suspension with coil springs, live rear axle with semi-elliptic leaf springs, and four-wheel power-assisted hydraulic drum brakes. Wheelbase: 139.5 in.

This impressive 1938 Packard Twelve Convertible Sedan was sold new by California Packard dealer Earl C. Anthony Inc. in August 1938. The car is reported to have once formed part of the famed Harrah Collection before passing through several individuals and finally arriving in its current ownership. In 1996, it received an extensive body-off-frame restoration to show-quality standards by George Fore of Fore’s Restoration. Immediately thereafter, the car was extensively shown, going on to earn an impressive string of awards.

In 1997, it received an AACA First Junior Award in Greenville, South Carolina, followed by Best in Show at the AACA North Alabama Regional show. At Hershey, the Packard received a Senior Class Award, as evidenced by badge number 19D0640, as well as the Joseph Parkin Award for the Eastern Division, an award recognizing the top Packard at the meet. It returned to the show circuit in 1998, scoring perfectly at the CCCA Spring Grand Classic in Palm Beach, Florida, in April, where it was awarded Senior Badge number 2134 for the Primary Production Class, 1937–1939. At the Packard Centennial Celebration in Warren, Ohio, the car was awarded Best in Class honors.

Shortly thereafter, the Packard was acquired by a new owner and went on to score 99.75 points at the CCCA Spring Grand Classic in Ormond Beach, Florida, where it earned a second Senior Badge, numbered 2134S. Over the next year, it won Best in Class at the PAC National Meet in Virginia, followed by Best in Class at the Hilton Head Concours d’Elegance. In its current ownership, the Packard was displayed at the 46th annual National Meet of The Packard Club in 2011, winning Best in Class and scoring 394 out of 400 points. The current owner has more recently entrusted the car to a full mechanical and engine service, performed by the highly-regarded LaVine Restorations, so that it performs as would be expected, and it has continued to be maintained in climate-controlled storage and regularly driven.

As presented, the car remains with an exceptional interior and a show-quality undercarriage. Further, it also includes such desirable period accessories as a heater, a radio, a “banjo” steering wheel, a division window, rear-seat radio controls, dual side-mounted spares, and wide whitewall tires. It is an authentic and very correct example that presents beautifully, and it has a superb restoration that will continue to be honored with awards.