1946 Packard Custom Super Clipper Eight Limousine

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$23,100 USD | Sold

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  • Offered from the Estate of Bob Jones
  • Packard’s longest and most luxurious offering for 1946; formidable 148-inch wheelbase draped in flowing, Art Deco style
  • Smooth, nine-main-bearing 356-cu.-in. inline-eight
  • Benefits from an engine overhaul completed in 1994 with further work in 2010, with invoices on file
  • A CCCA Full Classic
Addendum
Please note the title for this lot is in transit.

Packard dubbed its 1946 lineup the 21st series, and this Custom Super Clipper Eight Limousine was the longest, most luxurious, and most powerful car in the fleet. Rakish pre-war Clipper styling carried through largely unchanged. Still, Packard touted refinements to its first post-war models made possible by newfound knowledge from the company's wartime manufacturing efforts.

Packard engines powered allied forces by sea and by air. The company produced over 13,000 12-cylinder marine engines for fast patrol torpedo, or PT, boats and over 56,000 license-built Rolls Royce Merlins designated the Packard V-1650. The supercharged V-12 aircraft engines lifted British Spitfire fighters, Lancaster bombers, and perhaps most notably, the North American P-51 Mustang into the skies.

The limousine rode on the 148-inch-wheelbase extended chassis that Packard reserved for its prestige class. Signature fade-away fenders accentuate sweeping body lines, and the long hood provides abundant space for the famously smooth Packard Super Eight engine. While not nearly as powerful as the 1,400-horsepower V-1650, the 356-cubic-inch straight-eight was factory-rated for 165 horsepower at a leisurely 3,600 rpm. A nine-bearing crankshaft, inherent primary and secondary balance, and hydraulic valve lifters made for near-silent running, and the engine channels power through an overdrive transmission. Safe-T-Flex suspension promised a full-cushioned ride on any road with a fifth shock absorber that quelled side-to-side oscillations.

This Custom Super Clipper was a past participant in Antique Automobile Club of America and Classic Car Club of America (CCCA) events as an approved Full Classic, and the limousine holds Milestone car status from the Vintage Motor Car Club of America, formerly known as the Veteran Motor Car Club of America and The Milestone Car Society.

The Packard previously underwent a comprehensive body-off-frame restoration and engine overhaul with extensive use of genuine new old stock Packard parts; an engine inspection and further work was completed in 2010. The restoration shows signs of age and wear, including most notably on the front chauffeur's seat. The Packard is offered with documentation and invoices for work performed.