Packard introduced its 1940, or Eighteenth Series, models on August 8, 1939, well ahead of other manufacturers’ introductory dates. The company continued to divide the cars between Junior and Senior models, but the emphasis was now on the Junior models, as sales were increasingly coming from the lower end of the price spectrum. The public was the beneficiary, as the One-Ten and One-Twenty models offered legendary Packard quality for the price of a Buick, Olds, Mercury, Hudson, or DeSoto.

Despite being Packard’s lowest priced eight-cylinder line, the One-Twenty was by no means a base model. It was equipped with Packard’s 120 horsepower, 282-cubic inch straight eight and three-speed transmission, and its performance was excellent. Junior eights received new cylinder heads for improved aspiration, although their horsepower remained the same. The Convertible Sedan was very attractive and quite a value given that the $1,573 price included leather interior. A total of 28,138 One-Twenties were produced in 1940 over nine different body styles.

This elegant and stately triple-black Convertible Sedan has recently been released from two decades in a private collection in California, and it is an excellent example to use on both long-distance tours and leisurely drives. Before moving to the West Coast, the car spent time in the mid-1980s with collector Dino Drosas, from South Carolina, before passing in 1987 to Jim Sweeney, from Massachusetts and Florida, who commissioned a cosmetic restoration that was carried out in the mid-1990s.

There is a small amount of documentation accompanying this Packard, which consists of a few miscellaneous service invoices from its most recent caretaker, a Bill of Sale from 1987, and one of the surviving restoration invoices, which pertains to the interior work. Most interestingly, there is also a piece of correspondence from a member of The Packard Club to Mr. Sweeney, which refers to his then-contemplated purchase of the car.

In the letter, he states that the car has 47,000 original miles, which leads the current owner to believe that the current odometer reading of 50,597 is correct and original. He also described the car as being “one of the finest unrestored Packards that I’ve seen,” which is a testament to the minimal amount of cosmetic restoration work required in the mid-1990s and to the wonderful condition the car is presented in today.

The car has been finished in its original exterior color of Black and has largely original chrome. Its sleek look is finished by a beautiful Black leather interior and a correct Black canvas top with Red piping, which is also included on the canvas boot. The paint and panel fit are excellent, including the all-important seal between the convertible top and windows. Although the base price of this car was just $1,573, the options list, which certainly pushed the price higher, included a dash clock, a DeLuxe steering wheel, fog lights, bumper guards in the front and rear, and dual side-mounted spares with full metal covers, including correct decorative spears and pedestal mirrors. The correct original jack is also included.

The wonderful interior is commensurate with the fewer than 3,000 miles added to the odometer since restoration. As the excellent condition of the Packard is necessitated by only the replacement of the upholstery, the interior features the correct, original wood-grained dash, which has never been disassembled, and the original steering wheel, which also remains in excellent condition. The owner states that all of the instrumentation is in working order, save for the clock. Further, the engine compartment is detailed nicely, and the undercarriage is very clean. The current owner reports that the brakes operate nicely, that pushing in the clutch is “like going through warm butter,” and that the car maintained proper operating temperature even while driving in 90-degree weather.