The Deluxe Eight phaeton offered here was the 27th of about 30 built by Packard in 1932 and is reportedly one of seven known extant. A numbers-matching and wonderfully authentic car, including its original engine, steering gear, bodywork, and brass vehicle number plate, it was delivered in Newark, New Jersey, on 12 November 1932. Some 21 years later, it was discovered in a Garden State backyard by longtime CCCA member and noted Packard enthusiast George Jepson, who paid $35 to take it home. The car was then sold to Bennett Fishler, who restored it to original condition and drove it on a CARavan in 1955. “Before and after” shots appear in the Winter 1956 issue of The Classic Car.

Several years later, the Packard was passed to Burton Dickerman, and then, in the 1970s, it passed from Dickerman’s widow to Bill Neubig, their neighbor in Connecticut. It was acquired in 2007 by the owner previous to Mr. Smith, a fellow Floridian enthusiast who undertook a three-year-long restoration to original condition, resulting in the stunning phaeton seen today, painted a sumptuous black with a black top and contrasting burgundy leather interior, belt line, and fender welting. All of the finishes throughout are extremely well-presented and preserved, and the car would still exhibit star power at regional concours d’elegance. The odometer records 96,052 miles and is among many clear, attractive gauges set into the beautiful lacquered dashboard.

Lavishly equipped, the Packard is fitted with chrome wire wheels shod in period-correct whitewall tires, dual side-mounted spares, an accessory trunk rack, a radiator stone guard, twin horns, and the now-legendary cormorant radiator mascot (a new-for-’32 feature). The rear compartment boasts beautiful walnut finishes, including door cappings and an umbrella case at the floorboard, and an accessory windshield with folding wing windows. Further, the car is complete with a jack, as well as the expected set of side curtains and irons.

This wonderfully storied Packard, part of the CCCA since the organization’s earliest days, will no doubt be celebrated wherever it appears. Indeed, as recently as the spring of 2016, it turned many heads when Mr. Smith displayed it at a Gatsby-themed gala, benefitting the Vero Beach Museum of Art. It is ready to either be shown with pride or reintroduced to the CARavan circuit after a half century of absence.