Beschreibung:

106 horsepower 385 cubic inch Inline 8-Cylinder Engine 4-Speed Manual Transmission 4-Wheel Mechanical Drum Brakes Live Axle Suspension with Semi-Elliptical Leaf Springs 145½ inch wheelbase *Optional Pilot Ray Headlamps *Restored to Concours Quality *French built coachwork by Proux THE PACKARD DELUXE EIGHT Packard was not bound by the conventions in the auto industry. It, with great justification, set its own standards both in its automobiles and in the way it presented them. Packard didn't have model years, that was for the mass market manufacturers hoping to entice car owners to trade up for the newest, if little different, models to keep production lines running. Packard presented its cars in Series, not model years. It created the impression that Packard made changes to its prestigious automobiles only when Packard thought they were important enough to be warranted. By the late Twenties, however, Packard was making annual changes. They were still presented as new Packard series but they came annually. It did preserve the illusion, however, by choosing its own introduction dates, usually in summer. That had the advantage of giving the new Packard series a period without competition from other marques' new models. In 1929 for the introduction of the Seventh Series it had one further advantage. The August 20 formal introduction gave Packard's Seventh Series models two months more time in the market before the stock market crashed in October and the new car market, even for luxury cars like Packards, began its Depression plunge. Packard's Seventh Series comprised four models, the 726 Standard Eight offered only with factory sedan coachwork, the 733 Standard Eight on a longer 134 ½ inch wheelbase with a variety of catalog coachwork, the 740 Custom Eight had a 140 ½ inch wheelbase and the 745 Deluxe Eight topped the line with 145 ½ inches between the axle centerlines. The 740 and 745 had 385 cubic inch 106hp inline eight-cylinder engine and now had a 4-speed transmission with an extra-low first gear. It was particularly useful when caught in the morning rush to Wall Street or in evening traffic on the way to the opera or a popular soirée. Eleven catalog bodies were offered on the 733, 740 and 745 models, all designed by Raymond Dietrich and built in Packard's own coachworks which turned out coachwork equal to or better than that of the prestige custom coachbuilders. A further offering of fifteen catalog customs were offered in the 745C Individual Custom line from LeBaron, Brewster, Rollston and Dietrich. Curiously, the standard 745's extra five inches of length was added to the hood, with the engines moved back five inches to preserve a common driveline with the 740. Packard built just under 1,000 Seventh Series Deluxe Eight 745 chassis. It was an embarrassment of choice to which Packard in September added another model, Col. Jesse Vincent's 734 Speedster with a high performance engine making 125 horsepower, 140 horsepower with a 6:1 high compression cylinder head. Only 112 Speedsters are believed to have been built, but some of their engine upgrades were carried over to the Eighth Series. Curiously, among the plethora of bodies offered by Packard there was no Convertible Victoria. This attractive, practical and discrete style combined seating for four with the full weather protection of rollup windows, a thick padded top folding top usually with three positions and blind quarters for privacy. A client in France apparently recognized this oversight and determined to have what Packard had overlooked, turning to Maurice Proux whose carrosserie was in Courbevoie, Paris. Proux was prolific, but during only a short period, appearing with some fanfare at the 1929 Parc des Princes Concours d'Elegance with a rather astounding seventeen well-received creations on prestige chassis including a 20CV Panhard with faux Cabriolet coachwork which won 1st Prize in its category, another Panhard with four-door sedan body and an Hispano-Suiza H6B. W