Tag Archives: Series

Thermostatic Shutters And Controlled Body Ventilation – Packard Series 1005 Custom Twelve Convertible Roadster

Leave a Reply

In 1932 Packard reintroduced V12 motors to power it’s top of the range products which like it’s V12 powered products sold up until 1923 were marketed as Twin Sixes.

Packard Series 1005 Custom Twelve Convertible Roadster, Desert Classic Concours d'Elegance, Palm Springs

In 1933 the Packard marketing department opted for the simplified “Twelve” designation for it’s 160 hp 445 cui / 7,456 cc V12 powered models the Tenth Series 1005 and 1006.

Packard Series 1005 Custom Twelve Convertible Roadster, Desert Classic Concours d'Elegance, Palm Springs

The 1005 was built on a chassis with a 142 inch wheelbase and the 1006 on a chassis with a 147 inch wheelbase.

Packard Series 1005 Custom Twelve Convertible Roadster, Desert Classic Concours d'Elegance, Palm Springs

New for 1933 were twin plane or V shaped in plan radiator cowls with colour coded shells to match the rest of the body, which on the shorter 1005 chassis was available in 10 different styles.

Packard Series 1005 Custom Twelve Convertible Roadster, Desert Classic Concours d'Elegance, Palm Springs

Also new for ’33 were the thermostatic shutters in the side bonnet / hood panels which helped keep the engine running at optimum temperatures.

Packard Series 1005 Custom Twelve Convertible Roadster, Desert Classic Concours d'Elegance, Palm Springs

The Tenth Series bodies were marketed with new controlled body ventilation to minimise unpleasant drafts within.

Packard Series 1005 Custom Twelve Convertible Roadster, Desert Classic Concours d'Elegance, Palm Springs

In all 244 Tenth Series were sold in 1933 of which 50 are believed to have been Convertible Roadster’s of which 16 are believed to have survived.

Eight weeks after a complete restoration of today’s featured Twelve was completed by Nick’s Old Car Specialties in Redlands, California it won a Best of Show at the Marin Sonoma Concours in the summer of 2013 and followed that a couple of weeks later with Automotive Best of Show honors at Dana Point, picking up a third Best in Show at the 7th Annual Desert Classic Concours d’Elegance in February 2014.

My thanks once again to Geoffrey Horton for sharing today’s photograph’s taken at the 7th Annual Desert Classic Concours d’Elegance, Palm Springs in February 2014.

Thanks for joining me on this “Thermostatic Shutters And Controlled Body Ventilation” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again for FIAT Friday tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Share

Centralised Chassis Lubrication – Packard Model 745 Deluxe Eight Club Sedan

Leave a Reply

With sales plummeting in the wake of the Wall Street Crash Packard offered three top of the range Seventh Series models in 1930.

Packard Model 745 Deluxe Eight Club Sedan, Blackhawk Museum, Danville, California,

The 733 Standard 8 and 740 Super 8 powered models were built on a 140″ wheelbase chassis, and the long wheel base 745 with Super 8 power on a 145″ wheelbase chassis as seen on today’s featured Deluxe Eight Club Sedan.

Packard Model 745 Deluxe Eight Club Sedan, Blackhawk Museum, Danville, California,

New features on the Seventh Series Models included laminated shatter proof window’s, thermostatic radiator shutters for the 106hp straight eight engine, Bijur centralised chassis lubrication, Watson shock absorbers and hypoid rear axle for a smoother and quieter ride.

Packard Model 745 Deluxe Eight Club Sedan, Blackhawk Museum, Danville, California,

Today’s featured 745 is one of 3007 such models Packard built and has a body by Ray Dietrich who’s Dietrich Inc was founded in 1925, Ray likened himself to automobiles as an architect to a building.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing these photographs taken at the Blackhawk Museum in Danville, California.

Thanks for joining me on this “Centralised Chassis Lubrication” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again for FIAT Friday tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Share

Clever Canadian – Sadler BMC Formula Junior

Leave a Reply

When Clever Canadian Bill Sadlers Dad was ready to junk the family business Sadler Auto Electric 1939 Austin panel van Bill asked to take on the vehicle he had been delivering parts with and turned it into a convertible.

Later he converted his Hillman Minx to take a 150hp flathead Ford V8, the cars original brakes proved too small on his competitive debut at Watkins Glen.

Sadler BMC Formula Junior, Stephen Bulling, Autimn Classic, Castle Combe,

This led Bill to building a number of sports cars to race, he was an early adopter of both the small block Chevy V8 and the engine behind the driver layout which would become part of the formula for any half way decent Can Am car many years later.

By 1959 MENSA International member Bill was producing sports cars in small numbers when he decided to build a batch of 12 open wheel cars to the international Formula Junior specifications that were announced in 1958.

Sadler BMC Formula Junior, Stephen Bulling, Autimn Classic, Castle Combe,

The Sadler Formula Junior’s were built to a tuned version of the 1098 cc / 67 cui 46hp BMC A series engine more commonly found in Austin A35 van’s, Austin A40 Pininfarina Countryman’s, Morris Minors, Austin Healey Sprite’s, BMC’s various badge engineered 1100’s, later Mini Clubmans, Australian built Mini Mokes and Austin Allegro’s.

The engine and similarly sourced 4 speed gearbox sits in a tubular frame and is covered by an aluminium body.

Sadler BMC Formula Junior, Stephen Bulling, Autimn Classic, Castle Combe,

Details of 1959 Formula Junior races in which Sadlers took part are extremely hard to find, but by 1960 G Hag, Vic Yachuk, Ernest Donnan, James Walter and George Roberts, had all recorded starts in Sadler Formula Juniors in North America.

According to Dutchy and Steven W at The Nostalgia Forum, today’s Sadler seen in these photographs with Stephen Bulling driving at Castle Combe, was at one time driven by Canadian Dave Rodgman.

Thanks for joining me on this “Clever Canadian” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at the first in a new Sunday Healey series. Don’t forget to come back now !

Share

Narrowing Down The Options – Ferrari 250 GT Pininfarina Cabriolet Series 2

Leave a Reply

Playing the identify the Ferrari in the picture Geoffrey Horton has sent me has proved a fun challenge over the last 5 or so years and so it was with today’s featured 1960 Ferrari 250 GT Pininfarina Cabriolet Series 2 seen at the Blackhawk Museum.

Geoffrey kindly sent me a photo of the information board which identified the model but gave no details over which of the 204 Series 2 Cabriolet S2’s built between 1959 and 1962 today’s featured cars is.

Ferrari 250 GT Pininfarina Cabriolet, Blackhawk Museum

To give me a clue as to which car this might be I turned to the on line Register of Ferrari 250 GT Pininfarina Cabriolet Series 2’s published by Barchetta, which indicates that only 4 of these cars has been seen with white paintwork in recent years and all have full width front bumpers.

Of those one chassis #2737GT has a hard top and bumper overiders and so can be discounted, of the remaining three chassis #1775GT has it’s fog lights behind the decorative front grill and a tan interior and so can also be discounted.

Of the two remaining white cars chassis #1805GT can be differentiated from today’s car only by it’s tan interior which points to the possibility this car is chassis probably #1779GT which ticks all the identifying boxes available to me short of a photo of the chassis plate.

Barchetta does not have many details on the ownership of #1779GT except that the original owner appears to have been Gianni Agnelli who was of course the head of the FIAT empire.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing today’s photo, if you can confirm the identity of the car please do not hesitate to chip in below.

Thanks for joining me on this “Narrowing Down The Options” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I will be looking at a one off competition car. Don’t forget to come back now !

Share

Closing In On Packard – Cadillac Series 62 Coupé

Leave a Reply

In 1940 the Cadillac Series 62 replaced the Series 61 as the entry level model in the Cadillac line up.

Buick Series 62 Coupé, Classics at the Castle, Sherborne

Sales of 5903 torpedo bodied ’40 Series 62 models accounted for 45% of Cadillac sales.

Buick Series 62 Coupé, Classics at the Castle, Sherborne

For 1941 the Series 62 received a dramatic face lift gone was the rounded vertical grill and in came the the horizontal rectangular grill into which parking lights were incorporated.

Buick Series 62 Coupé, Classics at the Castle, Sherborne

The headights which were mounted on the wings / fenders of the ’40 Series 62 were integrated into the wings / fenders of the ’41 Series ’62.

Buick Series 62 Coupé, Classics at the Castle, Sherborne

A single rectangular louvre on the side of the bonnet / hood replaced the twin louvre’s of the older model giving the vehicle a fresher and smarter appearance.

Buick Series 62 Coupé, Classics at the Castle, Sherborne

The ’40/’41 Fisher body cars shared the same platform as the Buick Roadmaster/Super, Oldsmobile Series 90 an Pontiac Torpedo but had a 5 inch wider cabin space because the body was taken out to where the running boards were on the Buick, Olds and Pontiac models.

Buick Series 62 Coupé, Classics at the Castle, Sherborne

The 5 inches of extra width meant that the Series 62 could seat three up front and three more in the back.

Buick Series 62 Coupé, Classics at the Castle, Sherborne

All ’41 Cadillacs shared the same 5.7 litre / 346 cui L head V8 which produced 150 hp.

Buick Series 62 Coupé, Classics at the Castle, Sherborne

Sales of the ’41 more than quadrupled the previous years numbers to 24,734 which accounted for 37% of Cadillacs 62,290 sales just 7,000 short of premium market leader Packard.

Thanks for joining me on this “Closing In On Packard” edition of ‘Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Share

One and a Quarter Litre – MG YB

4 Replies

After MG had been taken over by Morris plans were made for the new acquisition to offer four ranges of vehicles , which would be become known as the “W”, “V” “S” and “Y” model lines that were to be built for sale with either 4 seat closed saloon or 4 seat open touring bodies.

MG YB, Summer Classics, Easter Compton

The smallest MG Y series was the last in the range to be developed in 1939 powered by a 1.25 litre / 76.27 cui 4 cylinder motor with a single SU carburetor.

MG YB, Summer Classics, Easter Compton

Gerald Palmer was responsible for the design of the new car whose, body draw’s heavily on the Morris Eight Series E four-door bodyshell in pressed steel but with an MG radiator grill, swept tail and wings / fenders added. The body of the MG Y was mounted on a separate chassis, one of the first to be designed with cutting edge independent front suspension.

MG YB, Summer Classics, Easter Compton

When “Y”Type was launched at the 1939 Earls Court motor show the sales literature boasted “A brilliant new Member of the famous MG breed. This new One and a Quarter Litre car perpetuates the outstanding characteristics of its successful predecessors – virile acceleration, remarkable ‘road manner,’ instant response to controls, and superb braking. A ‘lively’ car, the new One and a Quarter Litre provides higher standards of performance.”

MG YB, Summer Classics, Easter Compton

However almost soon as the model was announced plans to manufacture the MG “Y” Type had to be indefinitely postponed thanks to the commencement of the 1939 – ’45 war. Eight years after it’s first public appearance the “Y” Type went into production in 1947.

MG YB, Summer Classics, Easter Compton

In 1952 the YA saloon / sedan, was upgraded with smaller 15″ inch wheels replacing the original 16″ spec, a new Lockheed brake system, front anti roll bar and stiffer shock absorbers all round.

1031 YB saloon’s, like the 1953 model featured today, were manufactured between it’s introduction in 1952 and the end of production in 1953 when the aging “Y” Type was replaced by the MG ZA Magnatte for 1954.

Thanks for joining me on this “One and a Quarter Litre” edition of Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”. MG blogs will be returning to their usual Tuesday spot next week. I hope you will join me for Ferrari Friday tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Share

Shopping Around #2 – Cadillac 6 Window Sedan

Leave a Reply

Last week I looked at the Cadillac Series 62 4 Window Hard Top Sedan, by coincidence just after I finished preparing that blog I came across this 6 Window Sedan at Easter Compton.

Cadillac, 6 Window Sedan, Summer Classics, Easter Compton

Unsurprisingly from the front the Flat Top 4 window and six window sedans look almost identical.

Cadillac, 6 Window Sedan, Summer Classics, Easter Compton

However from the side the difference can be seen in the sloping rear roof line of the six window model.

Cadillac, 6 Window Sedan, Summer Classics, Easter Compton

It was only when I got home that I realised that today’s featured car is missing the tell tail the small badge below the arrow behind the front wheel on the front wing / fender which distinguishes a Series 62 ‘6229’ from the ‘6329’ de Ville 6 window Sedan which would be identified by small chrome ‘Cadillac de Ville’ lettering above the chrome arrow on the tail wing / fender.

Cadillac, 6 Window Sedan, Summer Classics, Easter Compton

The difference in the basic price when new between the two models was $418, if you know what the extra cost gave you apart from a difference in the badges already mentioned please chime in below.

Thanks for joining me on this “Shopping Around #2” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again for Ferrari Friday tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Share