1934 Packard Model 1101 Eight Club Sedan

320ci L-Head Inline 8-Cylinder Engine
Single Dual-Throat Carburetor
120bhp at 3,200rpm
3-Speed Manual Transmission
Front and Rear Leaf Spring Suspension
4-Wheel Drum Brakes

*Very elegant 11 series Packard
*Usable prewar classic
*Nice patina throughout
*Coming from a long-time ownership

THE 1934 PACKARD

Charles Dickens may have written "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" about the beginning of French Revolution but it applied just as well to Packard in 1934. The cars were wonderful, offered in a profusion of models, body styles and optional accessories, but the Great Depression was at its deepest and even Packard's elite clientele was not buying. It was cold comfort when Packard finished the year with 42.7% of the luxury car market. Cadillac and Lincoln were even worse off. Marmon and Peerless had called it quits in 1933. Pierce-Arrow was well on its way to going out of business.

In the 1934 luxury market Packard's accomplishment was truly remarkable, but it amounted to only 8,000 cars, and these were spread out over three different engines and five different chassis.

In addition to the inherent quality, luxury, performance and silence for which Packard was justly famous, the marque's design and styling combined conservative elegance with a hint of sporting flair. Raymond Dietrich had laid down the basic lines of Packard's cataloged and custom bodies while working for Murray Corporation subsidiary Dietrich, Inc. in the late 1920s. Ray Dietrich's concepts were embraced by Ed Macauley, who was appointed Packard's styling director in 1932 by his father – and Packard's President -- Alvan Macauley. Alexis de Sakhnoffsky joined Packard as a part-time consultant through the early 1930s, contributing his own sense of form, flow and streamlining to the development of Packard coachwork, work which was implemented with talent and skill by Werner Gubitz.

While the few remaining independent coachbuilders continued to body Packard chassis, the economy and Packard's extensive catalog of finely-styled designs kept most Packard coachwork production in their own in-house facilities. That was, as it turns out, a serendipitous consequence as the Packard coachwork of the early 1930s, and particularly 1934, is among the best of the period.

Relying on Packard's traditional buttressed grille shell, since 1932 vee-shaped with vertical blinds, complemented by vee'd headlight lenses and the "down-tick" dart-shaped shoulder molding created by Hibbard & Darrin, Packard cataloged no less than thirteen standard bodies on the prestigious 1104 Super Eight alone. Deliveries of closed sedans predominated but it is the few, very special, open 1934 Packards that are most appreciated today. The essence of classic design and quality, their appeal is timeless.

THE MOTORCAR OFFERED

In its sedan configuration, the 1101 offered here presents very well with a tasteful combination of greens on the exterior and beige on the interior. Carrying a certain patina, especially on the interior fabrics, the car keeps a very original look which can be refreshed – or not – by its new keeper.

Purchased in 1999, at the same time as the 633 from the Collection, this Packard has been equally well preserved by Mr. Jacobs whose passion for conservation clearly speaks out through the overall condition of the car.