Good morning! For today’s Friday special, I hope you’ll indulge me in a little sentimentality. Today would have been my dad’s 80th birthday, so I’ve chosen two cars that I know he would have loved, price be damned. Though, honestly, for what they are, they don’t seem all that expensive to me.
Yesterday’s classics had a lot of you taking strolls down memory lane, especially when it came to the Dodge Dart. It seems that everyone of a certain age either had one, or knew someone who did. It’s no wonder it beat out that Chevy van. Nothing against the van, of course, but it’s hard to resist the power of the Slant Six.
The Dart would be my choice as well, and personally, I’d leave the six in it. I’m not one to swap out a perfectly fine-running engine just to go a little faster. I would just spruce up the interior and enjoy it as-is.
Now, as many of you know, my dad passed away a couple of years ago, just shy of his 78th birthday. I wrote at the time about his influence on my gear-headedness, and not a day goes by that I don’t miss talking about cars (and everything else) with him. So in honor of what would have been his 80th birthday, I wanted to take a look at a couple of classics that are similar to cars he owned, and the two he always said he wanted back. I know these are anything but “shitboxes,” but we’ll get back on track on Monday. Today I just want to show you two really cool old cars that we don’t get to talk about often.
1949 Packard Eight Touring Sedan – $17,900
Engine/drivetrain: 289 cubic inch flathead inline 8, three-speed manual, RWD
Location: Sun Valley, CA
Odometer reading: 37,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
You never forget your first car, and Dad told me about his first car many times: a 1951 Packard Patrician with that famous straight-8 and an Ultramatic two-speed transmission. He told me it ran well, but burned almost as much oil as it did gasoline. The ’51 was a more modern bodystyle than this, but Dad told me he always liked this ’46-50 style, based on the pre-war Clipper design, better. He drooled over Doc Brown’s Packard convertible in Back To The Future. I know he would have liked this lovely green sedan.
Packard’s remarkable flathead inline 8 served for thirty years in various forms. By the end, it was hopelessly outdated, with everyone else having long since switched to high-horsepower overhead-valve V8s. But this big long engine had a few tricks up its sleeve; it runs so smoothly you can rest a quarter on the head while it’s idling, and it has enough torque to allow you to just leave it in high gear most of the time. This one has a three-speed manual instead of the Ultramatic. Its odometer shows only 37,000 miles, and the seller says it’s mostly original.
Modern cars may have more comfort and convenience features, but in terms of style, they can’t hold a candle to this old Packard. Just look at this dashboard. It looks like a cabin in the Queen Mary. There’s not much to it, just a speedometer, a clock, a fuel gauge, and a radio, but what more do you really need? Of course, these days, that old AM radio won’t pick up much more than talk radio, but I bet you could hide a Bluetooth receiver somewhere if you really wanted to. The upholstery is original, and immaculate, and it has plastic covers on it to keep it that way, just like your grandma’s sofa.
It has been repainted, in the original colors, and it’s gorgeous. The fact that this car is for sale for this price when rougher examples of more desirable cars sell for more baffles me. But I guess cars of this age only appeal to a narrow demographic, so they can’t command as much as a more obvious choice. Good news for those of us who like the oddballs, I guess.
1959 MGA 1500 – $19,500
Engine/drivetrain: 1.5-liter overhead valve inline 4, four-speed manual, RWD
Location: Thousand Oaks, CA
Odometer reading: Ad says 4,000; maybe 104,000? Maybe 4,000 since restoration?
Operational status: Runs and drives well
I grew up steeped in the lore of the MGA. My dad drove one in college, a red 1962 1600 MkII, but it didn’t belong to him – it belonged to my grandfather. Dad got to drive the MGA after his hand-me-down ’55 Plymouth gave up the ghost. He told me tales of ripping around the back roads in Missouri, scaring my mom half to death when they were dating. My grandpa sold the MG out from under him eventually, and Dad bought his own car (a Studebaker Hawk, if I remember right). He always wanted another MGA, but the time was never right. I think he would have liked this one.
This is a little earlier version of the MGA, with the smaller 1489 CC version of BMC’s B-series engine. It has two SU carburetors like any good MG should, and while it’s not exactly a screamer, speed and acceleration were never really the point of MG’s sports cars. You’ll take about sixteen seconds to reach 60 MPH in this car, but you’ll be grinning the whole time, listening to that engine growl. This one just had its carbs rebuilt (which takes about an hour per carb, by the way) and a new water pump installed. The radiator looks new as well.
It’s fairly original inside, but the steering wheel has been replaced. It’s an improvement over the original, though, as far as I’m concerned. The red leather seats are cracked here and there, but they sure do look comfortable. It comes with a good top and side curtains, which are important, because we know into every sports car’s life a little rain must fall.
A lot of people – though not everyone – consider the Jaguar E-Type to be the prettiest sports car ever made, but I’d disagree; I think the MGA has it beat hands-down. It’s gorgeous in photos, but if you see one in person, it’s even better. The shapes and proportions just work, especially the 1500 cars, with their simpler taillights and flush rather than recessed grilles. And the fact that it was evolved from a LeMans race car makes it even better. Personally I’d rather have steel wheels, or even better the Dunlop alloys of the Twin Cam and 1600 DeLuxe, but the wire wheels do suit it.
The fact that you can have either of these for twenty grand when so many more popular classics cost six figures absolutely amazes me. The Packard out-cools a ’57 Chevy by a country mile, at least to me, and I’d rather have a good MGA than any air-cooled Porsche. This is one instance in which it’s advantageous to be a fan of the underdogs, I guess. Which one do you prefer? Discuss, debate, enjoy, and we’ll look at some more old cheap beaters next week.
(Image credits: sellers)
I’m going to ask the man who owns one and vote Packard. This example is particularly nice and I’m just happy to see cars of this caliber are still available at that price point. I agree with your dad, the earlier body styles were better imo, at least until ’55 – I absolutely love the ’55 and ’56 with all their nautical accoutrements.
I clicked the Packard mostly because they’re no freakin’ way I’d fit in the MG.
I’ve owned an MGA and would take another in an instant. This one is priced to sell very quickly, assuming it checks out nearly as clean as it looks.
I’ve always wanted a Packard 8 of this era, and this is the best I’ve seen under $20k in the last ten years, maybe more. Setting a quarter on a running Packard is nothing. You can set a nickel on edge on a running Packard.
I picked the Packard only because I prefer daily drive convertibles over weekenders. Taking the top down is instant stress relief after a difficult day at work. When I do that, it’s almost impossible to arrive home unhappy.
Straight 6 and 8 engines just run smoother. I have a 49 Plymouth and it too is as smooth as butter. There is nothing to these engines. Very basic but also reliable as a result. I’d have no problem driving it across country even though my back would complain loudly.
MGA.
I had diesel Mercedes for two decades: won’t be ready for another cruiser for a decade or so
It’s hard to vote against that spotless Packard until you go and put a gorgeous MGA up against it. If these were both in my garage, the MGA is the one I’d want to drive every time, the one I’d pat on the bonnet when walking by.
I like the MG, but it’s far too useless in New England and might get lost too easily from view by all these pot-smoking dipshits absently aiming their lead zeppelins around. Plus, I already have a sports car (even if it’s a Cadillac in comparison), but there’s nothing much like the Packard (being sold all for a price lower than I’ve seen people want for some ’80s Caprice Classics) and I even like the color combo. Also, there’s a quality to quality-made items that can’t be quantified, but can certainly be felt and that’s the Packard. Pity that feeling of quality is another thing that’s difficult to find today. On the nostalgia side, my father is/was a sociopath (not sure if he’s still alive), but my maternal grandfather was an amazing person and, while he wasn’t a big fan of post war Packard, it has pretty much the same engine he had in his ’28 that he was very fond of.
As fun as that MGA would be on a crisp autumn day, the Packard is rolling artwork from every angle.
I voted for the MG but only because the Packard is too nice to use all the time – I’d be happy with both.
tough one this time, but I’ve had the itch for another convertible for a while now so I’d run with the mg. Dunno why I always thought they were worth more than that, really should get my c10 sold and start shopping for on of them.
I’ll take the Packard. Trying to find the listing right now to send to my wife for approval. She’ll probably roll her eyes like she always does when I suggest we buy a car like this, but one of these days her guard will be down and I’ll get the magic words of “yes honey”.
My dad had an MG once, so it gets my vote. I like the Packard, but I could see myself driving the convertible.
My dad has had his 1960 MGA for over 30 years now. It’s a real joy to drive. When my son and I helped him replace the clutch a few years ago, we realized it had been modified at some point in the past with a MGB 1800 cc engine. They basically bolt right in and look the same. He is in his mid 70’s now and still enjoys it, but my Mom no longer likes to ride in it. It’s funny you mention the E-type. That was my Dad’s dream car and he had at ’69 2+2 4.2L for a while. That was great fun to drive and made great sounds, but I also struggle to decide which car I like the looks of better. Well, you know which way I voted.
Thanks for this. My dad would have been 78 last month, and my brother and I are both working to have a car that was important to him at different points in his life. My brother just purchased a 41 Ford, which was his first car. He has it up and running, and has a lot of plans for what he wants to do with it. I’m still looking for the car my dad purchased used in 91 when he’d finally ‘made it’, a 1986 944. Hopefully I can get one in semi decent shape before the market for them becomes completely insane, but time is running out.
My first encounter with an MGA coincided with making the acquaintance of a Viet Nam vet.
I was 15 and my family was taking our first ever summer vacation in a tiny Maine beach town. A previous winter storm had wiped out much of the beach, cottages and restaurant that had offered summer jobs to many teens whose families had been summering there for years.
The spot we stayed in had half a dozen brown primitive cottages backed up to a trailer park which pumped the teen population sky high. There was an enormous parking lot built to handle a larger beach crowd in the days before a county park with its own enormous lot had opened down the road.
Toward the ocean end of the lot was a tiny store and snack bar of the same brown split log style as the cottages and an equally tiny one room “residence” where the snack bar cook lived.
J —— was the cook, a youngish man with old eyes, a permanent five o’clock shadow, long dark hair tied back with a bandanna, invariably dressed in a fatigue shirt with all of its patches ripped off, jeans, and jungle boots. When it got hot, the fatigue shirt gave way to white cotton undershirts with a pack of Camel unfiltered butts rolled up in one sleeve. The look hadn’t become a Hollywood cliché yet, though you certainly saw it in news coverage of anti war rallies.
J —— was a genius on the grill and fry bucket, turning out perfect hamburgers, hotdogs, fried clams and potatoes all day punctuated by frequent smoke breaks outside the back door. He rarely spoke, mostly jutting his chin up to ask for your order and nodding to confirm he’d received it. A terse “yo” or “cool” passed for conversation.
The snack bar and attached store were a natural meeting spot for teens when we weren’t on the beach. Everybody speculated about J —-. When he closed down the snack bar in the evening, J — would lock up, disappear into his apartment for a few minutes, then reemerge, slide into his car and roar off, not to return until a couple of hours before dawn, to sleep, I guess, before he reopened the snack bar at 10:00. His car was a faded light metallic blue MGA with no grille, two wire wheels and two plain, no top, heavily taped upholstery, and a poorly named muffler. To a teen, it was fabulous. When he wasn’t cooking or disappeared, he could often be seen under the hood tinkering with the engine.
I’d developed a crush on a moody girl I met the first evening on the beach who was already involved with an older guy who played guitar at our bonfires at night. She was kind enough to acknowledge my existence, but that was about it. I, on the other hand, spent hours sitting in the snack bar writing passionate letters and poetry to this goddess, which thankfully she never saw. One afternoon, while setting down an order of fries in my booth, J— began reading over my shoulder and snorted in amusement. “You are so fucked,” he said shaking his head and walking off.
After that day, he always acknowledged me when I came into the snack bar, usually with a “my man” or “s’ up.” That sort of gave me celebrity status among the kids.
As vacation end approached, my hopes of winning over my crush dwindled. One evening, during a quiet moment, she came in the snack bar. J —- stared pointedly at me, while I sat there and did nothing. Finally, I screwed up my courage and choked out some inane comment about going home that coming Saturday. She said her family was going, too. Then she said an amazing thing. “J — says you write a lot, huh” I nodded. “You wanna stay in touch over the winter?” I did. She smiled, took my pen and wrote her address on my napkin, touched my arm, then took her Coke and walked out with a wave. I looked a J —- and asked, “You talked to her about me?” He grinned, shot me a finger pistol and went back to scraping the grill.
Later that night, I was hoofing back a few miles from a gas station that sold beer to anyone, when I heard a familiar exhaust note. Looking over my shoulder shoulder I saw the yellowish headlights of J—-‘s MGA slowing on approach, exhaust blipping as he downshifted. “Ride?” I hopped over the passenger door as we pulled away. After a few minutes, I pointed at his shirt and shouted over the muffler, “Army?”
“Marines.”
“You go to ‘Nam?”
He scoffed at my slang , then nodded. “Yeah, the Shit.”
Nothing then but the song of the MGA. Finally, I said, “Bad?”
“It’s not Maine.”
He braked at the entrance to the cabin park. “Don’t go if they call you.”
“I get it,” I said climbing out of the car. He nodded and drove away. The MGA’s right taillight was out. It was our last conversation.
When the family bundled into our car to head for home on Saturday morning, J — was under the MGA’s hood, a lit Camel clenched in his teeth and wrench in hand.
“Yo!” I shouted across the lot, leaning out of a back window. He looked up, flashed a peace sign then turned back to the MGA. Never saw him again, but i never forgot him and that little roadster. I did write to my crush that year and I never went to Viet Nam.
That’s a wonderfully recounted story, thank you for sharing.
That was almost Thurberesque.
Well done.
I was ready to go MGA but once I realized it didn’t have the more powerful DOHC engine and that the interior needs work I ended up picking up the Packard.
I-8 and that fantastic interior FTW
Wow, those are really nice looking cars with style to spare. I love that Packard but have to go with the MGA. I would drive that every day if I could.
My dad’s first car was a Merc with the wheel skirts and he had a 62 Ford next. He worked in garage during school before going to school to get an electrical engineering degree and work for the Navy. During school, he picked up an XK 140. He had that for 2 years before getting an E-type roadster in gunmetal grey. He had that car the night me met my mom. My brother and I always wanted to find an old one for him to fix up but prices just went crazy. Anyway, that MGA would also be his kind of car.
Both are awesome.
My Dad used to point out weird old cars to me. “Hey kids, there’s a 1955 Fintastic Cruiser Deluxe. I had one just like that before I met your Mom!”
Now I do that to my kids. “Look kids, that’s a 1983 Pontiac Firebird, and it has the Crossfire V8!”. They’re like, “Whatever, Dad.”
My oldest wants a Tesla when he gets his license. Where did I fail?
These are both great cars at a price point that seems pretty achievable to many people. I went with the Packard. My great grandfather was a machinist for Packard during this era and this model has always struck as so stunning. The want is strong.
The Packard is probably the epitome of “they don’t build ’em like they used to.” Nobody else ever did either, except Packard.
A … uh … former friend of mine … has a survivor ’48 Packard in this same color scheme. It’s pretty glorious. And I can confirm it is PLENTY comfortable. I’d definitely have that Packard.
Packard on this one. It’s not as elegant as those jaw dropping 30s Packards, but it embodies such a fun American Streamlined Design look to it. I doubt it’s the most thrilling thing to drive, but as others have said, it’s a car to make memories in and have fun. I can imagine taking that on a little weekend trip with my wife somewhere fun, and just never forgetting it.
A few years ago we took my gold ’85 380SL from her apartment in NYC to Hyde Park to an event at the Culinary Institute over the summer and she still talks about it every time we go in that car – it’s not about the handling or anything, but it’s about that atmosphere that a well designed, fully encompassing vehicle can give you. Now don’t get me wrong, I love a good car that handles well and goes fast… but I have seen my interest shift way more to the holistic experience of a car, which just gives the win to the Packard
That SL was built to a standard, not a cost point. You can tell as soon as you get in. Neighbor growing up had an old Mercedes 300 SEL (1970 or so?). All the interior fittings were real metal, wood, leather or clothe. NOTHING felt insubstantial or cheap to the touch. THAT is true luxury. TBH the Audi 5000 he had was similar, not flashy but you good FEEL the quality. Contrast with a contemporary Cadillac or Lincoln, all sizzle no steak.
As everyone is saying, the Packard is quite the beaut! However, the MGA would just match my driving style so much better, especially living in the Texas Hill Country with plentiful windy back roads.
On a more general note, it is nice to end the week with such pleasant choices. You should consider a revamp to the SBSD formula. Start on Monday with a hard $2K budget and double the budget each day. That sets Friday’s budget at $16K while the rest of the week is limited below $10K. Would give you a chance to vary your searches each day which I would assume make it a little more interesting for you. Just a thought.
I don’t know about all the time, but that does sound like a fantastic week-long theme to pull out once in a while. Thanks for the idea!
Always glad to help! I’d be happy to see it even a couple of times a year.
Since I have your attention…
I know I got you to do this once before, but next week is New York Fashion Week, just in case you want to look for some designer editions…
Wouldn’t that make Friday’s budget $32K (2,4,8,16,32)
Sigh…
My Friday-morning afflicted brain went 2, 4, 6, 8, 16.
Kids, important safety tip! Don’t attempt math on Friday mornings!
Went with the Packard partly because it’s in such a great color with a mighty nice interior & dashboard, and partly because of its overall design, and partly because a similar Packard (albeit with a very different grille) was so appealing in the 2015 film Carol http://imcdb.org/vehicle_989554-Packard-Super-De-Luxe-Eight-1949.html
The Packard looks amazing, especially in that two-tone green. Also, the straight 8 is a bygone novelty that does have a certain appeal. But it’s a car I’d enjoy admiring at a show, not necessarily to own. It’s just not my style.
The MBA (along with other post-war British sportscars) on the other hand, that’s something I’ve already considered buying for myself many times over the years. (truthfully a TR-3 or maybe an MGB-GT are at the top of my current, ever changing, wishlist) It’s a stunner that is also a hoot to drive, can still be serviced relatively easily, and won’t break the bank. That’s a win all the way around for me.
I voted for the Packard