1930 Packard 745 Waterhouse Convertible | Extremely Rare Cars

Yes! Hi, I'm Dennis Gage and welcome to My Classic Car. Well, this week we're at the Saratoga Auto Museum in New York for their Spring Invitational. This is a killer setting. And they've sort of got a twofer going on here. They've got an Invitational with about a hundred invited cars and then three or four hundred more in an open show across the way. I'm telling you, this is going to be a blast and I think the best thing to do is just to dive right into it. Whoa! Marcia, how are you doing? Oh, Dennis, so glad to have you here. Thank you. This is, Marcia, this is a great place. The museum is wonderful. But then this event you put on, the Spring Invitational, it's kind of your marquee event of the year, right? It is our marquee event and it gets bigger and better every year and we're just thrilled. We have a hundred cars in the Invitational, four hundred cars in the auto show field, and the weather's cooperated and maybe a thousand people here today. Life is good. Well, and there are some really interesting cars. You know, I peered around the Invitational a bit and there's, I mean, there's some amazing stuff. And people seem to be enjoying the whole event and you opened the museum up to the public for this event, too. It's all part of it, right? Well, this is a major fundraiser for the museum. It's also sort of the first kickoff event for our season, which, you know, is about six months, but there's a lot going on in the park. So it's a crossover opportunity. We want visitors to the museum to enjoy the show. We want to show off the museum to visitors to the auto show and Invitational as well. Well, and we're standing here amidst this display of midgets. You've got a club here that brought in these crazy little midgets. These are such a blast. What do you say we try and hotwire one and take it for a spin? Okay, I will look the other way. Let's go. Mike, this is a stunning car. This is just, this may be the prettiest car here. It's gorgeous. It's a 30 Packard. 30 Packard 745 Waterhouse Convertible. Very popular, very sought-after body, and very difficult to come by. Well, you know, the front end, I mean, you've got these gargantuan headlights. You've got your driving lights. You've got your, I don't know what these are. Parking lights. I mean, there's a lot of illumination up here. Yes, there is. The color scheme on this just drives me wild. It's, you know, green, which I love. But these fenders, which are kind of a tan, but there's a lot of green in that. They're kind of a yellow-green. And your trim in orange, pinstripe in green. I mean, wow. And then, you know, I love the dual side mounts with these canvas covers, green piping, which matches the top and this canvas-covered visor. Correct. It's got such a hot-rod look to it in some respects. I mean, that is a chop-top hot-rod windshield if I ever saw one. Yes, it is. It's a challenge to see out of, just like a chop-top. And then with the visor, let's make it worse. Right, exactly. And then the interior, again, dark green, chrome bows, and even these courtesy lights in the back. Beautifully elegant dash, you know, the oval gauges. Another thing I like about this body is, you know, this dip here. The reason they did that was because the customers wanted a top that would fold down and that they could still look back and see behind them. Right, because normally they sit up high. Yeah, yeah. And then this, I mean, this is the trunk where the term comes from. This looks like it's permanently affixed. They're usually, here's your rack, and you usually put your trunk on that. But this is part of this body. This is part of that body. So this has the Packard Straight 8 in it, the classic? Yes, Packard Straight 8, Super 8, they called it. The big one. Let's go look at it. Yeah, sure. All right, I'll give you a hand here. This looks like a pretty big. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Bring it up, and we'll just lay it ever so gently. Ever so gently. It's kind of hefty, too. It is. It's got some meat to it, and there she is. That's beautiful. I mean, that's as beautiful as you're going to see. But these are, like, just notoriously smooth. Yeah. Very, very smooth. Runs beautifully. With the long wheelbase, you drive this car. What was their slogan? It was like, ask the man that owns one, right? Yes. That was Packard. Packard. Ask the man that owns one. So what do you think? I love it. Well, there you go. I love it. You're the man that owns one. Absolutely. Well, man, I know I'm glad you brought it. This is a 1930 Packard Waterhouse? Yes, correct. What a car. Thanks very much. Appreciate it. Beautiful. Well, Dennis, this is a really cool 67 Camaro, but this is a very special car. This is actually a Nicky Chevrolet Camaro, right? Sold by Nicky Chevrolet, dealer-installed 427. This is very rare because of supposedly one of two L89s ever made. You know, everybody knows about Yanko. A lot of people know Baldwin Motion. But people tend to forget Nicky Chevrolet was another one of the performance early tuners. Basically, they were tuner dealers. Exactly. Now, even the wheels. The wheels were sold by Sears because Sears headquarters were in Chicago, as Nicky was in Chicago. So it's an SS. It's got the bumblebee stripe. First year for the Camaro. And you still got the Nicky. The original invoice. The protective plate. And the original window sticker. Jeez. Did you have to restore it, or was it in pretty good shape? No, the interior was in very good shape. First 4-speed. Stuart Warner original gauges. Even the tack? Yeah. They all had Stuart Warner gauges. Man, she's in great shape. How long have you had it? I had it about 7 years. It's got the original headers in the trunk that came with it. Oh, wow. Were they ever on the car? They were never on the car. Wow. They couldn't be installed at the dealership because of the pollution. The dealer was not responsible. Those are worth a fortune. Those are worth about $4,000. Holy mackerel. That's amazing. But the real deal is the L89 engine in this baby. The L89 engine. What makes this car so unique. And so fast. It's so fast. Close this up, and let's open up the front. Sure enough. Ah, fiberglass hood, too, right? Fiberglass airbox hood. And you've got the factory markings on it. The 427 aluminum head. Bill Thomas Stage 3. Yeah, this is a Stage 3. It's a F41 suspension, which has a rear sway bar. This is bad to the bone. Is it? Man, I mean, it's just beautiful. Thank you. And so rare. Do people really dig this car? I mean, real Chevy hardcore folks. We had Chevy hardcore people here all day long. Yeah, right. I love this car. In fact, one guy had me start it up. He says, I want to hear it. I'm not leaving until I hear it. I got to hear it. Oh, man, it's a beautiful car. Ken, it's a beautiful car, man. Well, Ken, this is a real cream puff here. I mean, original. It's definitely original. It's a what, a 1926? 1926 Franklin. Model number would be an 11A. And this is what you call a boattail rumble seat roadster, but Franklin called them sport runabouts. Sport runabout. And obviously, this is a survivor. I mean, we could try buffing this paint up. I don't think it's going to work. No, I don't think so. There's an entire Volkswagen in this fender. Well, I'm carrying around four of them. So it looks like a nickel surround on the radiator. They called it German silver. It was nickel, but they called them German silver. The headlights, which it's probably a 6-volt system, so they're like a couple matches up here. 21. 21? 10 volts. What lenses. Those are gorgeous. Yeah, they're kind of interesting, because they were made right in New York also. Bausch & Lomb. Bausch & Lomb, wow. And obviously, the top's been replaced. But the interior, I could probably still find some chicken feathers in there if I looked hard enough. I wouldn't doubt it. But the gauging and everything is? The gauges are totally original. That is amazing. And is this a? Key lock. So you can lock your trans? Yes. An anti-theft in 1926. In 1926. That's amazing. Well, and this is really, I mean, it's a wild body. And back here, it looks aluminum. And I guess it is, eh? It is. But the cool thing about these cars is it's an air-cooled engine. Yes. Which is kind of amazing. Let's go look at that air-cooled engine. OK. What a wild-looking engine. So you can see the cylinder. She's a six-cylinder. It's a pushrod engine. They were overhead valve, even. They were overhead valve right from day one in 1902. Wow. Is this a big plenum or something? Or what is this? There's a large squirrel cage fan down connected directly to the front of the crankshaft. And it blows the air up through that plenum. And there's a baffle halfway through the plenum to Dissipate it. Dissipate it to the front and the rear. And it's an updraft carburetor. What the heck is this? Updraft carburetor. That is the air cleaner. Inside, you can see the fins. Oh, it's a centrifugal separator, basically. Right? Exactly what it is. And this is a vacuum tank. And that's what it used as a fuel pump. It's so cool. And you're sitting beside another Franklin survivor. I mean, this is just a really pretty neat show. And to have such a rare car here. Man, 1926 Franklin Sport Runabout, right? Sport Runabout, yes. Very cool. In fact, air-cooled. Air-cooled. Well, Alan, this is a beautiful car. This is a 49 Bentley. What model? It's a Van Voren body. It's a Paris coach builder. So this is a French-bodied Bentley? Yes. Well, and it does look very French. I mean, for a Bentley, this looks mighty French. One of the things I noticed when I was looking at this earlier was, you know, I love the swooping fenders and everything. The lines that flow. But the door has got the fender in it. Yeah. Does that whole thing open up? Sure does. That's crazy. Just the weight and the size of the door is phenomenal. That is huge. You know, it's nicely sprung, though. I mean, it doesn't feel as heavy as I'm sure it is. And it closes like a Bentley, of course. This interior is gorgeous. The woodwork in it is spectacular. Is that zebra wood? What is that? That's an inlay zebra on walnut and then mahogany on the top. Pretty nice. Yeah, it's cool. And I love the door panel with the radiant piping there. Yes. And the way it even goes around the back window. I mean, so much of it is. It pulls you right around. Oh, it does. And the shades. I've got to show you the shades. Ever seen anything like this before? Oh, no, that's nice. Fabric shades that come down. That is so Bentley. Great coupon? Yeah, great coupon. That's very nice. And it's just so stately looking. Now, I always think of Bentleys having these big 8-cylinder engines. What is this? Is this the 8? This is a 6-cylinder inline. Oh, wow. Let's go look at that. Oh, great, great. So straight 6, huh? Aluminum head. Uh-huh. That is one big air cleaner, too. Dual coil? Well, that's a spare coil. You've got one coil and then in case it fails, you've got a second coil ready to go. And that appears to be a pushrod engine. That's correct. 130 horse, 250 cc. That's not that big an engine to pull something this big around. How does she drive? It purrs. Oh. It's got three on the column. Uh-huh. And it drives so smooth. And I've got to believe that it gets looks. Alan, 49 Bentley with a French body on it. This is a beautiful car. Thanks for bringing it up. Dennis, thank you very much. Well, Malcolm, we meet again. Very nice to see you, Dennis. I'm glad you recognize me. You're unforgettable. What can I say? Thank you. But it was in Stowe, Vermont. It was the British invasion, I believe. And you had that little midge, MG midge, right? It's a midget. Midget. Yes, it's called a midget. But it did have the midge. Right, the mosquito. The mosquito. I've never heard of this particular model. This is an MG F1 Magna. It's absolutely a gorgeous car. I mean, the styling on it. I mean, it's certainly MG in its basic design. But there's, I don't know, there's detail and highlights that I don't think of MG. I mean, these peaked fenders are just beautiful. This car was designed by a gentleman by the name of Frederick W. Stiles, the concessionaire and team manager for Alfa Romeo. Oh, really? And so many people have said this has got a lot of Alfa look to it. It really does. I mean, of course, this, that's MG. That's MG. But everything else isn't. But everything from here back and the belt line, you know, was all Mr. Stiles. What a dainty, delicate little windshield. And I absolutely love that windshield wiper. Yeah, well, it's called a paperclip windshield wiper. Because it looks like a paperclip. Because it looks like a paperclip at that end. Really interesting shifter, which kind of levitates there. It's all exposed. This rear end is just beautiful, too. I know. So this has the six-cylinder overhead cam, right? The six-cylinder overhead cam. Let's go look at that. Okay, good. Oh, that's just as pretty as the outside. That's a big baby. There's your base chassis there, right? There's the base chassis. And this is a Wolsey engine. A Wolsey six-cylinder engine. I love this belt, too. I mean, that looks like something I made in Cub Scouts. I know. They are just leather sections, which have a center spline. And they're all screwed together. And you basically did this whole restoration? Pretty much. You know, I don't do the painting. But I do everything from soup to nuts as much as I can. Malcolm, you have such great cars. Thank you. We must do this again at a show sometime soon. We will. I would love to do that. 1932 F1. Magnet. Beautiful car. Yes. Thank you so much for bringing it out. And thank you for remembering me. I know. You're unforgettable. Hey, the Spring Invitational here at the Saratoga Automobile Museum in New York is a really nice event. And what a cool place to be. This one's worth a trip.