Car Restoration Projects

Packards on parade

Old Packards converge on the NSW Southern Highlands periodically, as it’s one of the preferred destinations for the club’s national rally. Jim Gibson caught up with the group on the 2009 occasion.

Rally director Jeff Clarkson said: “We run a National Rally roughly every two years rotating between NSW, Victoria, SA and Queensland.

“The 13th National Rally (Southern Highlands) included 41 Packards and one Pierce Arrow and we also had visitors from USA, New Zealand and UK.

“We offered our members a variety of functions to attend during the weeklong event.”

The normal format is a drive in convoy to various historic points of interest on and around the Highlands, followed by a ‘getting to know your car’ workshop and restoration tips day.

There’s also an obligatory winery tour and a display day at Berrima Park with owners setting the scene dressed in period costume.

Barry Brown gets serious in Al Capone mode as he hops out of his black 1935 ‘Chicago-esque’ Packard sedan.

“The week finished with a drive to Kiama via the Illawarra Sky Walk, on the escarpment near Robertson.” added Clarkson.

The Packard Automobile Club of Australia has some 170 members, with the tinware count exceeding that, as some members have more than one Packard.

It is associated with US clubs as a region of the Packard Automobile Classics Inc covering all of Australia. It is also a chapter of the Packard International Motor Club.

1937 120 Sedan

The club was formed more than 40 years ago and its inaugural run was from Sydney to, ironically, Kiama, in December 1965.

The action-packed week culminated with a gala dinner at the Mittagong RSL on the Friday night, where the car club raised $700 for the Berrima District Rescue Squad.

Packard’s Goddess of Speed mascot is one of many fine pieces of art to adore car radiators in the early 20th Century.

This beautiful 1930 Dual Cowl Sport Phaeton was bought from the US 11 years ago and has undergone a ground up restoration.

Paul Tatterson’s 1928 Phaeton took seven years to restore including several trips to the US for parts.

David and Margaret Hayes saw this 1934 Victoria coupe in the early nineties – fell in love with it – and eventually prised it from the previous owner in 1996.

Bob and Yvonne Davis’s 1926 Sedan is affectionately known as ‘Mr P’.

Veronique and David McCredie’s 1929 Standard Eight Roadster was originally owned by the owner of the Comet Gold Mine in Marble Bar WA. It was in a major accident during the 1930s and abandoned in a rubbish tip near the mine.