@Matt Harwood

1928 Packard 533 7-Passenger Sedan SOLD

Matt Harwood · 2014-11-07T03:11:45.000Z

*SOLD*Some of you may remember this lovely 1928 Packard from about 18 months when I had it listed and it sold almost instantly. Well, after earning every possible award it could, it is again available. The current owner has the opportunity to move into something much more substantial and he needs the space in his garage, so he is reluctantly selling it. It was restored by a long-time friend of the hobby who has owned "Gracie" since he purchased her as a basket case when he was just a 22-year-old kid in 1967. Over the intervening years, he restored it himself to its current stunning condition, completing it in 1988. It has won every major award such a car can win, including AACA National First Prize, CCCA National First Prize, and Packard Club National First Prize. It has won awards at concours events like Meadow Brook Hall and the Glenmoor Gathering, and been the featured automobile in the Stan Hywet Inner Circle. It has also won the Founder's Award at a Packard National Meet for best pre-1929 Packard, and just last summer it earned its CCCA Premiere award by scoring 98 points and was also awarded Best in Class at the Hickory Corners Grand Classic over the summer. It's one of only three such cars known to exist, and the only complete one in the US. While the restoration is now 25 years old, it obviously has not lost a step in judged competition, which speaks volumes about the quality of the car.The restorer is a historian of note and did his due diligence on the restoration, duplicating the original color combination of Black over Dove Gray, right down to painting the insides of the 20-inch disc wheels bright red to match the pinstripe. Paint, chrome, and other exterior fittings are virtually without flaw and in show condition, with recent work including repainting the front fenders in the fall of 2012. The pin-striping is entirely hand done, with "GRACE" spelled out on the passenger's side rear door. The top insert is excellent, the one-year-only cowl lamps are correct, and it features a lovely moto-meter and "lady with doughnut" hood ornament, as well as drum headlights that were fabricated from scratch during the restoration. Dual sidemounts and a fitted trunk, all with black canvas covers, give this imposing Packard incredible presence. It's worth noting that the current owner has removed the canvas sidemount covers and replaced the spares with correctly-sized matching Firestone wide whites and installed chain-style sidemount mirrors, so it looks slightly different today but remains exceptional in every way.Inside, there's enough room for a basketball game, with lovely gray broadcloth stitched into the correct patterns. It shows virtually zero wear save for what the owner calls the "driving carpets" that are custom mats bound in leather. Underneath, the carpets are like new, as are the wood garnish moldings, all the brightly plated interior fittings, and the headliner. Everything works, including the wiper and BOTH clocks, which were restored for the third time just recently. All the gauges are operational, and the lovely wooden accessory cases in the rear seat area feature a few period dress-up items. The engine is a 288 cubic inch inline-six, which Packard fans will note was the standard engine before 1929 and the introduction of the "Standard" Eight. Now before you scoff at a six in a big 7-passenger sedan (as I did), please come drive it. For one thing, it's only 30 cubic inches smaller than the Standard Eight that would follow, and out on the road, its performance is more than adequate. I have driven this car quite a bit and was consistently impressed by how tight, smooth, and well-composed it is. The body feels solid, the steering is precise, the brakes are surprisingly strong, and the engine just purrs along happily ignoring the mass of the body it's carrying. Seriously, it drives every bit as well as my V8-powered Cadillac, and the body feels worlds tighter. The engine is highly detailed and runs excursively on its original vacuum tank fuel system. The chassis is just as nice, with correct details, up to and including an exhaust system that's been nickel plated for a correct look that'll last practically forever.Anyway, this car is impressive in every possible way. Today a vehicle like this, found in the condition in which it was found, would be little more than a parts car dumped on Ebay, but instead it enjoyed a frame-off restoration to the highest possible standards. This is a show and tour-ready CCCA Full Classic available for about what it sold for eighteen months ago: $49,900. The car is currently located in Madison, WI and I can arrange delivery anywhere in the world. Thank you for looking!

Nov 7, 2014 (edited)2.3K views

Replies (8)

· Nov 7, 2014

Basketball game?, how about AIR HOCKEY, Lol

Nice piece,

Dale in Indy

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· Nov 8, 2014

Beautiful automobile, remember the first listing, it's now like seeing an old friend......

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· Nov 8, 2014

Very nice, Matt!

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· Nov 10, 2014

so stately

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· Dec 2, 2014

SOLD once again. Thank you!

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· Dec 3, 2014

You're the man, Matt. I've always wanted a Classic like that one. It's just hard to invest that much money.

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· Dec 3, 2014

Thanks for the kind words, Wayne. I have some advice for you and anyone else who is sitting on the fence about a purchase. I don't often get to say this simply because my position as a car broker makes it sound self-serving, but the smartest thing I've ever done is clean out my savings and buy my 1929 Cadillac. I've wanted a car like that all my life, I'm upside-down on the money part of the car by about 20-25%, and I simply don't care. The fun my family has had in that car made me forget the purchase price and subsequent repairs instantly. I never once regret buying the car or spending all that money getting it into top driving condition.

I've been working with a potential buyer for about three years looking for a suitable 1941 Cadillac. He's pretty specific about what he wants, but I've floated about eight or ten cars past him that were "right." He passed on all of them simply because they weren't quite the right combination of cheap and perfect. One was only $1500 more than he wanted to spend, yet he still passed. Now he's three years older, he's missed three driving seasons, his kids are getting too old to want to hang out with their dad in an old car anymore, and, well, he's still waiting on the sidelines, not joining the game. Over a few bucks?!? That's just lame. I guarantee that even if he pays $5000 or $10,000 more than he wanted to, the minute he turns the key and starts enjoying the car, he'll stop worrying about the price.

So if you can afford it, if you see a car you like, give yourself permission to take the plunge. Whatever you buy (I know you guys are smart enough to buy well) will always be worth about what you paid anyway, so you can always get out without a lot of damage. Don't sweat the price tag (well, don't do it if it'll put you in the poor house). The benefits will outweigh any financial concerns you may have.

Money is so easy to get and time is impossible to replace. Get busy living and let the money take care of itself.

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· Dec 3, 2014

........ Now he's three years older, he's missed three driving seasons, his kids are getting too old to want to hang out with their dad in an old car anymore, and, well, he's still waiting on the sidelines, not joining the game....

There's the most important part of your post Matt. The young people in his family that will never "get the bug".

My youngest son used to go to Philly with me each Winter. He always helped me with seminars and had fun because AACA members were kind to him. He dressed the part too, in a suit....yes!, at 12 years old. He has to work now at 25, so he doesn't go with me anymore, although he has been on AACA Tours occasionally. He's a musician now and he still wears a suit during special performances. Thank you AACA for allowing a young fellow to appreciate dressing properly.

In closing, please everyone share those rides to protect our hobby.

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1928 Packard 533 7-Passenger Sedan *SOLD*

1928 Packard 533 7-Passenger Sedan SOLD