Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

The McCulloch supercharger is still around. Now it is known as the Paxton.

All the bugs were worked out long ago. If you really want to talk to an expert, call John Erb. Parts are available. The supercharger itself is reliable and a good addition to that car.

Has that Monte Carlo "show car" survived? Looks quite nice.

Hello,

Von Rudolph car was built as a concept/California custom movement but was never completed - a demonstration of how a Packard Custom Coupe/convertible could be modified into a roadster. It was finished like the week before last and still needs clean up, plus some fine detailing (which I will do in the next week or two). The fellow who created was a Mr. John Rudolph and it was basically his passion for a fair amount of his life, he was a big picture guy though and just did not have the fine finish skills to get the project done. Supercharger was a little out of all the local mechanics skill sets in tuning (might take a die hard Studebaker, Kaiser, or racing fanatic who is use to working with them) - damn thing puts out a ton of boost pressure and is just hard to work with. By the way - it is one wild ride and for real dramatics people are stunned when you wind the top down or install the front wheel fender skirts - they are just knock you dead.

JMM

Thanks for the information on the other pictures, the car certainly had earmarks of an Arbib (Creative Industries) job. I'd like to see the other pictures, especially the rear view - I understand the copyright issue about posting them here, any way you can get copies of them emailed to me? If so, send me a PM.

As to making one from a 23rd series Custom 8 convertible, that would be in my view a very tough call, given that only 145 were built, only a handful surviving, and it's one of the very rarest post-war production cars by Packard, far rarer than any Caribbean.

PS- perhaps one reason the car never made the show circuit or got much publicity is that the basic design and appeal of the 22/23rd series was already on the wane, dated, and slated for replacement by the time the car was completed? Just conjecture on my part. But a true pillarless hardtop if introduced with the 22nd series would have been quite a sensation.

Hi Owen

In 'Collectible Automobile' October 1992 issue, a Personality Profile of Richard Arbib has two photo of the '49 Monte Carlo on page 43. They're very small images, show front and rear three quarter views, look to be publicity photos.

I suspect the car was based on a Custom 8 convertible with the hardtop and trim fitted. That would be the quickest, least costly way to build it.

Oddly enough, I've never seen any period photos of Packard auto show displays that feature this car. One would think if it were a dream/idea car Packard embraced, it would show up prominently in those displays.

Actually, it would be a good recreation project for someone with a Custom 8 convertible in need of restoration.

Steve

Dave, does it have a kind of "mobile pillar

Gusha, I took it to be a true 2-dr hardtop with essentially the same window arrangement as the convertible, but who knows, there is very little known of this car and I'm not aware of anyone who has any first-hand knowledge of it.

Guscha, thanks for the Jack Vines comment.

I will contact Shawn Miller at Significant Cars to confirm.

I've posted it before and we've had some good discussions about it in the past, but as long as we're on bathtub customs, this one supposedly done by Packard (perhaps subcontracted out to Creative Industries or Henney) has long intrigued me and no harm I guess in posting it again. I suspect it could have been quite a seller if introduced early enough in the bathtub era. This is the only known photo of it that I'm aware of.

UPDATE 3/13/10: From the little more I've been able to find out about this car, it apparently was not contracted for by Packard but was an unsolicited submission by Henney and was completed just as the 23rd series was history and thus Packard expressed no interest in it.

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Any thoughts on why the supercharger was removed for drivability reasons -- other than "it's broken."?

Great lines. I alway thought the 23rd series would have benefited from additional choice in body styles. The long deck really helps it's proportions. Maybe a hardtop version would look something like these.

(P.S. the gold dash seems a little to "pimp" for me )

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