1907 Packard
edited by David Barth, 29 October 2009.
Courtesy The Forney Museum of Transportation at 4303 Brighton Blvd., Denver,
Colorado. Photos were taken in October 2009.
This is a beautiful example of a Packard of the "Brass Era" of automobiles when brass, copper, and bronze were used for
many external metal parts.
This 1907 model has an L-head, 460 cubic inch (7.5 liter) displacement engine that develops 30 horsepower at a maximum
RPM of 650. It has a flywheel that weighs nearly 200 pounds which helps keep the engine running at low RPMs. The car
cruises at 50 mph. It was delivered to the Forney Museum on September 8, 2009 under its own power.
The car has a cone clutch. If the clutch grabs a little, a small amount of oil can be squirted on it to reduce the
friction. On the other hand, if it begins to slip a little, a small amount of gasoline can be put on it to increase
the friction. When the car is parked for long periods, the clutch surfaces may tend to stick together so that it is
difficult to release. Sometimes a bar or tube is braced against the clutch pedal to keep it away from the matching
surface, so that it won't stick. Such a brace might be seen on this car, holding the clutch pedal down.
Prior to 1913, nearly all gasoline cars had to be hand-cranked to start the engine. To crank this car, a nine-step
procedure has to be carefully followed. Even then, it is a dangerous procedure that requires some muscle. Perhaps this
is one of the greatest reasons women preferred electric automobiles. Carefully following the procedure, the owner
started this car easily.
The small, "Mother-in-Law" seat at the rear of the car was for the chauffer. Because this car was built for very wealthy
people, they usually had a chauffer drive it, just as they would have a chauffer drive a carriage. However, when the
owner wanted to take the wheel, it wasn't proper to have the chauffer sit in the passenger's seat. He had to sit in the
little seat at the back. That's how things were a century ago.
Each car was hand-built. The original cost of this car was $4,200. At that time, a two-story house cost $800. Needless
to say, only the wealthiest people could afford a 1907 Packard. As production methodologies were improved and
streamlined, costs slowly dropped. That may be part of the reason why a 1913 Packard cost $1,000 less than a 1907
model.
To say that this car is rare would be an understatement. It may be that this is only one of two road-worthy 1907
Packards in the world.
This fine car was generously loaned to the Forney Museum by Mr. Dick Veghte who allowed his Packard collection to be
featured in a documentary, "Packard, An American Classic Car," made by Richard Luckin to be aired on PBS in the Spring
of 2010. Pre-release DVD's of the documentary are on sale in the Forney Museum Gift Shop until they run out.
Errors in the above text are exclusively the fault of the author, and not of the owner of the car.
