Clean Title - Zero Rust - Drives Incredible - Highly Optioned - No Accidents

1953 Packard 300

1953 Packard 300 Convertible Coupe

This is Grace. She's a rare 1953 Packard 300 Convertible Coupe. This car has been tons of fun and gets waves and compliments everywhere we go. We have driven her all over the PNW, created a lot of great memories and thoroughly enjoyed the time we've spent with her. She has been incredibly dependable and hasn't given us a single issue since she's been in the family.

About the car:

As mentioned above, she is a 1953 Packard 300 Convertible Coupe with 72,580 miles on the odometer. She has a clean WA title in my name and has never been in an accident.

The 300 Convertible Coupe was equipped with the famous 327 CID flathead straight-eight. This engine was equipped with hydraulic valves and a Carter WCFB 4 barrel carburetor from the factory.

This particular car was ordered with almost every option that was offered in 53. Here is the list:
- Power Steering
- Power Brakes (Easamatic)
- Automatic (Ultramatic)
- Power Windows
- Packard Three Way Tuning Radio
- Power Antenna
- Trunk Light
- Backup Lights
- Windshield Washer
- Blue-Green Tinted Glass
- Oil Filter
- Deluxe Oil Bath Air Cleaner
- Belt Molding Side Mirrors
- Tilt-Type Rearview Mirror
- Gasoline Door Guard

The Story:

Between the information we received from the previous owner, and the pictures & paperwork that were included with the car, we know a pretty goodamount of the vehicle's history.

We believe she was originally sold in Oregon. Unfortunately, we don't know where exactly. This piece of information was provided by the previous owner (PO). Included with the car was an old Oregon registration paper that predates the previous owner's ownership. This corroborated the previous owner's story, but can't be confirmed.

According to the previous owner, his dad purchased the car in Oregon in 1975 and then drove it back to the San Jose area where they lived. According to his son, the car was all stock except that all of the power top hydraulics were missing. I'm assuming the previous owner removed them so the top could be operated manually. It's my understanding that this was quite common with these hydraulic operated tops.

He drove the car around the San Jose area until he moved the family to Vancouver, WA in 1981 (hearing this was crazy because we currently live in Vancouver, WA). While they were up in Vancouver, the owners joined Packards of Oregon which was part of the Packards International Motor Club. The 1982-83 membership rosters came with the car when I bought her. The rosters show the previous owners names and their old address. The address listed is 4.7 miles away from where we currently live!

According to the PO, the family moved from Vancouver, WA to Citrus Heights, CA in 1986. Soon after they landed in CA, she received a full respray in Ford Cream 6P (very similar to the original Carolina Cream). The original CA issued pink slip that came with the car shows that he titled and registered her on 6/26/87.

The car remained in CA until 1997. In late 97 the family moved to Livingston, AL and had the car auto shipped to their new home. While in AL, he drove her on and off until 2005. From 2005-2007 she sat until he was able to give her some needed attention. According to the PO's son, in late 2007, he completely rebuilt and overhauled the entire brake system. I also have receipts for all of the brake work that was included with the car. After that, he drove the car around the Livingston area until the family moved back to CA in late 2008.

According to the PO, his dad had the car auto shipped to their new home in Antelope, CA. Once she arrived, he drove her around for a few months until he got sick and parked her in a barn. Unfortunately, he passed away shortly after and left the car to his son. The car continued to sit untouched until we bought her in August of 2020.

We found her on FB and contacted the owner immediately. He was very forthcoming and transparent about everything. He sent me a bunch of pictures showing how dry and complete she was. Myself and a good friend of mine rented a flat bed trailer and went down to the Sacramento area to pick her up. There were no surprises when we got down there. She was exactly how he described and the pictures were very accurate. I signed some paperwork and the deal was done. We owned our first convertible Packard!

Once we got her home, the next year was spent getting her roadworthy again.

The first thing I decided to tackle was the fuel system. Having sat for so long, I figured it would be best to go through the entire system. I ended up rebuilding the factory Carter WCFB 4 barrel carburetor, installed a brand new carb insulator spacer and gaskets, installed a rebuilt factory fuel pump, installed an electric flow through priming pump, installed a metal bodied fuel filter (before pumps), installed all brand new fuel hose and clamps, cleaned out all of the hard lines and had the fuel tank professionally cleaned and sealed.

With the fuel system totally refreshed, I turned my attention to the ignition system. Just like the fuel system, I thought it was a good idea to replace everything. I ended up installing brand new spark plugs, new plug wires, new cap & rotor, new points & condenser, new coil and I had the vacuum advance professionally rebuilt.

Once the fuel and ignition system were done, I proceeded to move onto the electrical system. I installed a brand new 6v battery, installed a new positive battery lead, cleaned up all of the factory wiring & connections, replaced every single bulb with a brand new one, installed a dedicated fuel level sender ground wire and replaced the factory hydraulic brake light switch with a new mechanical unit.

Next was the cooling system. I installed all new hoses, new heater fittings, flushed the entire system, reconditioned the thermostat housing, installed a new thermostat & gasket and installed a new radiator cap.

Before the first start, there were just a few more things that needed addressing. I proceeded to change the engine oil & filter, check the transmission & rear end fluid, install new belts, install new vacuum hoses, install a new oil pressure sender and put in somefresh gas.

VROOOOM! She fired right up! Such a sweet old girl!

Now that she was running, I proceeded to tune the carb and adjust the timing. She had a slight misfire which I figured was probably a stuck lifter or valve from sitting for so long. I dropped a quart of oil and replaced it with a quart of Marvel Mystery Oil (per their instructions). I'll circle back to this later.

At this point, I just needed to check the brakes before her maiden voyage. As I mentioned earlier, the PO went through the entire brake system in 2007 (right before she was parked), so I knew everything wasn't super old but I still wanted to check it all out. I looked through the whole system and everything looked almost new. No leaks, clean brake fluid, soft hoses. I was happy with everything.

At this point, it was May of 2021 and I was finally happy with everything. She was finally ready for her first drive in about 16 years. My wife and I took her out for a short drive and she did excellent! I won't make the story too much longer from here on out. Since then, we have driven her all over the Portland and SW Washington area. She won an award in June of that same year which was very exciting.

Over the course of the next year or so, I addressed quite a few things that still needed attention. In the following sections, I'll go into detail about them as well as what still needs to be addressed.

Mechanical

In this section, I'll go over what else I did since getting her back on the road, and what still needs addressing.

Power Windows/Seat:Once I got her back on the road, I quickly realized that the power (hydraulic) windows didn't work. Before diving too deep into the system, I wanted to replace the rubber hoses that go from the hard lines to each door cylinder. They were in pretty poor shape and I didn't want them to leak into the cabin once I got everything working. I ended up replacing them with new ones I had made at a local hydraulic shop.

After that, I moved onto the pump side of things. I proceeded to clean out the reservoir, fill it up with some fresh ATF, and jump start the pump. She fired right up! Next, I pulled and tested each window switch. Sure enough, none of them worked. I proceeded to pull each one apart, sand and clean the contacts, and put them back together. Once they passed the multimeter test, they went back in the car.

Now, I finally got to really test the windows. The two fronts and the driver's rear worked! They went up and down without a problem. The passenger rear wasn't working though, which was odd. The pump would run with the switch, just no window action. Before I dug into the problem window, I checked the power front seat. It worked! Needless to say, I was pretty happy.

Anyway, back to that passenger rear window. I pulled the lower portion of the back seat out so I could remove the pass rear panel to see what was going on. As soon as I pulled the seat lower, I saw what the problem was. The hard line going to that cylinder was disconnected and capped off at the T fitting. I'm assuming the PO did this because that cylinder was leaking. I didn't investigate further and reinstalled the lower seat.

Unfortunately, my success was short-lived. I came out the next morning to see that the three "working" windows were now down and there was ATF on the ground below the doors. I pulled off one of the door panels and saw that the cylinder was leaking at the shaft seal. So, as of now, none of the windows work. The seat cylinder is still good though. I'm assuming it's because it barely saw much use compared to the window cylinders.

Tires/Suspension:In late 2021, I ordered brand new wide white Diamond Back radial tires to replace the old bias ply white walls. The tires that were on her were dated to the early nineties. This upgrade was the single biggest improvement I did for her. These new tires drastically improved the way she drove and handled.

Shortly after the tires, I replaced the upper control arm bushings. They were in pretty bad shape and needed to be replaced. The bottoms look old but are in pretty decent shape. This is actually really common on the Packard forums. The tops are notorious for going bad while the lowers are usually fine.

After the bushings, I removed every suspension Zerk fitting and cleaned them in my parts washer. Once they were all clean and back on the car, I greased everything with high quality suspension grease.

Once all of that was done, I had her aligned at a shop that specializes in vintage vehicles. The owner said everything suspension wise was great and he was able to get everything into spec without a problem.

After all of this was done, she now drives amazingly. It's absolutely incredible how well these old Packards drive.

Recently, I noticed that the front sway bar bushings were broken apart and in really bad shape. I decided to pull out what was left of them because they were going to fall out anyway. This doesn't affect the alignment or driving experience but I'm sure new ones would assist with body roll around corners. Replacing these was on my list of things that needed attention.

Starter:It's worth mentioning that the starter may need a rebuild. After sitting for more than a couple of days, the starter won't do anything. The good news is, getting it to work is super easy. You just touch the starter switch contacts with a screwdriver a few times. After that, she'll start right up and work until she sits again.

Water Pump:Like the starter, the water pump is intermittent. Sometimes (very rarely) the WP will drip out of the weep hole. It never does this when she's out and about, if it happens at all, it's usually within a few days after being driven.

Example - I drive her to Cars & Coffee every weekend. Each Saturday morning, I'll check the drain pan under her. If there is water in there, I'll top her off. Again, this rarely happens but I feel that it's worth mentioning.

Transmission:The transmission works but will probably need some attention in the future. The first issue is an easy one and should probably be addressed sooner rather than later. The transmission is leaking ATF from the pan gasket. There are days when it will only drip a little and days when there will be a small puddle on the ground. Like the water pump, it only happens after sitting for a few days. She never leaks when she's out and about.

The second issue is the lockup clutch. When the car locks up (she had a lockup converter instead of a torque converter) around 20 mph, the clutch slips and makes a growling sound. I've learned to just let my foot off the gas a little when this happens and the clutch will lockup without a problem.

The third issue is with the low gear. The first generation of Packard's Ultramatic doesn't start out in first and shift into second when you drive. Low is first gear and High is second gear. When you drive the car normally, you drive the car in High (2nd gear). What feels like shifting around 20 mph isn't shifting at all, it's the lock up clutch locking up.

Since she's been a part of our family, she's never had Low range. I've never looked into this issue so I couldn't tell you what's wrong. It could be something as simple as a linkage adjustment.

Radio:The factory radio lights up when turned on but there is no sound. If I had to guess, the radio tubes probably need replacing.

Exhaust:Some of the exhaust has small pin holes along the bottom of the tubing. This is more than likely due to moisture sitting in the exhaust over the years. This issue doesn't cause any excess noise, I just wanted to mention it because I noticed it when I was under the car.

Lifter Tick:As I mentioned earlier in the story section, after I got her running, she had a slight misfire along with a lifter tick. I assumed it was sticking valves or lifters from sitting for so long. I decided to add Marvel Mystery Oil since everyone I knew raved about the stuff. I figured it couldn't hurt to try it.

While sitting at a traffic night shortly after adding it, the misfire went away and the engine immediately felt way smoother. I guess whatever was gummed up broke loose. Unfortunately, the lifter tick is still present. It's really not bad when she's cold but does get a little louder once the engine is warm and the oil has thinned out.

Apparently, this is a super common problem with hydraulic lifters in Packards. I've since talked to two different people that couldn't get rid of their lifter tick no matter what they did (including brand new lifters). The only fix was to swap them out with solid lifters. They said it's unfortunate to have to adjust valves now, but at least their Packards are almost silent like they should be.

Power Top:As mentioned in the story section, the top hydraulics were removed before the previous owner purchased her. The operation switch, hard line and cylinders have been removed. The cylinder mounts are still mounted to the floor. I purchased an operation switch assembly at one point that will be included in the sale.

I should mention that the top can easily be put up or down with two people. If you wanted to get the power top working again, you'd have to rebuild and install the operation switch, install a few hydraulic lines and install some new cylinders. After that, you should be all set.

Cosmetics

Overall, she's in pretty great shape for her age, but she definitely isn't perfect. In this section, I'll try to detail the exterior and interior the best I can.

Exterior:
The doors, hood and trunk close beautifully. It's incredible how well built these Packards were.

There are a few dings and dents here and there (nothing major), as well as some chipping paint. Overall, she is very straight, solid and incredibly dry. It's pretty rare to find an almost 70 year old car (let alone a convertible) that's as rust free as this one is.

All of the trim is present and in pretty good condition. The side trim right piece behind the driver's door has a few dings in it. I'm sure that it can easily be fixed. Everything that came with the car is still present. The car is totally complete down to the original wheel covers.

The chrome on the car is pretty decent for her age. The grill shows pretty well, the front bumper looks decent, the rear bumper looks okay but it's definitely showing some age.

All of the glass is present but unfortunately there is a crack down low on the passenger side of the windshield. It's not bad and doesn't affect visibility.

The top is there but definitely shows its age. The sides above each door have tightened up over the years and are a little higher than they should be. Right behind the rear quarter windows suffer from the same problem. It has tightened up to the point where the buttons can not be snapped onto the body.

The convertible boot cover is in pretty good condition and shows well when the top is down. We've had the top down and the cover on for pretty much the whole time she's been in the family.

Interior:
The interior shows very well with the exception of the seats. The seats looked to be original when we got her but they were in pretty bad shape. I've tried on numerous occasions to get the seats recovered but trying to find a good upholstery guy up here is like trying to find gold at the end of a rainbow.

With that being said, they needed to be addressed because they were falling apart. My wife and I decided to tape them up with black duct tape to resemble the original patterns. They aren't original looking but at least they aren't falling apart.

I don't know if the carpet is original or not but it looks almost new. The door card material looks great but the board backing is warped a little along the bottoms of each card. Since the outer material shows so well, the material can be glued onto new backings if needed.

Overall, the interior is in pretty good shape, only needing some new seat covers and some TLC.

So, with all of that out of the way, let's put together a list to reiterate everything.

The good:

Runs, drives and stops great

Clean title

No accidents

Two sets of keys (one set is original)

Original owners manual

Official Packard repair manual

Tons of receipts, registration cards & misc. paperwork

Incredibly dry - No rust

Doors, hood and trunk close beautifully

Highly optioned

Super reliable and incredibly fun

Gets compliments everywhere she goes

All gauges & lights work

Missing nothing except convertible cylinders & lines

Brand new Diamond Back wide white tires

Brand new upper control arm bushings

Recent alignment

Brand new 6V battery

Brand new belts

Brand new vacuum hoses

Totally rebuilt cooling system with all new parts (except WP)

Totally rebuilt fuel system with all new parts

Totally rebuilt ignition system with all new parts

Brand new / updated brake light switch

Brand new oil pressure sender

The bad:

Exterior shows its age

Seats need to be recovered

Pinholes in exhaust (she's still very quiet while running)

Water pump may need some attention

Transmission needs some attention

Power windows and top do not work

What's included in the auction:

The car itself

Two sets of keys (one set is original)

Clean title & bill of sale (signed)

Original owners manual

Official Packard repair manual

Tons of receipts, registration cards & misc. paperwork

CA Pink Slip from 1975 (WA DOL let me keep it when I titled her here)

3.5x5 Pictures from the early eighties

Convertible top operation switch assembly

Misc. extra parts

Overall, I think she's in pretty great shape for her age. She starts easily, idles great, drives excellent, and stops very well. She can honestly be daily driven as is - She's that reliable and well sorted. Oh, and I forgot to mention, she drives like a Packard! - So quiet, powerful and smooth. It's like driving on a cloud of air. Truly remarkable!

It would be really great if the next caretaker were to completely go through her and give her the love that she deserves. She's such a great honest old girl that really deserves more than I am able to provide her.

Either way, I'm very confident that she's going to make her next family very very happy. Hopefully they'll love her and enjoy her just like we have.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to ask. The license plate has been removed and will NOT be included in the auction. All sales are final and the vehicle is sold AS IS. Buyer is responsible for shipping or pickup. A deposit of $500 is due within 48 hours of auction close, this can be paid in person, PayPal, or bank to bank transfer. The remaining balance will be due within 7 days of the auction end, this can be paid by cash or bank to bank transfer.

Thank you very much and happy bidding.