Howard "Dutch" Darrin (1897-1992), as described
here, is best known for his custom car body designs, although he also consulted for Kaiser-Frazer post- World War 2.
For the 1940 model year he provided sporty designs for Packard sedans. This was in addition to his better-known 1937-1942 Packard Darrin convertible coupes. Today's post presents some images of his 1940 Packard Custom Super Eight One-Eighty Convertible Sedan. As best I can tell, these are from RM Sotheby's.
Gallery
For context, a 1940 Packard Super Eight One-Sixty Convertible Sedan, Mecum Auctions photo. This was Packard's factory-sourced convertible sedan that was available on the company's 120 and 160 models, but not the line-topping 180s that were reserved for custom and semi-custom bodies.
Side view a Darrin Convertible Sedan that seems to be based on the long 138-inch (3505 mm) wheelbase -- the car in the previous photo had a 127-inch (3226 mm) wheelbase. Fenders are stock '40 Packard. The front door is hinged on the B-pillar, unlike the regular convertible sedan. No running board on the Darrin.
The top when raised seems lumpy, awkward.
This photo (source unknown) of the same car, shows the top down.
The very front is stock Packard.
The rear had special sheet metal. The trunk lid might be the same used for Packard coupes.
A nice rear-quarter view. My reference material has this model's 1940 price as $6,332, and that of the model in the top image as $2,075.
2 comments:
Grey is so wonderful;)
I always think of the work of piloting these land barges for those not employing a chauffer in pre-power steering days. A nice Plymouth would be a lot more pleasant behind the wheel. Or maybe a 1940 Oldsmobile Series 70, deluxe but with the lighter 6 over the front wheels. Yeah, I don't see why driving should be a lot of work, and with the Olds you could get a Hydramatic at least, and also amaze your friends. Fun fact: perusing the '40 Olds brochure I found that they had coil rear suspension with the axle located by two long track bars and a crosswise stabilizer bar. The new real postwar '49s too, but they switched to leaves in 1951. Old car brochures are fun - a lot in there, and period prose too.
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