1940 Packard 180 Super 8 Convertble
Technical Specs
356 CID L-Head Inline 8-Cylinder Engine Stromberg Carburetor
160 BHP at 3,500 RPM
3-Speed Manual Gearbox
4-Wheel Hydraulic Drum Brakes
Independent Front Suspension with Coil Springs
Semi-Floating Rear Axle with Semi-Elliptical Leaf Springs
Packard’s Model 180 became the company’s top-of-the-line model in 1939 with the demise of the Twelve. The junior cars had helped the company weather the difficult economical conditions of the great depression and essentially saved the company from extinction, while the senior cars (including the 180) continued to set the standard for luxury, refinement, and exclusivity. Although the 160 and 180 had similar specifications, the 180 was reserved for Packard’s top-of-the-line semi-customs and customs.
Both the 160 and the 180 were powered by an L-head, 356 cubic-inch eight-cylinder unit with nine main bearings, hydraulic valve lifters, aluminum pistons, and a cast-iron block. It produced 160 horsepower at 3200 RPM and was backed by a three-speed selective synchromesh transmission with column-mounted gearshift controls, and a single plate clutch. They had four-wheel hydraulic brakes, a coil spring independent front-wheel suspension, and a live rear axle with longitudinal semi-elliptic leaf springs. Both the One-Sixty and the Custom Super-8 One-Eight (1806, 1807, and 1808) shared the same wheelbase lengths of 127-, 138-, and 148-inches.
Nineteen forty was the last year that the “Packard Darrin” was actually built under Howard Darrin’s design control before the model moved completely under the Packard Motor Car Company’s auspices; this was also the final year for the distinctive suicide-style doors. Two versions were offered, based upon the One Twenty and Custom Super Eight One Eighty chassis. The One Eighty offered such considerably more power and impressive scale that it is inarguably held as “The Ultimate Darrin”—the car that every collector most wants to own. Of the genuine survivors, most are held in long-term collections and seldom change hands publicly, especially those of the quality seen here.
The Packard Darrin offered was originally sold in Columbus, Ohio, on 9 May 1940, as noted on its firewall tag. Historian Don Figone notes that the car was acquired in January 1960 by John Kinkead of St. Paul, Minnesota. Mr. Kinkead maintained the car for over a quarter-century before selling it to the noted CCCA member and avid Packard collector Gene Perkins of Indiana, who undertook the comprehensive restoration that the car still wears today. In Mr. Perkins’s ownership, the Packard eventually received Senior Premier status in CCCA judging, scored at 99.25 points at the Indiana Grand Classic in 1998. However, it was no trailer queen, being enjoyed on three long-distance CARavans over the years. It was featured in Beverly Rae Kimes’ well-known book The Classic Car in 1990.
