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SALON
CAR
1936 Packard 120 Convertible Sedan
Owner: Monte adn Elaine Glud
Dundee, Oregon
Story by Keith M. Albers
Photographs by David Charvet
Reprinted from the Packards International Magazine,
Summer 2002 Vol. 39, No. 2
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Monte
Glud started dreaming about owning a Packard convertible at the tender
age of four. It's not so much to ask in one full life-time and as
the years passed his dream finally came true in 1994. But not without
a lot of help from his friends.
There is Elaine Glud, Monte's charming and lovely wife. When Monte
stood nervously contemplating the purchase of his unrestored dream
car in 1994, Elaine announced assertively: "Monte, if you don't
buy this car now, you will regret it for the rest of you life!"
How can any man be so lucky?
There is David McCready, Monte's faithful friend, magnificent mentor
and renowned Packard Wizard. Evey Packard David has ever touched seems
to turn to pure gold and David touched Monte's Packard in places even
the factory didn't think of.
There is David Charvet, celebrated raconteur, accomplished magician,
patron saint adn editor extraordinaire of the award-winning "Oregon
Clipper" region Packard Magazine and man about town. David has
applied his romantic brush strokes to Monte's dream car at every turn,
creating many tasty and delectable images for all of us to munch upon
in our enjoyment of Packard fare. |
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cast and crew are nearly accounted for with Jim Classen's complete
and thorough overhaul of the Packard's engine and clutch. With Guy
Recordon and Jim Enger performing an impeccable installation of the
beautiful brown leather upholstery and the tan Haartz cloth top. |
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In 1935, Packard created a bold marketing experiment
that worked successfully. While most car manufacturers were jammed
with inventory (due to the Great Depression and approaching WWII),
Packard created an "economy" model that was selling briskly.
Not wanting to call it an "economy model", Packard called
it a "junior model". They built and sold nearly 25,000 of
the "juniors" in 1935.
Gearing up for even bigger sales in 1936, Packard had the fabulous
Ray Dietrich design a convertible sedan and simply called it "body
997". We're not sure how many were sold, but there are still
a few around. In 1936, Packard sold 55,042 "juniors" and
5,985 "seniors".
You won't need a slide rule to figure out the "juniors"
saved Packard's bacon back in the Great Depression. Had that not occurred,
Packard would most likely have been defunct by 1940, as Duesenberg,
Cord, Marmon, Peerless adn Pierce-Arrow were, and without Packard
there would be no P-51 Mustang Engines to win the war. |
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The
first time Monte drove his Packard, he was seated behind the wheel
on a kitchen chair feeling as though he must be looking like a cartoon
- "Roger Rabbit" character.
But it ran and drove like a dream anyway...
"quite light and easy to control. The car is very agile and the
ride is truly comfortable." |
In June
2001, when Monte finished helping Dave McCready with the more than
complete frame-off total restoration, he and Elaine took a "first"
as Best Orphan at the Joseph, Oregon Mountain Cruise.
In July 2001, they took a "first" for Special Interest Cars
at the Forest Grove, Oregon Concours d'Elegance.
And in February 2002, Monte and Elaine took a "first" for
Pre-War Open Juniors at the Annual Packards International Membership
Meet in Orange, CA.
The 240 Points earned placed them and their Packard very high up on
the "Circle-of-Champions" pedestal. |
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"The
overall beauty of the Dietrich design simply flows together in a harmonious
blend of shapes and hues. Taking the top down changes the entire character
and appearance of the car. On the highway, the car seem content at
50 and 55 mph. Acceleration is more than adequate, especially in city
driving"... so says Monte. |
Past Feature Stories
Fall 2002
Summer 1995
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INTERNATIONAL 
