1935 Packard carved panel

Partition glass gives S&S away.

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Without seeing better exterior angles I can't tell which model, Corinthian or Romanesque maybe? A Byzantine (bottom) for comparison:

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Eureka book also has some sunburst partition glass. What year is the photo you added? I was looking more for information as to where it was in service etc. All I know is it came out of Canada and the last owner purchased it in the early '60s.
 
'37 S&S Buick.

Keith should be able to provide more info. I then flipped through Carved-Panel Hearses An Illustrated History 1933-1948 and noticed rear interior panels also appear to match S&S.

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It's obviously adorned with Canadian coachwork - Mitchell, Brantford or one of the small Quebec-based builders would be my guess. The fact that the chassis was built at the Packard factory in Windsor says that it was a Canadian car that was shipped to a coachbuilder somewhere in Canada. It certainly not an S&S or a Eureka.
 
Talk about a deco interior...love those "ceiling" lights. Also note the clamshell rear door( seen on at least one Henney) and the flower racks on the wheel houses. It looked alot like S&S....but...I'm thinking Brantford. Comparing S&S interior shots kinda rules them out. The panel detail is close though.
 
Thanks everyone, the car is arriving tomorrow so I will be able to get better pictures. If there is any location that I should be looking, let me know.
 
Incredibly unique and perplexing. Considering 4/23/35 delivery, Mitchell was making coaches. If '35 model was converted a few years later, Brantford would have established business by then (same with John Little). Doesn't rule out any small Quebec builders as Keith mentioned either!
 
Engine oil appears relatively clean, but junk could have settled. Shifter feels smooth and solid. There is what appears to be a small tag in the passenger rear fender but can't read anything due to rust. Other than that, no tag so far. Table still slides smooth, little effort.
 
Well.....what a beautiful and rare car. First, what we know. This is a 1935 Packard Standard Eight Series 1200-A commercial chassis. There's no doubt that. We know that John Little was gainfully employed at that time at the Mitchell Company in Ingersoll so....it's not a Little. Although none of the moldings or trim matches anything we have on record as being built by Mitchell (and there's very little of this around) it could very well be a Mitchell-built car. It could also be a Brantford as they dod mount some elegantly carved bodies on Packard, Cadillac and LaSalle chassis right through the Thirties - despite the fact that the basic bodies were imported from Henney in Freeport. There has been no builders plate or tags found thus far and the Packard serial plate says it was sent to Montreal. There were a few small "body shops" - I hesitate to call them coachbuilders - in and around the Montreal area that did build some stunning funeral cars but, although it now appears likely, we can't prove that this is the case for this car. We're all gonna have to do some further study on this one to see what we can come up with. In the meantime, James...you've got one magnificent car there and....it may very well be a one-of-a-kind piece as well.
 
Thanks Rocky,

It all started when a friend suggested I join the Packard club for the heck of it, so I dinked around on the website for a while. Noticed the for sale ads and thought 'why not?'. After a couple of calls, went down the next night after work to check it out and sealed the deal. Worth every minute of the 7 hour round trip.

On another positive note, wiggled the crank pulley after pulling plugs and put a battery in, turned right over. I'm thinking the wiring is still pretty good for the most part, horn works, one headlight is good, could be a bulb out in the other. no light in the rear compartment though.
 
nice find !!!

Hey James, ...... a very nice find you have there. Are the carved panels alluminum or wood???...... they look cast alluminum and the larger arch looks like sheet alluminum. ...... rather cutting edge for the day. Miller, Meteor, Eureka, Cunningham were still using wood for their carved sides. Henney and Superior were not noted for carved side models in 35, and I cant ever recall seeing one of 35 vintage.The earliest S&S I have seen with alluminum sides was a 36. Assuming she was built in 35 and maybe actually built in 1938 with 35 chassis...?????/...Possibility.......... Just my veeeery limited knowledge and recollections here James. We are always coming across coaches which many of us never knew were built.

The sunburst window design had been around for a long time before this car was built. The clambshell rear door design I have seen twice before, once on Henney product and once on a Brantford Packard, think it was a 36????.....
Maybe theres a connection here?
Hey, Im shocked and amazed the rear hatch has any wood left to support them. A pleasant surprise for you.
Not following along as I should to this post but She definitely has a Canadian flair to her..EHH???. Are the wood pieces shown in the back of the coach on the floor for this car????.... Possibly mounted on the roof of the car???? maybe supporting a cross, or could be from an earlier coach thrown in the back when she left the funeral home. Ive brought home many coaches with parts from the Funeral homes earlier aquisitions.

Good luck with her and please keep us updated on her progress.
John Ehmer
 
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