It Drives Like An Ocean Liner

            When Don Wood found himself in a position to get into owning a classic automobile, his father told him that if he was going to do it then he should go after a Packard. According to Don, his father grew up in Tennessee coal country and remembered the mine owners and executives driving around in Packards.

            Don now lives in Johnson City, TN and currently serves as the president of the southeastern region of Packards International Motor Car Club.

            In 2010 Don brought his 1946 Packard Super Custom Clipper Henney to the Ault Park Concourse d’Elegance and took home the Mayor’s Trophy. This year he decided to bring his 1942 Super 8 One-Sixty. It is a massive 7 passenger touring sedan with a 148” wheel base, 16” wheels moved by a 356 cubic inch engine putting out 165 horse power. At the time, it was the largest car in production.

            Don bought his Super 8 in 2002. He had found it in Seattle and the previous owner wasn’t taking the best care of it. “It was used as a dog house or a big foot was sleeping there,” he said. “It was totally covered in hair.”

            Being a Packard man, Don knew what he had. His car is one of seven known ’42 Packard Super 8 One-Sixtys known to exist.

            For that reason and his love of the marque, Don underwent a painstaking three year restoration from the frame up. “Every nut and bolt on it,” he said, “was restored.”

            Though it is a lot of car, Don isn’t shy about driving it around. “It was designed to be a touring car,” he said, adding that the ride is as spectacular as its Howard “Dutch” Darrin Clipper series design. “It drives like an ocean liner. It just floats along. If you hit a bump the people in the back don’t even feel it,” he said.

            Keep an eye out for Don and his Packards at shows and events around the region. And check out Packards International at http://packardsinternational.com/.