The product of intensive design and development, as well as a reported 50,000 miles of testing in the harshest possible conditions, Packard’s Model 30 was produced for 1907 through 1912 and stands as the car that truly put the company into the same league as fellow “3 P’s” marques Peerless and Pierce-Arrow. Priced from $4,200 in 1910, this Packard Model 30 Runabout carries known ownership history dating back to 1926, with former owners including Thad Frazier of Roosevelt, Arizona (1926-50), Alvia Davis of Tucson, Arizona (1950), Herb Royston of Santa Monica, California (1950-69), Dick Cutler of Grass Valley, California (1969-87), and John and Joan Walters of Martinsville, New Jersey. Featuring a sporting Runabout body by Selden, finished in Signal Red with black accents and cream pinstriping, the Model 30 is powered by a 432 CI inline 4-cylinder T-head engine with cylinders cast in pairs, which is paired with a 3-speed manual transmission. Other highlights include a black Victoria-style convertible top, black long-grain leather upholstery and a rear “mother-in-law” auxiliary seat. Extensive and engaging brass items include the headlamps, radiator surround, cowl lamps, horn, windshield frame, fuel tank straps, tail lamp, trim and the brass hardware to the wooden luggage trunk. Black-painted wood-spoke wheels feature Firestone blackwall tires with demountable rims. The badge bar of this historic Packard Model 30 includes medallions from the HCCA, VMCCA, AACA, VCBGB and the Automobile Club of Southern California. A registered State of California Motor Vehicle badge remains intact and affixed to the dashboard as well. Whether fully dressed with the Victoria-style folding top or displayed as a Speedster, the Model 30 exudes an upscale vintage presence throughout, enhanced by the folding windshield, bulb horn and dual side-mounted spare tires. Rightly, the Model 30 is a multiple- award winner, culminating in AACA Senior Grand National First Prize honors in 2011. A treasure trove of documents accompanies the Packard, including vintage photographs depicting the car in the 1920s, more than 100 letters of Herb Royston’s correspondence dating from 1950-1968, and research binders containing period magazine articles, Packard sales catalogs, an operating book and parts catalog. A very extensive early Packard tool roll and magnetos will also be included in the sale.
