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This 1939 Packard Six Business Coupe was found as junk in a warehouse near Baton Rouge in 1981. It was literally a wreck requiring a complete restoration front to rear and top to bottom. The car was part of the estate of an old gentleman engineer who died in 1980. Carolyn, my wife, and Laura, our daughter, and I knew the original owner and we thought the restoration would be a great family project. And it was.

The restoration took four years, but it was well worth the effort. The car is very interesting in that it is a junior business coupe, but it has some features of the senior cars: column gear shift, radio, clock, banjo steering wheel, and deluxe door and window handles, all from the factory. But the first owner just wore it out by pulling trailers, mowers, plows, rakes, trees, and who knows what else. This Packard has known paved roads, shell and gravel roads, dirt roads and no roads in its day. It was bought to be used, even as a tractor. However, now it is in our garage, dry and polished and I am sure swapping tall tales with our 1955 Four Hundred and chuckling about how our daughter, Laura, learned to drive a stick shift looking out over that long hood. All Packards truly have a personality.


	Welcome to Lone Star Packards
Go To: Home Page Activities Schedule Members Cars Bulletin Board Owner's Manual Region Officers Sell / Wanted New Listings Service Providers Featured Member Car of the Quarter Archive Membership Application as doc file as pdf file	Lone Star Packards was formed in the Houston area in 1964 and it is the third oldest region of the Packard Club in the country. Since we were the first Packard club in Texas, we laid claim to the Lone Star name and had members from all over the state. Today we have three other regions in Texas so most of the Lone Star Packards members reside in the Houston Gulf Coast area. Our club welcomes anyone with an interest in Packards whether they own a Packard or not. We are a family oriented club and many of our children have grown up in the club and now bring their children to the meetings and activities. One of the reasons for the success of Lone Star Packards has to be related to the many activities we offer through out the year. Every month we have a meeting held in rotating areas of the greater Houston area. We have a Christmas party at an upscale facility, we have an annual fall tour, and we have a huge contingent of our membership that makes the annual trek to the Texas Packard Meet in April in Salado. In addition, our club does at least two public service activities each year. We have a rich history of which we are very proud. We are not only one of the oldest regions, we were the co-founders of the Texas Packard Meet. We have hosted two national meets, one in 1984 and the other in 1998 and we were able to have James J. Nance (the last president of Packard) to attend and speak at our national meet in 1984. We have been successful in establishing several national projects and we, along with the other Texas Packard regions, secured a WWII Packard PT boat engine for the Nimitz Museum in Fredericksburg. Having an award winning quarterly publication, THE OWNER'S MANUAL, as well as having an informative website also contribute to our success. If you have an interest in preserving Packards history as well as actual vehicles, you and your family are most welcome in the Lone Star Packards region of the Packard Club. Join us and enjoy the fun. Print a Membership Application from this page. Happy Packarding!

	Featured Member Car of the Quarter

	Family Project Takes 1939 Business Coupe from Junk Car to Show Car This 1939 Packard Six Business Coupe was found as junk in a warehouse near Baton Rouge in 1981. It was literally a wreck requiring a complete restoration front to rear and top to bottom. The car was part of the estate of an old gentleman engineer who died in 1980. Carolyn, my wife, and Laura, our daughter, and I knew the original owner and we thought the restoration would be a great family project. And it was. The restoration took four years, but it was well worth the effort. The car is very interesting in that it is a junior business coupe, but it has some features of the senior cars: column gear shift, radio, clock, banjo steering wheel, and deluxe door and window handles, all from the factory. But the first owner just wore it out by pulling trailers, mowers, plows, rakes, trees, and who knows what else. This Packard has known paved roads, shell and gravel roads, dirt roads and no roads in its day. It was bought to be used, even as a tractor. However, now it is in our garage, dry and polished and I am sure swapping tall tales with our 1955 Four Hundred and chuckling about how our daughter, Laura, learned to drive a stick shift looking out over that long hood. All Packards truly have a personality.