Avery’s 1928 Packard Roadster is very close to its coming-out party, it has been a 4 year project!
Packard’s motto was “Ask a man who Owns One”.
Avery Hall is that man!
This is what Avery Hall’s 1928 Packard Roadster (model 533) looked like when he started the restoration 4 years ago. Quite a difference from the beauty we see on the front page of this issue of Wheel Tracks!
Avery found the car in Florida in the early 1990s when he and VAEer, Bryce Howells drove there and trailered it home to Burlington. The two are in a small group of 16 VAE members who have Packards, wouldn’t it be great if we could see them all side by side, in all their glory, someday!
According to “American Cars Catalog” Avery’s model 533 is the fifth series of 6 cylinder Packards that started in production in 1921. After 1928, Packard did not build another 6 cylinder car until 1937. The 33 in the model number means the wheel base is 133 inches.
The L-head straight six with a bore and swing of 3.5 X 5 inches produces 81 HP and has 7 main bearings, mechanical lifters and the Packard updraft carburetor. The publication says there were 13,414 of the model 533s produced in 1928.
Wheel Tracks has been corrected a few times on what the 5 really means in the model number 533. The 5 might simply mean it was the fifth series as noted above. We were told it also means the travel of the piston and one informant says the 5 means the number of passengers the roadster can carry. Wheel Tracks will publish any “corrections” that might be sent in our next issue….please stand by.
There is no question about Avery’s 533 when it comes to beauty and quality. When standing in front of the vehicle and looking along the side of the body you can find it has a beautiful curve as it reaches the rear of the car……a little “boat-tail” feel!
The engine compartment is very simple and easy to understand it’s workings. Even the Stuart vacuum tank is in full dress, as you can see to the left. Most of the white oak body frame has had to be replaced in Avery’s 4 to 5 year restoration. The engine was rebuilt by the “Auto Shop” and the upholstery and top was done by Michael Lemire in Richmond, Vermont
The first Packard was built in 1899 in Warren, Ohio. In 1903 the main Packard factory opened in Detroit, it was designed by Albert Kahn and occupied 3.5 million square feet across 47 buildings on 40 acres and employed over 40,000 skilled workers. In 1956, when the factory was closed, it was claimed to be the largest abandoned factory in the world.
