1918 Packard 3-35 Twin Six Touring

Vehicle no. 154680
Motor no. 154680

This 1918 Packard 3-35 Twin Six Touring car was discovered in a barn in Maryland around 1953,by early Virginian enthusiast Bruce Woodson. An amazing series of photos depicting the barn find and extraction verify this Packard as a solid and intact original example, at the time wearing 1929 Maryland plates, indicating the car was in hiding for nearly a quarter of a century by that time. Mr. Woodson performed a cosmetic restoration and drove the car with his family for several years before selling it in 1964 to a family in Ohio.

It was then acquired by Harrah’s Automobile Collection in May of 1970, with documents on file from the National Automobile Museum showing that the car retained its original dash plate and motor, as it does today – and that Bill Harrah was pleased with the acquisition, noting “Very Good” upon receiving confirmation of his successful purchase. The car remained on display in the collection until 1985 when it was acquired by the famed gunmaker, engineer, and automobile enthusiast, William “Bill” Ruger, Sr., who had further restoration work performed.

Sold by the estate of Bill Ruger, Sr. in 2002, the car enjoyed two further owners before joining the present collection. It was then cosmetically restored in the present livery, with beautiful, lively paintwork, black leather upholstery and blue cloth top.

Today this Packard retains its original chassis, engine, body, and factory data plate, and it is worth noting that as a later series Twin Six it has a detacheable cylinder head which is a big plus for maintenance.  The car is accompanied by multiple wonderful period photographs depicting the “barn find” sequence and subsequent use by the Woodson family, as well as a few pieces of Harrah’s documentation including correspondence between Bill Harrah and buyer Bud Catlett, and finally by its acquisition file recently retrieved from the estate of William Ruger, Jr., which includes the iconic and immediately recognizable Harrah’s display placard.