Salon Car
1929 Packard 640 Runabout
Owner: Paul L. Mehes, D.D.S.
Novelty, Ohio
Story by Paul Mehes and Keith M. Albers
Photography by Paul Mehes
Reprinted from the Packards International Magazine, Summer 1995 Vol. 32, No. 2

It is March 30, 1990, at the Frederick C. Crawford Auto Museum Auction in Cleveland, Ohio. The bids have died. Sotheby's auctioneer brings his ivory gavel upward. His solemn mouth begins to form the word "sold." Suddenly, the hand of a new bidder shoots up! "BANG" goes the gavel! Then "SOLD!" The gavel pointing directly at Dr. Paul Mehes, the taking bid. His startled companions blurt out, "Paul, you didn't want that car!" Paul breathed back, "Yeah, I know."

Now belonging to Paul, the 1929 Packard 640 Runabout had been on museum display for 40 years. It didn't run. He already owned a 1934 Packard Coupe Roadster. He and his "car buddies" were there to bid on other cars, having no interest in the 640 runabout. There was no "Going once. Going twice." in Sotheby's auction style. Bids are over in a flash. But in that micro-second, Paul had decided that high bid was too low for such a fine automobile and that it should have a much more appreciative owner. Any regrets? Later that day Paul declined a $5,000 profit from an Australian gentleman. What regrets?

The car had been purchased brand-spanking new on May 21, 1929, by Frederick C. Crawford himself. The buying terms were basic. Give The Cleveland Packard Co. $3,175 and they give you the car. Five summers later, Crawford sold it to Lee M. Clegg. Fifteen years later, when Crawford opened his museum, Clegg donated the car back to the museum. That was in April of 1949.

Soon after, the car was displayed in photo ads promoting General Tires and Crawford's own companies, TRW and Thompson Products. TRW then, as now, made parts for most of the cars around in 1929. Besides Packard, Jordan, Peerless, Rollin, and Winton appeared on TRW's customer lists. The 640 Runabout's last hurrah had been in 1973, when she was featured as a highlight of the "Sports Car in Review" at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.

Paul pushed the car onto his trailer (he just happened to bring one) and carried her home. The beige fenders, orange wheels and white body were imprinted with museum dust. The tire walls were pale yellow. Cosmetics had been done in 1950 and 1973. The engine had a rebuild in 1979. So with a tune-up, maybe a little paint touch-up here and there and a good cleaning, Paul would be sailing down the byways. And he would call her "Ruby."

Anxious for Ruby to see some summer driving, he made a bee-line for Basom Restorations. "Hey, Jack. Don't retire yet. I've got a "quickie" here for you. Just clean old Ruby up and give her a dab of paint where it's needed. Everywhere Jack had cleaned under the car, paint was coming off. Much deliberation followed. Finally, Paul concluded that an unbastardized gem with only 27,581 miles on it, was righteous and honest enough to deserve a frame-up rejuvenation.

Jack rebuilt, replaced, fixed, renovated stripped, repainted and replated everything but the motor itself. After a few months wait for some parts, Joe Virostic got Ruby's engine running with no problems. Meanwhile, Paul and his car buddies did scads of research on 1929 Packard options and Ruby's paint was correctly changed to a two-tone maroon. The finale came in June of 1992 with quite a pleasing outcome, especially for Jack Basom--he actually did retire.

Ruby made quite a splash at her debut showings, getting all the recognition due to any princess on her throne. Then it happened! It was on a casual Sunday drive when Paul first heard that dreaded engine sound. Clang, clang, clang! (And it wasn't the trolley.) The more he drove, the louder it got. How bedeviling! More than two years in the making and now this. "What am I involved with here?" Must be "Gone With The Wind!" he reflected.

Paul's car buddies advised him to seek professional help. His retort, "I'd rather get the car fixed!"

Undaunted, Paul got a second opinion at Northeast Ohio Restoration from William Snyder, a renowned specialist in his field. The highly technical prognosis: "It's broke. I'll have to tear it all apart." Once accomplished, there they were. Pits! In the cylinder walls and wherever pits are found after a 40-year stint on a museum floor.

"Fix it, Bill. Leave no stone unturned when you do." So Bill Snyder did, rebuilding the motor to an almost neurotic level. Ruby was ready to roll in January 6, 1993, and the next day she attended the Baltimore Grand Classic, winning the Senior Award. The engine hummed affectionately, as a beaming Paul drove the regal lady home. "Driving Ruby! It's a dream car all right." But with a chuckle, Paul confesses that steering is used as a form of exercise. "Going up hills in high gear, Ruby doesn't even know they're there," he says.
"Those 348.8 cubic motor inches haul those 4,285 pounds and me around like nobody's business. It's been a chore to get her right, but worth every bit of it. I'm just one more happy fellow that owns one."

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