1947 Custom Super Eight was White House staff car
Milton Wheeler was born and raised in Modesto. He has several college degrees, including a bachelor’s in music and a master’s in music performance. He taught high school music for more than 30 years, and his school band and choral groups performed at Disneyland for 20 years in a row. He now directs the Bay Area Men’s Chorus, and is also an SCCA judge at all the major Concour d’Elegance shows in Northern California.
It was in 1974 at the Packard Automobile Classics national meet in San Francisco that I first saw my 1947 Custom Super Eight.
It was on the showroom floor of the Lincoln/Mercury dealership on Van Ness Avenue, along with several other Packards that were on display during the show.
Looking over the car, I realized that it was in all original condition. The salesman had been watching me and asked if I would be interested in buying the car. I laughed and said, “Sure,” thinking he was joking.
The next day I drove to Treasure Island for the show and judging. While parking my current 1941 Packard, I noticed the same car from the day before in the row just behind me with a “For Sale” sign on it. I talked to the owner who offered to sell me the 1947 Packard for $1,600. I was pleased to buy it for that small amount, and he was glad to sell it so that he could repair his Porsche.
I am the fourth owner of this car. It was originally used as a White House staff car during the Truman administration. It then was sold to a wealthy farmer in Lodi, where it spent most of its time. After the death of the farmer, the family stored the car for many years, eventually selling it to the gentleman I bought it from.
I drove my new Packard home to Mountain View and started to check out the car. I found the rear axle seals were leaking, so I replaced them and rebuilt the rear brakes. After driving it for a while, I felt it was low on power for a Super Eight. I checked the engine numbers and found out that it was a 288 CID.
Apparently, the family had worn out the original engine and installed the 288. A friend of mine had a nice, low-mileage 1948 Packard 356 CID engine, which he gave to me so I could rebuild and install it in place of the 288.
The Packard has original paint, chrome, carpets and wood graining. The driver’s seat and the back seat show signs of wear, indicating that many people had sat in the back, probably being chauffeured by White House drivers. There is a plaque on the instrument board verifying its connection to the White House and a lapel pin with a photo of Harry Truman.
My whole family has enjoyed our 1947 Packard. My father, who was a car guy, loved it. My son Mark used it for his senior prom, having his friend act as chauffeur for the evening. My wife and I have driven across many parts of the country in the Packard.
We’ve done many classic road trips, like Chicago to Santa Monica on Route 66, San Francisco to Seattle on Highway 1 and the 100th Anniversary tour of the Lincoln Highway, from Times Square in New York to Lincoln Park in San Francisco.
This Packard is a joy to drive and is very comfortable for touring. I can keep up with modern traffic and it performs extremely well. I keep it well maintained and ready to pass on to my son Mark, who is the webmaster for the Packard Club website and will be happy to call it his own some day.