1903 loaner car finds a home

A Warren resident drove the car cross-countryin 1983, re-creatinga 1903 trip.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- The centerpiece of the National Packard Museum is a permanent display.
Jim Spencer, president of Delphi Packard Electric Systems, presented a poster-board sized copy of the title of the 1903 Model F to the museum Thursday. The car, one of three known to exist, has been on loan from the company to the museum since the museum opened in 1999.
"This is the biggest single donation we've had at the museum and we really appreciate it," said Jim Crouse, president of the museum's board of directors. It's also the oldest car in the museum collection.
Delphi Packard bought the car from city resident Terry Martin in 1984. Martin had restored the car and drove it across the country in 1983.
Took it for a drive
Martin was re-creating the Transcontinental Run from San Francisco to New York.
Tom Fetch of the Packard Motor Car Co. drove a 1903 Model F on the same trek in 1903 to prove the car's endurance and durability. Fetch's car, Old Pacific, is in the Henry Ford Museum in Michigan.
Martin dubbed his rebuilt piece Old Pacific II.
Martin's 5,000-mile journey took 63 days at a maximum speed of 22 mph. His son, John, who is Fetch's grandnephew, accompanied Martin on the drive, taking turns behind the wheel.
Car restoration has been Martin's hobby since he was a teen, and he estimates he's restored 75 vintage vehicles.
Martin moved to Warren in 1963 from West Virginia. He spent years researching Packards and wrote the first four chapters of a book on the cars.
"Of course you can't do that without falling in love with it," he said.
Quite the collector
He started collecting Packard parts and says he has a part from every Packard built in Warren from 1899. The cars were manufactured in the city for five years.
Martin also plans to remove the fenders and return the car to the road in July for the museum's car show. Participants from each Packard region across the country are expected to drive on the cross-country trek beginning in San Francisco.
"I'm going to drive it part of the way," Martin said. "It will be for the atmosphere, for the other drivers to hear it cranking up in the morning."
Some participants will drive only to the line of their respective states. Others may complete the full trip. The journey ends in the city. The car show will begin July 24.
dick@vindy.com