PACKARD CELEBRATION All roads lead to Warren for vehicle's enthusiasts

The museum's annual car show runs July 24-27.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Packard car enthusiasts are coming from all over the country to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Model F's cross-country journey.
"We have 27 people participating from different cities," said city resident Terry Martin, director of the Packards Across America Tour.
More may join later, he said. Drivers start on each coast, meeting in Ohio later this month.
The event, which starts in San Francisco on Monday, concludes July 24 and coincides with the 14th annual car show, which runs July 24-27 at the National Packard Museum. Some participants start in New York and drive to Warren.
The drive commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Transcontinental Run from San Francisco to New York executed in a Packard Model F by Tom Fetch of the Packard Motor Car Co. to prove the car's endurance and durability.
All cars meet in Jefferson, Ohio, where Fetch is buried, and drive to Warren together. Some will join the drive just through their respective states.
Old Pacific II
Martin restored a 1903 Model F and drove it cross-country in 1983. That car, Old Pacific II, named after Fetch's Old Pacific, is displayed in the Packard Museum, donated earlier this year by Delphi Packard Electric System which bought the car from Martin in 1984.
Martin and his wife, Dot, trailered Old Pacific II out to San Francisco three weeks ago. He'll drive the old car out for show along the cross-country trek, but the 1903 vehicle will spend most of the journey in the trailer.
"It will come out just to show people how it sounds, what it looks like," Martin said.
When Martin drove it 20 years ago along with his son, John, and Fetch's grand-nephew, the one-cylinder car only traveled about 22 miles an hour along the 5,000-mile passage. The trip took 63 days with stops to repair parts that broke down.
"We just did that to show people how primitive it was," Martin said, adding that the 1903 journey crossed a country that was largely without adequate roadways.
"Even 20 years ago when I was asked about it, I said I'd rather have an 80-year-old car on new roads," he chuckled.
The city man owns a part from every Packard built in Warren from 1899. The cars were manufactured in the city for five years. He'll send photographs and updates from the trip that are expected to be included on the museum's Web site.
Martin's wife will accompany him on the trip.
"My wife surprised me the other day and made me a brand new duster for the trip," said Martin who plans to dress the part of a 1903 motorist.
denise.dick@vindy.com