Found in a barn ...now at Pebble Beach!

[bobby]

Found in a Barn
Rare 1937 Export Packard Twelve will debut at Pebble Beach
There’s always another reason to go to Pebble—you’ll always get to see cars like this: Originally ordered by Marc Droulers, a textile magnate and former owner of the Villa d’Este on Lake Como, Italy, this ’37 Packard Twelve was delivered in January 1938 to Ditta Bandera Franco, a luxury car dealer in Milan.

After WWII the Packard was sold to Societa Trenno, S.r.l., owners of the Sesana harness racing track in Montecatini for use as a starter’s car. Now restored, the 12-cylinder convertible coupe (Model 1507) had spent decades languishing in a horse barn at the harness track until collector Edo Anseloni rescued it in the early-1980s. It was found with its original matching number 473-cubic-inch V12 and chassis.

For use at the harness races in the late 1940s and ’50s, the Packard’s rumble seat and rear deck had been cut out and replaced with a huge electric motor to power the folding gates used to keep the horses lined up. After years of seasonal use, the Packard was stored in a barn at the track.

After trailering it home, Anseloni cleaned the V12’s carburetor and distributor, changed spark plugs, drained and refilled the gas tank and added a new battery. He says he cranked it a couple times and fired right up.

He kept the Packard at his museum, Museo-Memoriale del la Liberta, in Bologna until 2002. He lives in Bologna and the museum showcases 50 U.S. military vehicles, including a fully functional Sherman tank that he often drives. The interactive museum chronicles and celebrates the liberation of Bologna and its surrounding towns by the U.S. Army.

In 2002 he sold the car to his longtime friend, Nicola Bulgari.

Bulgari and Anseloni are passionate about their love of American culture and cars. Anseloni owns three classic Airstream trailers that he keeps in California for touring and Vintage Airstream Club events.

Bulgari lives in Rome and New York City, and collects vintage American cars. The Bulgari Collections total more than 150 cars and are located in Rome and Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Shortly after purchasing the Packard, Bulgari shipped it to Keith Flickinger, curator of his collection at Precision Motor Cars, Allentown, Pennsylvania, for a body-off restoration. Later this year it will be exported (again) to Italy. The car will run in the Pebble Beach Tour on Thursday, August 16, and shown on the green at the Concours, Sunday, August 19.