Dale Janssen's sleek sedan...
Dale Janssen's sleek sedan is powered by an impressive-looking Triton V-10 (415ci, 6.8L) Ford motor topped by a Whipple supercharger. When it comes to the engine, looks can be deceiving because, even though it's painted the same green as Packard motors of the `30s, this motor will haul! Inside the four-door is a split bench seat up front from a '92 Lincoln Continental, which was recovered in moss-colored leather by Dave and Larry White. The dash includes a woodgrained finish from Dynamic Finishes, reworked gauges from Classic Instruments, and a one-off steering wheel (from Odd Rods and Juliano's) attached to an ididit column.
Jackson used the stock chassis, but added the Mustang II-type IFS from Fatman Fabrications as well as an Air Ride Technologies air bag system along with early gas-filled Vette shocks. The Fatman rack runs to an ididit column, and 11-inch discs provide the stop. In the rear a disc-brake-equipped 9-inch Ford with a triangulated four-link was used with another set of Air Ride bags and Vette shocks.
The rod rolls on original 16-inch Packard steel wheels (with original caps, too) but they were widened to 6 and 7 inches by Tru Design Wheel in Colorado. Diamond Back tires provided the Federal rubber in a 175/75-16 and 225/75-16 combination.
When deciding what the drivetrain should be composed of, Roger and Dale threw a lot of ideas around until Jackson hit upon a unique idea. After viewing the F250 Ford truck Dale had driven to the shop, Roger thought the Triton V-10 would be a good candidate and soon one was located and taken from a wrecked Ford ambulance and included the E40D trans and the larger A/C air compressor (for the larger Packard interior).
During the build, Roger thought he had a cold and, after checking with the doctors, found out he had leukemia. It took its toll on Roger and a few months later he passed away. His son, Rusty, carried on his legacy with building hot rods and took over the Janssen project where his dad left off.
Knowing that there would be a lot of space between the top of the engine and the hood, it was decided the V-10 should get a Whipple supercharger. After Rusty shaved the engine's emblems and painted it OD Green to look like an original Packard--a kind of split pea green color--most folks are thrown by what they're looking at, not knowing what kind of drivetrain they'd used.
The exterior of the car was left mostly stock, right down to the shutter-type winter grille, though now it has been converted to operate electronically. Both Rusty and Stacey Pounds went after the bodywork before Stacey covered the car with PPG black paint.
The stock bumpers were reused (after a new chrome job by Jon Wright's Custom Chrome Plating in Grafton, Ohio) and the headlights were converted to halogen. Inside the car the stock dash was used, though it now had a woodgrained finish thanks to Dynamic Finishes in Joplin, Missouri. The gauges are original Packard units, though they were updated by Classic Instruments. Ken Logue, from Haywire (located in nearby Joplin), reworked the stock wiring harness for the V-10 so it would work in this application and Rusty then installed it. Another trick item is the dual A/C system--one for the front of the sedan and another for the rear (like you'd find in today's Chevy Tahoe). Further customization happened with the addition of the '92 Lincoln Continental seats, recovered in moss-colored leather by Larry and Dave White in Springfield.
So it wasn't too long after that when Dale, accompanied by his wife, rode the escalator down to the main floor of Louisville's Kentucky Exposition Center that Thursday afternoon, July 31, 2008, at the NSRA's Nationals that he saw his finished car for the first time, and he was impressed. As it turns out, so were we and everybody else that saw it!
Air Bags from Air Ride Technologies...
Air Bags from Air Ride Technologies helps Dale's sedan get the right profile. Odd Rods' Rusty Jackson and Stacey Pounds did the bodywork before Stacey coated the car with PPG black paint. Though the Goddess of Speed had been used by Packard to cap their radiators since the '20s, John D. Wilson created this Goddess of Speed design, which Packard used on their Super 8 cars from 1939 through 1942. The Packard Six logo on the hubcaps is something of a joke considering the car now gets its "go" from a Ford V-10.