It is a rather special occasion when, for the first time, an owner of a car gets to see his ride finished after a multi-year build-up. Dale Janssen knows the feeling well, as he can recall the date (July 31, 2008) and time (Thursday afternoon) when he first laid eyes on his `39 Packard he had Odd Rods in Carl Junction, Missouri, build for him.
Though he'd been involved in cars for more than four decades (his first was a `58 Nomad when he was 15), Dale was a little more attached to this car. As a fire fighter in the Midwest in the late `70s, Dale had met up with fellow fireman named Steve who also happened to have a `29 Ford sedan. As often is the case, Dale soon wanted one for himself and started asking around if anyone knew where any old cars might be. It turned out the fire chief knew of an old Packard that was only a block from Dale's house, but he also knew the old man who owned it wouldn't sell it.
Dale had some rental property on the same street and made a point of going past every so often and, one day, his persistence paid off. He found the old man opening up the garage and introduced himself. It turns out the 72-year-old was also named Dale and, according to Janssen, was quite a spry fellow. The car was sinking into the dirt floor, covered in dust, with boxes stacked all around it, obscuring much of the car. Janssen gathered the courage to ask what he might want for it and, to his surprise, came the answer: $1,500.
A somewhat large chunk of change in the late `70s for an old car, Janssen mulled it over for an hour before deciding he really wanted the car, so he went back to tell Dale he wanted to buy it. The man then took Janssen to meet his mother, Ida, who was 92 years old. Ida had lost her husband in 1960 and Janssen suspected the car had not moved since. The car was in her name, and Janssen says the original title of ownership looked like an ornate 8x11 high school diploma from Kansas City!
But the old man didn't want to take the check (or give up the title) until he had a chance to make sure everything was right with the car and told Janssen to come back after lunch. When he did, he was astonished to see the car sitting at the curb and idling away. The man explained that he wanted to make sure the brakes worked before he let Janssen drive it home. He also told him about the electric overdrive but that the lever was stuck, which meant it was going to coast a lot, and he also mentioned he'd started the car once a month and changed the oil twice a year.
The car remained in original condition for several years, and Janssen used it in parades or to chauffer friends around town. After some time Dale had tried rubbing out the paint but went too far, so he felt a paint job was in order. The car sat for several years after that while the younger Dale seemed to be slowly following in the older Dale's footsteps.
When he was 44 Dale met his wife, Peggy, and soon she found out about all the cars and toys being stored around town in rental house garages. She encouraged Dale to finish the `49 F-1 he was working on, which is when he met Roger Jackson and his son, Rusty. The Janssens had decided to hot rod the pickup and gave Roger the project and, as it was nearing completion, Dale thought he'd talk with Roger about starting on the Packard.
Roger decided to check with Fatman Fabrications about what they might have that would work in this application and was surprised to find out someone had already gotten Fatman to build a front suspension for a Packard, and they could build another one for Dale. After ordering a subframe and rear four-link Roger called to tell him the shipment had arrived. He also wanted to know if Dale was serious because, once they get started, it was hard to go backwards. Dale told him he would have to think about it and that he'd see Roger in a few days. When he did show up at Jackson's, he was taken back as in one part of the shop was a Packard without a motor and the bare framerails sticking out and on the other side were all the parts. Roger told him with a smile that he wasn't sure if Dale was going to green light the project, so he made the decision easier for him by starting on the deconstruction. Janssen agreed, and then the real fun began.