A Mystical Packard Surfaces After a Half-Century!
By Darrel Burnett, Executive Director – The Automobile Gallery & Event Center
(Originally published in “The Steering Column – October 2024)
On rare occasions my investigative instincts push me two or three clicks past common sense and down a deep descent into the caverns of curation. In my quest to uncover long lost treasures of intrigue, I am convinced this Steering Column has mined the most mystifying — the Glasscock 1929 Packard Boattail Thompson Speedster Special!
As mysteriously reclusive as Greta Garbo and just as breathtakingly beautiful, the Glasscock 1929 Packard Boattail Thompson Speedster Special has been the topic of speculation and fascination for the past half century. Since a lone photograph appeared in a 1981 issue of Cars & Parts magazine, there have only been single digit sightings and very little evidence supporting that this special Speedster still existed.
Some sources would have you believe this special Speedster was destroyed years ago, still others make misinformed assertions that the car was a figment of someone’s imagination and was never produced at all.
Not only does this peerless Packard still exist, you can see it on display now at The Automobile Gallery & Event Center for the first time in nearly 50 years! The mastermind behind this build was the imaginative mind of Lieutenant John Raglan Glasscock Jr., the successful thrill-seeking son of wealthy California U.S. Congressman John R. Glasscock. The 44-year-old Lt. Glasscock had the dream and, more importantly, the means to construct a one-off sports car variation of the legendary and rare Packard 626 Speedster.
E.J. Thompson Coachworks custom-built the car and delivered it to Lt. Glasscock via the D.E. McDaneld Packard Dealership in Pasadena, CA. Much of the history of this car remains covert and sketchy at best but there is one irrefutable fact. Lt. Glasscock had his Boattail Speedster built for one purpose and one purpose only – to drive wickedly fast on public roads!
At first sight the motoring press labeled this sleek vessel “The Sensational Custom Speedster”! Visually, the feather light body flows like a rhythmic river over a frame of steel and style tapering to an exclamation point at its iconic boattail backend.
Aerodynamics are evident with cigar-shaped sheet metal surrounded by fenders perfectly mated to the tires. Custom-crafted headlights speak to the individuality of this 50-gallon drum of adrenalin. In the performance department this Boattail Speedster puts the “Roar in the Roaring 20s!
Packard traded its traditional twin-six 12-cylinder engine for a Straight 8 with a twin- throat carburetor, finned exhaust manifold, and a high-compression cylinder head that pumps up the horsepower to an astonishing 145 HP producing speeds far north of 100 mph.
Decades ago, savvy collector Carl Schneider acted on instinct and jumped at the opportunity to purchase this priceless Packard, and it has remained out of public view in the Schneider family collection for the past half century with his son Mark Schneider now its protector of provenance. Adding to its aura, elite die-cast manufacturer AutoCult created a limited edition 1:43 scale model to commemorate its impact.
If you want to experience the life-sized model of magnificence, there is only one place in the world you can do that:The Automobile Gallery & Event Center!
