Goes Darrin

One of One---Charles Goes' 1941 Darrin Sports Sedan
By Robert “Charlie” Knapp

“I’ve seen this car before.” That was my first thought when I saw the pictures Stan Ruesch had taken of Packards at the National Meet this past summer in South Bend. I was to post them on our Wisconsin Packards website, and as I examined one particular photograph more closely, it started to break through… I’d read about this car. It was a maroon 1941 Darrin Sport Sedan. But where had I seen it? Slowly I remembered reading about the very car in the One Hundredth Issue of The Packard Cormorant back in August 2000. One reason the car stuck in my mind, besides its rarity and beauty, was that the article revealed that the owner and author of the article, one Charles “Chris” Goes IV, lived in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin!

I was thunderstruck that such a rare car could be so close, and I hoped that it would appear at a local meet or club function. Some years went by, and the car slipped into some foggy reaches of my memory, only to be jogged free by the picture Stan sent. There it was, with Wisconsin license plates! I resolved to hunt down this beauty and get a close-up look at this unique Darrin.

Before I dared venture out on such a quest, I needed to do some rudimentary research about the famous Howard “Dutch” Darrin and the cars bearing his name. Although born in America, Darrin spent a good portion of his life in France, where he led a flamboyant life, becoming an expert polo player and even serving in the French Air Corps in World War I. By 1922 he was designing cars, and with his old friend Tom Hibbard (one of the original founding partners of LeBaron) opened a design studio in Paris. Darrin’s Carrossier was successful for nine years until Hibbard went to work for Harley Earl at GM’s Art and Color Section; Darrin stayed on in Paris with new partners until 1936. Because Darrin was friends with so many in the film industry both here and abroad, he was persuaded to come to Hollywood in the late 1930s and open his own design studio Darrin of Paris. By 1938 Darrin had some of the best talent in car design and fabrication working for him!

Dutch Darrin was a showman; he knew how to promote his cars. In fact, his cars were so well known because he sold them to celebrities, which in turn put the spotlight on his creations. Darrins were driven by William Powell, Clark Gable, Tyrone Power, and Al Jolson to name just a few. Darrin’s cars were created for image, and pictures and news-reels taken of movie stars driving Darrins certainly didn’t hurt the aura he was trying to portray.

Darrin had a fondness for Packards, especially the chassis, engine and drive train. He would buy plain 120 business coupes and fit them with new windshields, a three-piece cast-aluminum cowl, custom made doors and a padded dashboard! Darrin Packards were instantly recognized from a few feet away, where the extra length of the hood flattered the overall length of the car. They were so popular that Packard’s Chairman Alvan Macauley persuaded Darrin to join the firm as its chief aesthetic designer in 1939. What followed were a line of Darrin “look alike” models in 1940, custom made at the factory, and the new line of Packard Clippers in 1941! Starting in 1940, Darrins appeared in national Packard advertising and in Packard catalogs, where three models were offered: convertible Victoria, convertible sedan, and a four-door sport sedan. Only one four-door sport sedan was built in each of the 1940 and 1941 model years. And it was this 1941 sport sedan that was now in my sights!!

So on a beautiful day in late October, my wife and I were on our way to Lake Geneva to meet with Chris Goes and get a personal tour of this Packard icon. We found Chris and his Darrin in his extensive garage and shop, where the ’41 and its stable mate were housed—a 1919 seven passenger sedan (details about that venerable car will have to wait for another article!).

Chris:
You’re probably interested in the Wisconsin history of the car more than Chicago, right? It’s been here in Wisconsin since 1973. Dad and I got the car underway in Beverly Hills; we got to a tollbooth, and the car quit! We pushed it with a Cadillac through the booth and back to Beverly where we worked on it for another week! We cleaned out the gas tank and gas lines.

RCK:
So the car was in storage in Chicago for some time, then?

C:
Yes, it sat pretty much from 1957 to 1973 with very little done to it, not much exercise, etc. After several weeks we finally got it going and drove it up here to the lake with no problem. My Grand Dad put the car in a storage shed on the property and a couple of years later the roof caved in on the car due to a huge snowstorm!! Then it sat with damage until 1978 at which time my Grandma said something had to be done to the car; it just couldn’t sit around deteriorating. Dad and I got it out of the garage and got it working again (after not being run for four years). We took it to a body shop in Walworth where the damage to the sheet metal was repaired.

RCK:
This is a ’41, correct?

C:
Yes, this is a Darrin bodied car, the only 1941 Sports Sedan Darrin ever made. The build plate says October 1940 and delivered to the factory on 11/29/1940; it was owned by the factory—the build plate says “FACT DEL”. Max Gillman, President of the Packard Company, drove it as a test vehicle. Darrin couldn’t produce the more popular convertibles fast enough, so Packard decided to send orders for sports sedans to LeBaron. This car was originally never shipped to a Packard dealership. After the decision was made not to produce Darrin bodied Sports Sedans any further, the car was readied for shipment to California (all the weird stuff was
sent there!).

RCK:
It’s unusual to see a 160 or 180 chassis being used on a Darrin.

C:
This car was built on the 180 chassis with the 356hp engine, electromagnetic clutch, moveable front grill shutters, power windows and factory air conditioning. You can see where the Darrin shop lengthened the hood—you can see where extra material was added to the hood and around the firewall. [Looking into the engine compartment] And this is the first windshield fluid reservoir not installed by a dealer (as they inevitably were in those days)! This is most likely the first ever installed at the factory.

RCK:
This is an interesting factory air conditioning system. Was it very effective?

C:
It worked after a fashion; unfortunately, it was troublesome. The compressor ran all the time (there wasn’t an electric clutch to help regulate the system). In the wintertime you had to remove a belt from the pulleys and replace it in the summer. Air conditioning was in its infancy, and they were trying anything and everything to put a system into cars. Packard was the first, however!

Running boards were optional, but Gillman had them installed because the car was in Michigan at the start of wintertime conditions, and mud would splash all over the car. Usually Darrins didn’t have running boards. And those cars were popular in California (where snow and mud and slush just weren’t everyday issues!).

RCK:
That’s interesting—utility won out over style. My reading of Darrin’s cars indicates they were more for show than mere transportation.

C:
Yeah, Darrin’s cars weren’t necessarily built like the Stutzes or Cadillacs of the day. They were built for style and held up OK for five, maybe ten years. The cars tended to “sag” and had to have work done on them; eventually, they used cast aluminum in their work to cut down on body flex. This car has an excellent frame under it; some of the others weren’t so good.

The buttons for the electric/hydraulic rear windows are high up on the dashboard; the buttons for the front windows are on the sides of the front doors. The car came with one backup light, but a second one was added as an option along with the chrome plated muffler cover.

As you can see, the trunk is taken up with the condenser for the air conditioner; chilled air flowed out of vents in the rear deck and was pulled up towards the front (maybe).

RCK:
May I take pictures of the interior?

C:
Sure, but let me get the handle for you—that’s one the problems on this car! The door handle mechanism has sagged over time. They work OK, but you need to know the trick.

There… (the door opens and closes with authority—the proverbial “bank vault” click).

RCK:
So, the Packard President used this car?

C:
Yes, he drove it for several weeks. My grandparents bought it in Chicago on December 11, 1941. It had been packed on a railroad car, ready for shipment to California. The factory still owned it. The thought was, likely, that there would be ready buyers in California for the vehicle. But then the attack on Pearl Harbor curtailed all unnecessary rail shipments west, so the boxcar containing the Darrin was shunted aside. The Darrin was taken off the railcar and the factory was very motivated to sell the car!!

My Granddad had an arrangement with a local Packard dealership that he would buy cars from them, drive them awhile to show them and sell them (executive demonstrators?); he’d even take trips to sell a car, and if he was successful he’d take the train back to Chicago.

The Packard representative called my Grandparents house; Granddad was on a trip. They explained that a very nice Darrin car was available with air conditioning! Grandma didn’t hesitate—“I know he’ll love the car!” was her thinking. When he returned from his trip, he agreed and they bought the car. They traded two other Packards for the Darrin!! We have the original sales receipt: he bought the Darrin for $4300 cash and two other Packards in trade, for a total price of $6300!

RCK:
May I ask, Chris—you work in Chicago?

C:
Yes, that’s where our family business, Goes Lithography, is located. We’ve been in the same building for over 100 years. We do very specialized work, including advertising, art posters, stock certificates and other security printing.

RCK:
Well, let’s look for a nice spot for some glamour shots!! Today is about perfect for pictures.

[Chris gets into the car and tries to get it started. After several attempts, it’s obvious that the car doesn’t want to start.]

C:
That’s frustrating. I started the car this morning to be sure we wouldn’t have any problems. So we’ll have to try something else.

[Chris gets a spray can, removes the air cleaner on the engine, gives two or three squirts of spray down the intake.]

RCK:
Now I’m going to get a real lesson! What is this magic you’re spraying into the carburetor? [Picking up the can] Wow—“Starter Fluid”.

[Chris returns to the driver’s side and turns the key. With just a little coaxing, the car starts, spewing some blue smoke in the process. He then returns to the engine and reseats the air cleaner.]

RCK:
I’m sure we could do this with any new car today, right? [Shared laughter.]

[During the ensuing picture session, it is amply apparent that with the lengthened hood, the Darrin’s fabulous design and lines are shown to best advantage.]

RCK:
Thanks Chris, for sharing your time and fabulous 1941 Darrin Sports Sedan. It’s amazing that such a unique car with a rich history in a single family is right here in southern Wisconsin.