ROBERT J. NEAL'S PACKARDS

ROBERT J. NEAL – 1933 TO 2015.

We are indebted to the late Robert (Bob) Neal for sharing photos of all the Packards he owned.

If he had kept them all, it would have been quite a collection! Robert “Bob” J. Neal joined our club in the 1970s when it was the Pacific Northwest Region of the Packards International (PI) Motor Car Club, and continued as a member when our club merged with the Pacific Northwest Packards club, a region of The Packard Club (PAC).

Bob published a number of articles on Packard subjects and became known as a similar authority on more than 120 non-automotive engine models built by Packard, as well as on the use of Packard engines of all types to power performance vehicles.

Bob was also noted as one of the foremost authorities on antique Smith & Wesson firearms, and published several books on the subject. His Smith & Wesson book is regarded as “the bible for all existing and aspiring Smith & Wesson collectors.” Bob was also a co-founder of the Smith & Wesson Collectors Association in 1971. An engineer by vocation, Bob worked for IBM as a Field Engineering Specialist from 1956 until his retirement in 1986.

His Smith & Wesson books include:

Smith & Wesson 1857-1945 (1966)

His Packard books include:

Packards at Speed (1995)

Master Motor Builders (2000)

Packard 1948 to 1950 (2011)

Packard 1951-1954 (2014)

The preceding was gleaned from his Packard book jackets and the March 2015 issue of the Traveler.