How Much Money Did Andy Griffith Spend on His Beloved Convertible Car?
Andy Griffith is one of the most beloved actors of all time. While the actor died in 2012, his work in TV and films is still heralded by many. Known for his starring roles in The Andy Griffith Show and Matlock, Griffith made a name for himself on TV.
Outside of his acting work, Griffith was an avid car collector. In fact, the actor spent a large amount of money restoring a beloved convertible Packard.
The legacy surrounding ‘The Andy Griffith Show’
Griffith is perhaps the most known for his work on The Andy Griffith Show, which ran for eight seasons on CBS. The Andy Griffith Show followed a widowed sheriff named Andy Taylor (Griffith) in a fictional town called Mayberry, N.C. Actor Don Knotts played Andy’s deputy, Barney Fife.
In an interview with the Television Academy, Griffith discussed the moral lessons the show imparted to viewers.
“I don’t think that any of us ever overtly thought about that,” he said. “I wanted to keep the characters clean. If a joke would make a lie out of a character, we’d throw the joke out. And that became very important, it became a basic rule, and because of the nature of the show, morality just came right along with it.”
Griffith also said he believes that the comedic actors on the show helped captivate audiences.
“It was family-oriented. It was about a little town and all the people who lived in it, and we had as Bob Sweeney used to say, ‘It looks like an ordinary little town, but it has a little border of insanity around it,'” Griffith told the Television Academy Foundation. “And all those fine comedic actors like Don Knotts and Howard McNear and Jim Nabors, all of them made it. They represented that little, that little insane border.”
How much Andy Griffith spent on a car
In his lifetime, Griffith thoroughly enjoyed restoring vintage cars. The most expensive car he ever restored was a 1935 Packard 1202 Convertible. He purchased the car in 1988, and there are multiple reports about how much he spent restoring the car.
According to The Times of Northwest Indiana, Griffith spent $425,000 restoring the automobile. Dream Car Sellers reports that the actor spent $581,000 restoring the Packard. Either way, Griffith spent a large sum of money on the 1935 Packard 1202 Convertible.
In 2004, the car was appraised to be worth over $400,000, and Griffith donated it to the Kruse Automotive and Carriage Museum in Indiana. A car collector in Kentucky later acquired the vehicle.
Andy Griffith received the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Griffith was so beloved that in 2005, President George W. Bush presented the actor with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Griffith received the highest civilian honor for setting an example of excellence with his work in the entertainment industry.
