i recently acquired one of these and the car screams luxury...this car comes with all the parts that everyone puts on all the custom cars,so my question is how come you dont see alot of them cruising or customized ,,,,and how cool could it be????
because they are RARE....check the numbers - Studebaker bought Packard in 1955 as they were taking their last breath.....they had the shifter ****ons in the stearing wheel (i think) way before the Edsels.....it's a cool car....but a good motor in it and drive it....
that "400" should have a shift lever, and it is a real packard. the lift system is interesting. a little research and the lift system could be used to drop the car into the weeds!
lift system works like a see-saw...when front is up the back is down...when the back is up the front is down(suppose to level the car)...we had one in our shop a few years ago,hooked up a toggle switch to it and was able to control it like that..the 400 makes a real nice kustom
Nice score, the 400 is a Senior Packard, not a clipper. Wonderful cars, and next to the last year for real Packards. Got pics?
Go to Packardinfo.com because all you need to know about your '55 Packard, you will find there. I also have a '55 400. Great cars. The torison bar suspension is great.
looks just like this one but a lil more rusty...ill take pics tomorrow....def wanna make a tail dragger custom out of it,,,but she'll hafta wait untill the merc is done...whats so cool ,,is that i went to look at it to steal parts for my merc but fell in love...and just bought the whole dang thing
----------------- 1) "Studebaker bought Packard in 1955 as they were taking their last breath." No. It was the other way around. Packard actually bought Studebaker when both companies were in serious trouble, hoping that by consolidating and sharing production facilities, parts and bodies that the newly created "Studebaker-Packard Corporation could be made profitable. Instead, the purchase of Studebaker by Packard resulted in finally killing the Packard line and merely allowed the Studebaker line to limp along and die a slower and more lingering death. 2) "they had the shifter ****ons in the steering wheel (i think) way before the Edsels." Nope - not in the steering wheel. The base Packard Ultramatic trans had a conventional column shifter The push-****on controls were optional in ' 56, (standard on the '56 Packard Caribbean and optional on all other Packard equipped with the Ultramatic trans in '56) but the push-****ons were mounted in a stalk-mounted pod, attached to the side of the steering column in place of the conventional shift lever, not inset into the steering wheel itself like on the Edsel with "Teletouch". 3) "Put a good engine in and drive it"?? Huh?? The sadly, two-year-only Packard V8 was and is a GOOD id not GREAT engine. 352 Cubic inches in '55 and 374 cubic inches in '56 . A bit heavy perhaps (but not compared to similar engines of that era) , with very respectable hp and TONS and TONS of low and mid-range torque - and as with all real Packard engines, tough as nails. The stock twin-4bbl 374 inch version used in the '56 Caribbean at 310 hp, was the highest horsepower V8 engine ever factory installed in any production p***enger car up to that time. Rich Fox here on the list, ran an injected 374 Packard in his Chevy Vega bonneville racer.eek:!) Ask him about the power and durability (not to mention, out and shear 'coolness factor') of the Packard V8!!! ------------------- Mart3406 ==============
--------------- The suspension on that car is very special and was unique to Packard in '55 and '56. It was a self-levelling system called "Torsion-Level" It was standard on the high-priced 'senior' Packards - ie the the "Patrician", the "400", and "Caribbean" and optional on the lower-priced 'junior' Packard "Clipper" and "Executive" models. It used two full length torsion bars running the length of the car that connected the front and rear suspensions together to automatically cancel out fore and aft body pitch and roll. It provided a very smooth ride along with superb control and handling. In addition the "Torsion Level" system had an automatic self-levelling feature that used ride-height sensor switches and an electric motor that could slightly rotate the torsion bars to maintain a constant ride height and keep the vehicle level, regardless of p***enger or trunk load - (or even trailer tongue weight if pulling a trailer!_. It's a truly amazing suspension that wasn't overly complicated but was just a bit too was expensive for other manufactures to copy, thus making and keeping it a Packard exclusive. I'd definitely keep it and think long and hard before modifying it or - heaven forbid! - replacing it with something supposedly "better" or "more modern". If you do a Google search, there's tons of information about "Torsion-Level" on the net. As the old Packard motto said - "Ask the man who owns one"! ------------ Mart3406 ==========
I always wanted to own a Packard. They are top of the line for back in the day, and make nice customs.
----------------- 1) "Studebaker bought Packard in 1955 as they were taking their last breath." No. It was the other way around. Packard actually bought Studebaker when both companies were in serious trouble, hoping that by consolidating and sharing production facilities, parts and bodies that the newly created "Studebaker-Packard Corporation could be made profitable. Instead, the purchase of Studebaker by Packard resulted in finally killing the Packard line and merely allowed the Studebaker line to limp along and die a slower and more lingering death. 2) "they had the shifter ****ons in the steering wheel (i think) way before the Edsels." Nope - not in the steering wheel. The base Packard Ultramatic trans had a conventional column shifter The push-****on controls were optional in ' 56, (standard on the '56 Packard Caribbean and optional on all other Packard equipped with the Ultramatic trans in '56) but the push-****ons were mounted in a stalk-mounted pod, attached to the side of the steering column in place of the conventional shift lever, not inset into the steering wheel itself like on the Edsel with "Teletouch". 3) "Put a good engine in and drive it"?? Huh?? The sadly, two-year-only Packard V8 was and is a GOOD id not GREAT engine. 352 Cubic inches in '55 and 374 cubic inches in '56 . A bit heavy perhaps (but not compared to similar engines of that era) , with very respectable hp and TONS and TONS of low and mid-range torque - and as with all real Packard engines, tough as nails. The stock twin-4bbl 374 inch version used in the '56 Caribbean at 310 hp, was the highest horsepower V8 engine ever factory installed in any production p***enger car up to that time. Rich Fox here on the list, ran an injected 374 Packard in his Chevy Vega bonneville racer.eek:!) Ask him about the power and durability (not to mention, out and shear 'coolness factor') of the Packard V8!!! ------------------- Mart3406 ==============
I have a 55 clipper at my House belonging to hamb menber shyson. It is such an amazing Car and was way ahead of its time. Shysons need a ton of work, but worth saving. Good luck with yours!
Yes, It was a special time for Packard... It's too bad this last ditch effort was not appreciated at the time... Very Rare.. Any Pix?? One thing though... About the statement "The stock twin-4bbl 374 inch version used in the '56 Caribbean at 310 hp, was the highest horsepower V8 engine ever factory installed in any production p***enger car up to that time" I am not sure who really can claim that, but I know the 1956 Chrysler 300b came with a 340 HP, 354 cu inch Hemi.... A Hot Rodded 400" Packard would be so Kool...
The two doors were pretty rare when they were new and up there with Cadillacs and Lincolns in price. I chased after a Clipper two door a few months ago but couldn't come up with enough cash at the time to make a deal on it. I wanted to do pretty much what you have planned. mild customizing and not much of that and lower it and go.
Freakin' Cool cars! You have something really special. Their moto was "Ask the man who owns one". Good Luck, and keep us posted. . .
I don't think it was claimed to be the highest HP. It was the largest displacement engine up to that time. . .
largest displacement in 55 and 56. google Everett Hatch 56 packard. was beating big GM sars in the early 60's. just heard it was restored and in Virginia now. was a HotRod cover car in the early 60's if I remember right
I lived next door to a guy in Center Point who had a super solid, yellow and white 55 Patrician 2dht. They called it a 'Patricia-Ann', and it just sat and rotted for years and years. A beautiful car.
55 56 Packards were very advanced for their time with space age suspension, the newest and biggest V8s, excellent Ultramatic trans with lock up torque converter and smooth styling. They did not produce very many of them, around 20,000 a year when Chev and Ford were up near a million each. 2 things held them back, Packard had slowly been falling behind for years and when they decided to catch up in 55 and 56 it was too late, nobody was interested in Packard anymore, they had switched to Cadillacs Lincolns and Imperials. And they introduced too many innovations too fast resulting in too many mechanical gremlins. If they had a few more years to sort things out they might still be around. But they didn't, and a great car bit the dust.
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