Independence Porcelain did a great job on my One Twenty manifolds. No miles on them yet. Just engine break in. We'll see how they hold up long term.

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For 1956, did Packard and Clipper still use the belt-molding type mirrors that ‘51-‘54 had? My 1956 Clipper which I hope to have running soon will need mirrors as it has none now and I don’t want to use fender-mounted mirrors.

Thanks.
With a little hot air and (over night) silicone spray, was able to soften up the sticky rubber to the rear lens. I used a large paper clip , bent the end of it to a 90 degree angle and was able to get behind part of the lens and pull it out.

This is sad news indeed. Don was a super guy and great ambassador for the hobby in general and specifically the Packard marque. I met him in 1979 when I joined Motor City Packards and he was very gracious to this young pup. After attending the first Meadowbrook Concours d'Elegance, I was hooked for life. He will be missed. Prayers for strength and comfort go out to the family.

Howard -

The aftermarket mirrors that are mounted on the fenders of my Caribbean Hardtop have a screw and joint that allows the head to be rolled left-to-right, but I'm not about to mess with that after so many years - especially since I'm gonna replace 'em anyway.

The head of the factory-issue mirror can also be rolled a bit, and having them mounted further forward on the fender increases the field of view.

BTW, my dad once told me that he did not use the factory template when locating the mirrors on the fender, but eye-balled them for best view (whatever that means).

However, he recently added that the reason he went with fender mounting was for the view through the windshield - specifically, that the wipers kept that perspective clear of rain/snow (unlike the view through either front door window). Of course, that might not be much of a consideration for fair-weather only use.

"The original interior is there and is intact"!

Any consensus on how many 55-6 mirrors were fender vs door mounted. When I got my car the aftermarkets I spoke of earlier were fender mounted. While they looked decent, for my rear view I felt they were all but useless because the width of view to the side seemed very restricted. Perhaps they were farther forward than factory would have placed them. Photos of other cars seem to have them fairly close to the windshield and mine were a good foot or more away. Anyway, I felt there was a significant loss of field vs the door mount. Anyone else who have used factory fender vs door mirrors have an opinion.

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Thanks for that tip, Dave.

Perhaps, someday, I will experiment on the useless American Arrow mirror that I have - if I can find someone in my area to cut the glass correctly. Then, I can proceed with rehabilitating my cores.

Sadly, trying to make a 55-56 mirror out of the 51-54 repro that I got stuck with may not be worth the effort.

P.S. -

Here's a recent post showing a repro mirror that 'bolts' on from the inside:

Re: Parts for 1955 Packard Caribbean #4

HH56 wrote:

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Personally, I prefer the elegant simplicity of the factory-issued mirrors for these cars, but - like many - am put off by the high price tag of repros. Yet, I just don't care for all these other mirrors, including the 'Yankee' style.

However, I've been watching these on eBay for some time:

2 NEW Exterior Chrome Door Mirrors 55 56 Packard 1955 1956 PAIR

These mirrors are a chunkier-looking than the original, and they are not exactly inexpensive, but I decided to give them a try, with the intent of using one each for my two 56 Patricians. Ordered on Thursday, they turned up on my porch this past Saturday afternoon. Though the seller is shown in Montville, NJ, tracking shows Boonton, NJ as the point of origin, which makes me think there's a connection to Kanter.

Though billed as a 'reproduction mirrors, close to the original design', I don't believe for a NY minute that these are a reproduction of the Packard mirror, but suspect they are a reproduction (or re-run from original tooling) of a long-since discontinued AFTERMARKET mirror that was clearly inspired by the Packard's design. In fact, I found a line art rendering of such an aftermarket mirror in an old J.C. Whitney catalog.

The stem/base of these new mirrors is cast metal; sadly, the head appears to be plastic at its core. The overall design also reminds me of an aftermarket mirror that I purchased from the automotive department of a now-defunct discount department store, decades ago, but had returned due to problems I had with it. Now, I was beginning to worry.

IMHO, the narrow base of the original Packard mirrors (about 5/8") is what allows it to fit in either door or fender locations. I was concerned about these new mirrors because the base measure 1" at its widest, but 1-3/16" with mounting pad/gasket. Since that pad/gasket comes taped to the base of the mirror, I went out to offsite storage for a test fit to the car(s). I was pleasantly surprised to find that this mirror fits the crown of either the door or the fender. I cant; tell whether that's because of the mounting pad/gasket or the wider hollow stance of the base itself, but I was relieved.

What you can't see in the auction images is that the head is secured to the stem by a screw from the front of the stem (rather than inside the shell). While the glass might give you the impression that its smaller than the original Packard unit design, it measures 4-3/4" (same as shown in the old J.C. Whitney catalog). The Packard head measures 4-1/4". So, the viewing area is actually the same (if not a tad larger).

A plus about this new mirror is that the mounting bracket has two long slots, which should allow it to be installed using the existing mounting holes for many previously-installed mirrors.

A friend across town recently purchased a pair of repro Chevy mirrors for use on his 55 Pontiac that he claims are all-stainless and they have LED turn signals, but he paid only $75 for the pair. So, I wish the price was lower on these Packard replacements, but I have no idea of the seller's cost or desired margin. However, I do think the S&H was reasonable.

All things considered, I'm gonna keep these mirrors for use my two 56 Patricians, but (due to family health problems) probably won't be able to hang them until next year. Then, I should have a nice clear view to the rear - unlike the defective/repaired, but damaged/incorrect mirror that American Arrow sent me and refused to replace all those years ago.

Has anyone had any recent contact with Prairie? I've been trying (unsuccessfully) to get into contact with them. Has anyone used Independence Porcelain down in MO? They're my backup plan.