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Re: Reccomended tires for a 1956 Four Hundred?
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Isn't this a beautiful photo of some gorgeous Packards?
Thanks for posting, Owen. Nice stuff!
Posted on: 2017/3/29 12:00
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Re: Reccomended tires for a 1956 Four Hundred?
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Quote:
Won't touch the issue of bias vs. radial on old vintage cars that were never engineered to take advantage of the very features that radials offer. After all, I still remember similar talk about "earth shoes" back in the 1970s. Remember those? They were supposed to be better too. I went right out and bought a pair back then. And... anyway. However, the photo Owen has posted here is interesting for more than just the narrow-line whitewalls on the Four Hundred in the foreground. Take a look at the Caribbean convertible on the left. And... while you are at it... take a look at the backs of the seats in this Caribbean. If you look very, very closely, you will see the horizontal ribbed aluminum "robe rails" on the seat backs. These were on at least the first prototype and pilot-production 1956 Caribbeans. I rode in the prototype when new and remember them well. The rails were deleted from regular production 1956 Caribbeans for two reasons: 1.) They presented a safety hazard to anyone falling forward from the rear seat on a hard stop. Safety and secondary impact was becoming an issue for the industry by 1956. Packard offered seatbealts and padded dash/I.P. tops. Ford had a huge safety program that year. 2.) They added a slight bit of extra weight and helped to allow the seat backrests to flip forward on hard stops. A service bulletin was issued on this problem with a retrofit remedy kit that included a ball-end stud striker and spring catch retainer. The Packard Predictor was also displayed at shows with narrow whitewalls installed... this after initially being photographed with wide whites. Either way, by 1955 the huge "sugar donut" whitewalls were considered very passe and the whitewalls shown on the rest of the Packards in this photo are about as wide as a whitewall for these cars ought to go. There were a few press releases and press photos as of 1954-55 regarding whitewall widths from the American tire companies. I have some of these photos and explanations. The widths began the shrink in the early 1950s-some even disappeared completely for a brief time during the Korean War. After that the widths never went back to the extra-wide sizes.
Posted on: 2017/3/29 0:46
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Re: 55 faded dash panel
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Wow! Now that's one very nicely padded 1956 dash. I've seen so many in recent years sagging and drooping down over the radio. VERY nice! My compliments!
Posted on: 2017/3/26 17:08
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Re: Conner ave plant
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And... if you turn to page 65 pf the Creative Industries book, you will see a Briggs-designed fiberglass Packard proposal. This car was actually built... but as a different brand and with slightly different details, as explained at the end of the chapter.
Posted on: 2017/3/25 15:56
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Re: Conner ave plant
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Ahh... thanks (and that's Leeedy with 3 e's) It remains unknown what Briggs was producing in total at Conner Avenue at the time Chrysler took over. Documentation or not. While full body production was certainly Packard, I don't think anyone knows what everything was that Briggs was doing there.
But I do know this: ? Briggs had offices there and a lot of things were going on in those offices. And Briggs also had an entire styling studio and staff of designers on salary (I believe run by Al Prance). I know at least part of the latter existed at Conner-no matter how big or small-prior to Packard. ? Briggs was also making components, not just full bodies at Conner during the time of Packard bodies. I am certain of this because they used to have truckloads of these pressed metal panels coming out of there that looked like firewalls-possibly for trucks. I vividly recall seeing truckloads of them on Warren Avenue, painted matte black. I also remember well that during the move to Conner a huge low-boy truck carrying heavy plant equipment was making its way east (from Grand Blvd.) to Conner. Forest and Warren were one-way streets back then. Warren became 2-way at McClellan and most of Forest's eastbound traffic shunted over to Warren Avenue aT McClellan. I remember this truck attempting to make the left turn there got stuck on the corner. It was too long and too heavy to make the turn easily. So for the better part of a day, everything came to a stop at that intersection until they finally got the truck around this turn. I remember on one corner was a shoe repair shop whose front entryway was damaged. Directly opposite of this was Borin Brothers Ice Company (big in Detroit back then). Anyway, for what it's worth.
Posted on: 2017/3/24 11:04
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Re: Conner ave plant
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One of the main things conveniently overlooked, swept aside, or just plain not even considered by most of the retellings of Packard's end is the Conner/Briggs situation. Many histories make it appear as if this was just some kind of spendthrift willy-nilly decision on the part of Jim Nance. While Nance is often conveniently blamed for just about everything bad that happened... and Conner next... the reality is this: one way or another the former Briggs Conner Avenue plant was going to be married to Packard. Whether anybody liked it or not. And there was nothing that anyone could do about this-no matter how brilliant they might have been.
? Briggs was purchased by Chrysler and announced to Packard (at the worst possible time with the Studebaker merger and brand-new V-8 and revised Packards about to debut) that they were no longer supplying bodies. ? Chrysler would lease the Briggs Conner Avenue plant to Packard (at a premium rate) whereby Packard could make its own bodies, BUT... Packard making its own bodies in a leased plant was nowhere in the same ballpark as merely buying bodies from an existing company. Packard would have to take on the entire overhead of that plant-yet only for bodies? Remember, Briggs was making bodies there for other car companies as well. ? The logistics of having bodies made on Connor Avenue... then shipped to Grand Boulevard was always a daunting one, but now Packard was being forced into making their own bodies... in a high-expense leased plant...then shipping them over to Grand Boulevard... then doing assembly. And with the entire Briggs body plant on Conner ONLY making Packard bodies, how could anyone possibly justify the enormous cost of operations there for just Packard? The reality is that no choice at the time was a good one, but something had to be done. Jim Nance and the Packard board had options that really were not exciting ones-no matter which they chose. The situation was that Nance was already trying to perform miracles, when this gigantic load got dumped on his shoulders at the very last minute. Something had to be done very fast. Continuing to stay at Grand Boulevard was certainly one option, but at what cost? And what advantage given the situation? The "choice" of Conner Avenue versus remaining at Grand Boulevard will likely be debated forever, but Jim Nance had no twinkling star alternatives at the time. He was in an almost no-win situation when it came to plants. He was damned if he did... and damned if he didn't. But I assure you, he was very heartbroken over the outcome-and I don't believe he ever got over it.
Posted on: 2017/3/24 9:30
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Re: Packard International Membership Meet
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Well! That's some kind of a record in these photos: the former Jeremy Janss Caribbean out in the light of day at a Packard meet. As best I can recall, first time this has happened since the 1970s. Looks like it has a new top and either someone did a masterful job on shining the paint or that's new too! Wonder if the front seat has been repaired. Left antenna looks bent, but nice to see it again. Sure didn't look like this when I saw it last.
Congrats to whoever owns it now. This unusual car has not been seen in decades!
Posted on: 2017/3/19 22:38
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Re: 1953 Caribbean Prototype
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Quote:
Yes, but all the more reason why I chose to show you this green car photo. And again, it was not stated to me that it was a Nash-Healey color, but rather I was told it was the same color M-B used on the Caribbean. And yes, the camera angle here (and perhaps the lens) appears to be compressing the Nash-Healey, making it look a bit stubby. But again, doubt if anyone ever saw this photo before. Another thing that makes the shot unusual is showing the car with the top in raised position. Rarely ever seen. Anyway... for what it's worth.
Posted on: 2017/3/17 14:48
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Re: 1953 Caribbean Prototype
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And, here is yet another series II Nash-Healey I photographed in Scottsdale, Arizona a few years ago. White color was claimed to be original.
Attach file:  (121.53 KB)
Posted on: 2017/3/17 13:18
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Re: 1953 Caribbean Prototype
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Your Nash-Healey appears to be a series II car. Series I was slightly different with a very different windshield. I have 8 x 10 photos of the original prototype for series I that I have have had since the 1970s. I knew the designer.
By the way, in the Packard items auctioned in 2014 when the Mitchell Museum (as in Mitchell-Bentley) closed, there were photos of a metallic green Nash-Healey. I also have those photos. Mitchell-Bentley claimed to have involvement with the car. Photo was claimed to be prototype. You will note that this windshield frame is slightly different from your production model. I have quite a few Nash-Healey items saved over the years. Here is one of the original photos of the series II green car from Mitchell-Bentley (same folks who worked on Packard Balboa, Panthers, Caribbeans etc.). By the way, this photo was taken in the 1950s and was claimed to be a prototype Nash-Healey series II. Uh... the green color (so I was told by Bill Mitchell in the 1970s) is the same that Mitchell-Bentley used on the 1953 Caribbean. Hmmmm. Attach file: (158.95 KB)
Posted on: 2017/3/17 12:38
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