Re: The Second Packard "Twin Six"

Posted by PackardV12fan On 2008/9/20 16:19:38

Yes - I agree - we owned several Packard from that era. But bear in mind they were still "pre-war" in design, execution, and to some extent, material. As I noted elsewhere, I was particularly fond of our '47 Super Clipper which, with the pre-war "356" engine, transmission, and overdrive, would eat anything I came across, for breakfast.

I dont know how you'd research it, but the auto industry news of the early-mid 50's had a ball with the famous incident at an auto show. A Packard executive had to KICK his way out of the back of a new Packard, in front of the news media, because the door fit was so miserable it wouldn't open when he tried to climb back out after a "photo op". By '51, the cars would break axles if you sneezed near them ( I dont now recall where Packard bought its axles). The gross inadequacy of that miserable "Ultramatic" transmission has been beaten to death elsewhere in this and other forums.

I can drive my pre-war Packard over the dismal conditions of the sorry excuses for cow-trails we call roads here in northern Arizona at any speed, without rattle or hood/body "flutter". Compare that with what happens when you hit a road imperfection with a 1951 or later Packard. The later hood stampings had NO bracing whatsoever.

Compare that "fluttery" feeling of the '51 and later, with the solid feel of a General Motors luxury car of the that era.

I once severly lacerated my hand because I got careless, and rested it between the back of the front door and the body of my '51 convertible - that's how bad those weak bodies would flex and flutter on anything but a smooth road surface. General Motors convertibles, by the 50's, had a nice tight draft-fee snug convertible top design. Packard was still using the old-style snaps to fasten the back quarter of the convertible top. Forget to un-hook them when lowering the top, and you'd often tear your top's fabric. If you rememberd to snap em after raising the top, you still had drafts unknown in the GMC products.

Keep in mind that after 1930's, Packard had pretty well abandoned the actual manufacture of autombiles, being essentially an assembler of parts designed and produced by others.

Of course Packard, even before WW II, like other manufacturers, purchased starters, generators, carbs., interior fittings, brakes, wheels, in fact, even entire chassis frames from outside suppliers. I believe it was for the 1940 model year that Packard bodies were no longer built by Packard.

So there wasnt much left for Packard management to screw up. But a combination of management greed and incompetent..well, they sure found a way to do that !