A Tale of Two Patricians
Posted by Packard Don On 2017/12/10 17:40:48
I've hesitated starting a blog as I'm not sure how far this project is going but decided to give it a go. I've never written a blog before but have read many of them here.
This will be about my two 1954 Packard Patricians. As a little background, I have owned one of the Patricians for over 40 years and the other purchased as a parts car a decade or so later. The first one was my second postwar Packard and at the time I had a 1940 110 Club Sedan, a 1941 Henney-Packard hearse (it's barely visible in one of the photos below) and a 1951 Henney-Packard combination. I had also owned two other 1940 110 parts cars and my original 1939 Six Touring Sedan, all of which have since been sold.
The Patricians in this blog have been parked untouched for close to three decades mostly indoors and are now at my Terrebonne, OR shop. During the last visit, I sat aside the 1965 Imperial LeBaron I was working on as it needs more major engine work than I want to do now (a cracked block and the wrong engine anyway), so the two Packards were moved over into the workshop area.
The goal now - and the hesitance to start a blog - is to merge the two cars into one but I am not planning on a restoration although who knows how far I'll go? There will be a body swap at least which will probably mean cleaning up and painting things underneath while I'm at it but the first step is to see if the one will even start. The engine was totally rebuilt when I used to drive it but has sat so long that all sorts of demons may have crept in.
It was a good driver when purchased but was missing much trim so I bought the second as a parts car. Since then I also acquired a complete set of seats and doors from a friend's totaled 1954 Patrician that were even from the same two-tone gray (Mackinaw Gray lower; Varsity Gray Metallic upper) combination as mine. I already have a large supply of 1950s Packard parts that will help although I am hesitant to install the NOS factory rear window wiper I have as they look rather unseemly to me.
The parts car is Polaris Blue lower and Meridian Blue Metallic upper, which is a beautiful combination that I would love to keep on the final car but I don't want to have to repaint the dash as the gray one is very nice as it is so will likely keep it gray.
The first photo (if they show in the order I am attaching them) shows the car as it was when purchased, taken using a vintage Polaroid (I also collect Polaroids) while visiting my grandmother's mobile home in my hometown of Vallejo, CA and another not too good one at my San Jose, CA storage yard where, at the time, I worked on my cars as I lived in an apartment with no garage. I cannot locate many photos of it from early on but I've also attached a few more as I started working on it while still driving it.
Attach file:
(55.97 KB)
(88.35 KB)
(107.58 KB)
(115.06 KB)
(117.96 KB)
This will be about my two 1954 Packard Patricians. As a little background, I have owned one of the Patricians for over 40 years and the other purchased as a parts car a decade or so later. The first one was my second postwar Packard and at the time I had a 1940 110 Club Sedan, a 1941 Henney-Packard hearse (it's barely visible in one of the photos below) and a 1951 Henney-Packard combination. I had also owned two other 1940 110 parts cars and my original 1939 Six Touring Sedan, all of which have since been sold.
The Patricians in this blog have been parked untouched for close to three decades mostly indoors and are now at my Terrebonne, OR shop. During the last visit, I sat aside the 1965 Imperial LeBaron I was working on as it needs more major engine work than I want to do now (a cracked block and the wrong engine anyway), so the two Packards were moved over into the workshop area.
The goal now - and the hesitance to start a blog - is to merge the two cars into one but I am not planning on a restoration although who knows how far I'll go? There will be a body swap at least which will probably mean cleaning up and painting things underneath while I'm at it but the first step is to see if the one will even start. The engine was totally rebuilt when I used to drive it but has sat so long that all sorts of demons may have crept in.
It was a good driver when purchased but was missing much trim so I bought the second as a parts car. Since then I also acquired a complete set of seats and doors from a friend's totaled 1954 Patrician that were even from the same two-tone gray (Mackinaw Gray lower; Varsity Gray Metallic upper) combination as mine. I already have a large supply of 1950s Packard parts that will help although I am hesitant to install the NOS factory rear window wiper I have as they look rather unseemly to me.
The parts car is Polaris Blue lower and Meridian Blue Metallic upper, which is a beautiful combination that I would love to keep on the final car but I don't want to have to repaint the dash as the gray one is very nice as it is so will likely keep it gray.
The first photo (if they show in the order I am attaching them) shows the car as it was when purchased, taken using a vintage Polaroid (I also collect Polaroids) while visiting my grandmother's mobile home in my hometown of Vallejo, CA and another not too good one at my San Jose, CA storage yard where, at the time, I worked on my cars as I lived in an apartment with no garage. I cannot locate many photos of it from early on but I've also attached a few more as I started working on it while still driving it.
Attach file:
(55.97 KB)
(88.35 KB)
(107.58 KB)
(115.06 KB)
(117.96 KB)
This Post was from: https://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?post_id=198301