PackardDon's 1956 Clipper Custom Sedan
Posted by Packard Don On 2021/12/10 22:20:55
Because I've been working on this 1956 Clipper Custom Sedan off and on since bringing it to my Oregon shop about fifteen years ago, it seems time to start a blog.
First a brief history. I have owned this car for at least 45 years after buying it from a good friend who was leaving the area. I had spotted it some years prior in a parking lot along a main street in Campbell, CA and someone in the past had painted it a solid gray over the original Dover White and Tangier Red factory paint.
Once I bought it a friend started sanding off the gray and after that, I drove it only a couple times. The friend I bought it from had put in new exhaust and Allstate Guardsman tires and I tinkered with it too while he owned it getting the Torsion-Level working and putting on new belts and hoses. Otherwise very little was done and it ran although obviously needing a rebuild.
However, one thing never looked at were the brakes so this is what happened the first time I drove it after having just re-cored the radiator. When I pivoted my foot from the accelerator to the brake while pulling into a parking space, they failed and the edge of my foot hit the accelerator, slamming the front into a large concrete support column for the cover over the walkway.
The radiator had to be repaired where it hit the fan but all in all it wasn't too bad. Most major body parts were replaced but over the years of looking at it parked in the yard and more recently in my shop I started noticing less obvious bent or broken bits and pieces which I am only now acquiring and have most everything needed. Whether it will be restored or not remains to be seen but my goal at this time is to make it roadable.
Attach file:
IMG_0247.PNG (1,150.23 KB)
First a brief history. I have owned this car for at least 45 years after buying it from a good friend who was leaving the area. I had spotted it some years prior in a parking lot along a main street in Campbell, CA and someone in the past had painted it a solid gray over the original Dover White and Tangier Red factory paint.
Once I bought it a friend started sanding off the gray and after that, I drove it only a couple times. The friend I bought it from had put in new exhaust and Allstate Guardsman tires and I tinkered with it too while he owned it getting the Torsion-Level working and putting on new belts and hoses. Otherwise very little was done and it ran although obviously needing a rebuild.
However, one thing never looked at were the brakes so this is what happened the first time I drove it after having just re-cored the radiator. When I pivoted my foot from the accelerator to the brake while pulling into a parking space, they failed and the edge of my foot hit the accelerator, slamming the front into a large concrete support column for the cover over the walkway.
The radiator had to be repaired where it hit the fan but all in all it wasn't too bad. Most major body parts were replaced but over the years of looking at it parked in the yard and more recently in my shop I started noticing less obvious bent or broken bits and pieces which I am only now acquiring and have most everything needed. Whether it will be restored or not remains to be seen but my goal at this time is to make it roadable.
Attach file:
IMG_0247.PNG (1,150.23 KB)
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