Re: 1956 Clipper Hot Rod

Posted by 55PackardGuy On 2008/10/18 10:36:13

Well, it's past the end of summer and maybe time to bump this thread up. What you got there, as near as I can figure, is a car put together with either an Executive or Senior front clip and definitely a '55 Caribbean hood. One giveaway is the "scallops" at the sides of the hood which were changed to little creases in '56, The hood scoops are '55 and the '55 lacked the medallion in the center. The grill is definitely either Senior or Executive, and the grillwork in the bumper slot says it's a 56.

This is the Packard I would've liked to have built: Caribbean dual carb 374, Clipper/Executive with "slipper" taillights, lighter weight with the same HP as the Carib. I would probably insist on a transmission swap to an automatic that could take all that HP.

Somebody had a good idea and didn't finish it. Or finished it and drove it like a banshee for a while and moved on. Wouldn't be surprised if it had some hard use.

Synchronizing dual carbs can be a bitch, and I've found that one problem is one or the other will start to leak (overflow). I don't know if it's float adjustment or a fuel pressure difference. I'm thinking of putting a fuel pressure regulator on my dual carb V8 boat to try to combat the rear carb leakage.

Sounds more and more like John's right about keeping that fire extinguisher close. You probably know that, but it's interesting how easy it is to leave the extinguisher sitting on the OTHER side of the car from where you're standing. Having two helps. Probably best is to have another fellow on "standby" holding the extinguisher ready. Halon extinguishers will avoid arduous cleaning of any areas that (hope not but possibly) ignite.

I'm really, really glad you're doing this car and maybe fulfilling someone else's dream (including mine). Best of luck. And I agree totally that getting a car up on decent tires so you can roll it around, and getting it running a bit--at least enough to know it DOES run, puts a lot of incentive into patiently doing all the little things. I convinced a friend of mine to do this on a '47 Dodge we worked on, and am pretty sure it wouldn't have ever gotten out on the road had we taken any other course.

John, with all due respect to you and your mentor and how you learned, some alternative methods also seem to work, and heck it's Al's baby. GO AL!

BUT, before any joyriding, be sure to drop the pan and pull the heads. This is all "free" unless you find something bad. Clean the pan of accumulated crud, look for suspicious metal, check bearing clearance.

P.S. I'd like to see Executive or Senior trim on the sides. I don't like the skinny-to-fat transition on the Clipper two-tone.

To tell you the truth, I think the '55 Clippers had it all over the '56s, except maybe taillights. But of course I'm prejudiced.