Re: Model Info

Posted by Owen_Dyneto On 2013/1/4 12:23:59

JW, the prevalent view is that only the Custom 8s (356-engined models) are considered seniors.

What confuses the picture in the 23rd series is the introduction of the Super Deluxe, sharing the egg-crate grille and wheelbase with the Custom 8 but with the 327 engine. Cloisonne hubcap emblems aside (which are easily substituted), externally it's hard to tell a 23rd Series Custom from a Super DeLuxe but one different feature that easy to spot is the trunk lid trim; on the Super DeLuxe only goes partway down each side whereas on the Custom is goes all the way round the lid. Custom 8s were a hard sell in the 23rd series and I guess the intro of the Super DeLuxe offered almost the same external appearance (with a lesser level of interior appointments) at a lower price than the Custom, but it did really killed off the higher end Custom which in the view of many was the last Packard of exceptional quality with the best of everything Packard knew how to do. The 51 Patrician in comparison didn't even come and it really wasn't until 1953/54 that the Patrician regained much of what was lost starting in 1951.