Re: 52 Mayfair

Posted by BH On 2008/6/29 10:29:06

Randy -

Fer a minute there, I thought you had posted a rare snapshot of James Dean with some Hollywood starlet!

BTW, I checked my edition of the Dawes book, and the only reference to ventiports for 1952 was for the Patrician - noting four were installed, compared to three for the previous series. I did find an artist's rendering of a 1953 Mayfair with three ventiports in that same book, but the caption advised that they were deleted from actual production - with no clear reference as to "when". It also shows an actual 1953 Convertible with three ports, but claims they were later deleted from production - hinting that some had been previously built with them. Perhaps their elimination has something to do with material allocations during the Korean Conflict, but I'm drifting off-topic a bit.

Curiously, the Model Info pages for the 25th Series, here, include what appears to be a factory photo showing a 250 (Mayfair) hardtop with four ports. However, I'm not so familiar with those cars to be able to say what is correct versus a discrepancy in marketing materials. (For example, the 1955 Packard brochure shows a Patrician with a side trim treatment that never saw regular production.)

As extensive as the Kimes/AQ book is, it is difficult to find such details therein. I did find a pic of a '52 Mayfair with four ports, but nothing about that particular aspect.

There's good aesthetic reason for adding the fourth, but unless someone has a documented explanation, I can only suspect it was a dealer or owner modifcation.