Re: What would a traditional Packard "Senior" have looked like in 1951?
Posted by Mahoning63 On 2017/8/13 11:00:30
Other cars the 132 wb sedan would have enabled would have been a hardtop coupe and convertible that were more competitive with Cadillac. I couldn't find detailed specs for the '51 Packard or '49 and '50 Cadillacs that Ferry would have known about during development of the 24th Series but I did find '52 info for both. Looking at the specs it is clear that Packard's 2-door models weren't long or low enough to compete with Cadillac's Series 62 cars.
The 132 sedan would have made available 5 inch longer front fender and hood stampings, a good start but probably still not enough. The cars would have needed Reinhart's hated 1.5 inches sectioned out of the body. With these changes and perhaps the big "400" 190 HP engine underhood I think the cars would have had the right stuff and fetched pricing right up there with Coupe DeVille.
With all these models including the 141 wb Formal Sedan above, Nance would have inherited a much better situation upon which to build.
8/15 EDIT: after finding a one-off '52 hardtop with 300/400 rear fenders and taillights, concluded that Packard might have benefited most by fielding two hardtops. The first is attached here as replacement for what I had originally posted. It still has 1.5 inches sectioned from the body but now has standard hood length and 122 wb. This is the car that needed to compete with the Buick 50 and 70 Series hardtops. More soon on the other model.
Attach file:
(81.43 KB)
(44.36 KB)
(102.29 KB)
The 132 sedan would have made available 5 inch longer front fender and hood stampings, a good start but probably still not enough. The cars would have needed Reinhart's hated 1.5 inches sectioned out of the body. With these changes and perhaps the big "400" 190 HP engine underhood I think the cars would have had the right stuff and fetched pricing right up there with Coupe DeVille.
With all these models including the 141 wb Formal Sedan above, Nance would have inherited a much better situation upon which to build.
8/15 EDIT: after finding a one-off '52 hardtop with 300/400 rear fenders and taillights, concluded that Packard might have benefited most by fielding two hardtops. The first is attached here as replacement for what I had originally posted. It still has 1.5 inches sectioned from the body but now has standard hood length and 122 wb. This is the car that needed to compete with the Buick 50 and 70 Series hardtops. More soon on the other model.
Attach file:
(81.43 KB)
(44.36 KB) (102.29 KB)
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