Re: Asking the men and women who own one...

Posted by Anonymous On 2009/4/10 11:26:59

You fellows who THINK you know what a "stock-authentic as-built" Packard of that era SHOULD look like, may be over-looking the fact that guys like me were repairing them when they were still in service as used cars.

If they have survived, there must be at LEAST a dozen '51 - '54 Packards of various series running around whose "front clips" dont quite match what the factory info. and "experts" say....

For example, there may still be a '51 "250" convertible running around with NO "rear vent-a-ports" ( I didn't like em..took em off and bondod up the holes), and NO "teeth" in its grill, and a nice '54 four barrel "327" motor under the hood.

There may be at least FIVE other '51-'54 Packards who wound up in our shop needing "front clips". In those years (late '50's - early 60's) in the wrecking yards of So. calif. you could get a nice "front clip" off a early 50's Packard - typically we'd pay $35 or $50 ) (on one occassion, I got "ripped off- had to pay $75) for nice "front clips" on cars of this era.

Typically Packards of that era that had "blown" their Ultramatics and were thus worthless wound up in wrecking yards. Or if they were rear-ended (we did not, at least at our shop, repair major-rear end Packards - no matter how nice they were otherwise).

Remember, in those years, you would be lucky to get $200. for a used Packard of that era. So that limited how much labor and materials a customer would tolerate to repair one.

I wonder when some "expert" (if the car still exists) will tell us how a '47 Super Clipper wound up with the "Custom" interior, meaning windshield chrome, door sills, seats, etc.... (no, I did not take out the unique "front to rear" head-liner, or the chrome steering column).

Our shop didnt try and take advantage of anyone - we didn't buy and sell these cars. We just repaired them for customers.

Now, if a customer tried to pass off a '51 as a '53, he might get away with it if it were a convert. Obviously coudlnt do that in a '51- '52 closed Packard car - the upper curve in the windshield on the '51 - '52 should give it away.

Suggest you would NOT be happy with a bone-stock Ultramatic transmission. The service record of the Ultramatics was....well.....

I know we arent supposed to discuss the FACT of what "killed" Packard's reputation in the market-place dead...(combined the Ultramatic's dismal reliability record with what one poster in here said "designed for leasurely accelleration" (I didnt make that up - a guy in here actually typed that )...and...well...

Somewhere around here I have an old (hmmm..was it Floyd Clymer's publication) "ROAD TEST" magazine from '53, in which they found the only car that they ever tested that was SLOWER than a '53 Ultramatic-equipped Packard, was a '49 Chevrolet with Powerglide !

That, to put it mildly, would NOT have been the case had they tried that with Packard products ten years before... Hint - I dont care WHAT pre-war car you are driving - dont go picking fights with a "356" '40-'42 Packard...!

Packard's earlier advertising discussed the "soft spoken boss of the road", which noted that Packard products were quiet, but would out-run just about anything in their respective price classes. Dont expect to do that with a 1950 or later one.

I once crossed the North American continent in 2 and a half days SLEEPING AT NIGHT in my '51 Packard convert. with its '54 327 four barrel engine. But it cost me a set of valves, and I sure as hell didnt try and "drag" anything other than garbage trucks and city busses!