Re: 1956 Build Slip Codes

Posted by BH On 2008/9/22 9:04:31

Thanks, Owen!

I was pleased to find that the hassocks were an optional thing. In my limited travels, I'd seen them in one or two Patricians from earlier Series, but neither of mine 5682s has them. Used examples of these hassocks turn up, occasionally, on swap meet tables, but I won't worry about them, now, unless I find a build code strip (or production order that shows either of my cars was shipped from the factory with them.

Yeah, other than a Caribbean, I wouldn't trust the appearance of a 2x4 setup on any Packard V8 as factory install without bona fide documentation. You might remember a low-mileage Exec that resurfaced some 2o tears ago and had the Caribbean V8 (among a few other things), with correspomdence to and from Packard that document it. I believe this vehicle was first reported in the October 1987 issue of Nostalgic Cars magazine (no longer in publication). It was one of those few cases where, if an owner persisted, the factory would bend the rules to make a sale.

I don't recall any production code for the chrome-plated rocker covers, but know that they were available over-the-counter as a dealer accessory item. I have a bulletin on that, which I will be uploading with others to P'Info next month.

(Edited on: 2009/03/22, to correct magazine name and date of issue)