Howard Hughes Caribbean

Posted by ewrecks On 2015/1/24 3:04:15

Just got a chance to inspect the Howard Hughes/ Jean Peters Caribbean at the museum in El Segundo. At first I thought that the drive would be a waste since the car is housed behind glass in a climate controlled,room which is not open to the public. Fortunately the curator came to my rescue and allowed me to inspect and photograph the car after the museum closed.
The museum is worth a visit for anyone visiting the Los Angeles area with a superb collection of cars and an extensive collection of rare Packards including a unique 53 prototype coupe and one of the nicest
Dietrich roadsters I have seen.
I will be forever grateful to the staff and curator for their courtesy.
I took a significant number of shots of the Caribbean and as soon as I get them organized, I will try to post them to afford some guidance for anyone attempting to restore a 55 Caribbean.
The Hughes car is a clear benchmark vehicle that should be more carefully documented to provide a guide for restoration and judging. Purportedly the car was the 17th Caribbean off the line and the first to actually be sold to the public. The car has some evidence of deterioration but shows slightly over 1700 original miles on the odometer.
A few observations about the car seem warranted based on my brief inspection in order to answer some questions that have been raised on earlier Forum posts. The color under the parking lights is the middle color and not the gray bottom color. Additionally the Hughes car is not fitted with the hood support rod seen on later offerings. (My car was also not fitted with the hood,support but I added one in the interest of self preservation.)
I also,documented that the inside door jambs,of the Hughes car do not show evidence of paint of all three exterior colors- the middle,color,is,absent--and the paint line of the lower color angles up from the front edge of the door toward the inner door panel.
I hope that the photos will assist others seeking to correctly detail their engine compartments to original specifications.