Re: 1956 Caribbean hardtop options on a Four Hundred

Posted by Owen_Dyneto On 2015/2/7 15:52:43

ONE THING THAT MAY TELL THE TAIL: Does it have a hood prop? The Carib hoods needed a prop because of the extra weight of the "scoops."

The 55 Caribs had the hood prop rod, the 56 hood was an entirely new stamping without the lead work used in 55 and did not require the rod.

As far as some factory assembly line folks choosing a Caribbean hood for a non-Caribbean, it seems highly unlikely but I guess anything is possible. The late decision to build the additional 24 Caribbean convertibles and 13 hardtops (do I recall the numbers correctly?) would have cut deeply into the stock of Caribbean hoods and other spares intended for factory stock, as indicated by how hard some of these parts were to obtain from Packard even a few years after the cars were built.