Re: Just bought a 1956 Patrician (newbie to Packard)

Posted by Dr.Stuart Schaller, PhD On 2007/12/22 9:33:01

I wouldn't have minded the pushbutton at all, as I think it looks cool. I do understand that they can be troublesome however.

The Packard is my first big car in at least 30 years. I've always owned sportscars, and have had something like 200 of them, including 50 Alfas. For the last 10 years or so, my daily drivers have been Hyundai Accents with bigger wheels/tires, suspension mods (shocks and springs) and computer chips for more hp; reliable and cheap, and with the upgrades, pretty quick with excellent handling.

I even take my modified 2001 Hyundai Accent 4-door(1600cc twin-cam with 5-speed stick shift) to the trace track to "play". I have beaten many sportscars with it at time trials. It has about 120 hp in a car that weighs about 2300 pounds.

About 30-35 years ago, I raced a 970cc Mini Cooper in the under 1 liter class in Europe, and in SCCA D-sedan in the US, with some success.

I'm too old for door-to-door racing, but still enjoy time trials..