Re: 55 Packard Script & Medalion & or Emblem Colors?

Posted by BH On 2007/3/5 1:24:16

Having seen incorrect ornamentation being used on the 1955-56 cars, I am compelled to respond as matter of public to all Senior V8 owners.

The "PACKARD" hood letters on 1955 Four Hundred and Patrician models were chrome-plated, but not factory-installed on Caribbean. These same hood letters were also used on 1957-58 Packardbakers, but the plating on a set I purchased from a Studebaker vendor left a lot to be desired.

The grille ornamentation uses a chrome-plated vee over a gold-plated circle; the grille crest, used for 1955 only, is done in a gold finish, with red paint for the field of the shield. The castings for the circle and vee used for 1955 are NOT the same as what was used on 1956 models.

The script plates on the front fenders of the Senior cars for both 1955-56, aft of the wheel opening (and ahead of the front door opening), were gold-plated: using "The Four Hundred" for 5587 and 5687 models and "The Patrician" for 5582 and 5682 models. The 1953-54 Caribbeans used chrome-plated script plates, but the same casting was gold-plated for 1955-56.

The "Packard" script plates on the rear fenders of all 1955-56 Seniors models were gold-plated EXCEPT for the 1956 Executive, which recycled the script plates from 1954 models - same casting but chrome-plated.

For 1955 Senior cars, the vees used on the roof pillars were chrome-plated (like the grille ornamentation), but the vees on the taillights were gold-plated. They were not used on 1956 models.

As for the trunk, I believe both the "400" and the traditional "Packard" script were gold-plated, but don't want to rely on my fuzzy memory for this particular area without confirmation from someone else.

1955 Caribbean was devoid of script plates on the trunk. Patricians were the only 1955 Senior models to have script plates installed by the factory above the trunk handle/ornament, and they were chrome-plated. The "Packard" script plate as used on the 1955 Patrician trunk was recycled for use on the 1956 Executive. The rest of the 1956 Seniors cars used gold-plated script plates located above the circle-vee ornamentation, which followed the same plating scheme as the on the grille.

I know of no source that will corroborate all this, but my statements are based on personal observation of unmolested original cars (though from years ago) and "extrapolations" from the parts book listings.