Re: First Production 1955 Patrician

Posted by BryanMoran On 2014/7/8 7:53:53

Sorry to bring this topic back up but the seller has posted an ad on the AACA forum and in a browse I found it and was directed here.

In all of the comments here I do not see anything on a couple of questions or observations:

1. Why would Packard or how might it have come to be - that the 1st production 1955 vehicle was painted all white (Ivory) in an era when Patricians were typically conservatively painted and trimmed?

This makes me think, and I am no Packard expert, that this was meant for the show circuit or was a special order car.

I am surprised to see that few commenters were as surprised and intrigued by the color choice as I am. At 1st sight, I thought it might have been repainted all white (Ivory) at some point in it's life.

It just really struck me as fascinating that car #1 would be all Ivory with some contrast to the interior. I wonder if there are any other all white 55 Patricians and what percentage of paint codes represented all white.

While no one here might have the answer, this question is meant for those members with more extensive knowledge to speculate, which leads to question number 2.

2. Why is there not a better archival photo record of this car? If it is truly car number 1 of the last production car for Packard, and a car with so much riding on it (no pun intended) why is there no record of it and we are all amazed and surprised to see it here.

You know, there are those "Illustrated Photo Archive" books for most of the independent makes. I have purchased several and for Packard, I would think this would be a highly publicized car and we would see photos of it new.

3. Is this 0001 car the 1st production 1955 Packard or the 1st production 1955 Patrician? I have not seen that brought up in the commentary. How does a regular Joe like me that is not a bonified Packard historian know how Packard numbered cars? If the 1st 4 digits before 0001 designate that it is a 1955 Patrician, wouldn't the 1st 400 have their numbers in front of another 0001?

Or does it go sequentially so that car number 2 could have been a 400 or a Caribbean or whatever?

4. Is there an update regarding the owner history?

Thanks for considering my inquiries. Bryan Moran