Re: 1956 Caribbean hardtop options on a Four Hundred

Posted by jfrom@kanter On 2016/3/24 11:38:46

As to what is original/what is possible

Here's an example of how odd cars get built. Back in the '60's Dan and Fred bought a '56 400 with a Caribbean hood, from every inspection of the one-tone Roman Copper car it looked original and probably was but you really can't tell except from the build sheet. The car had one other "non-original" feature, the entirely original and near mint interior was in antiqued off white leather, the shade you'd expect to find on a BarcaLounger. All leather including door, quarter and kick panels, seat surfaces and sides, not a square inch of vinyl.

Questioning a former owner who used it as an everyday car, he said it was originally a Packard New York Zone car, obviously a special order Some of these cars are real, but as far as we know the claim that a car was built with the next or last years parts or a '51 part on a '54 because an employee went to the parts bin are bogus. Manufacturing plants have parts that are to be used on current production vehicles, replacement parts for prior years are in the service parts warehouse which are typically not a few steps away where a worker could pick a part while not skipping a beat on the line.

Thanks
James