Re: stick shift Execs

Posted by BH On 2010/2/13 17:05:36

In 2008, armed with photocopies of several factory Trade Letters from 1955 and 1956 on the subject of optional equipment pricing, I sat down and compiled a table of Regular Production Options, with their codes/symbols, that showed availability by model.

Do a site search on the key word "RPO" and look for "Build Sheet and Production Codes" articles in the results for the Literature and Manuals. I think you'll find the 56th Series chart to be quite helpful.

With no listing for the Executive in the Trade Letters then available to me, I initially made an educated guess as to equipment offerings for that mid-year model, based on my personal knowledge of my dad's car. Yet, it wasn't long after those charts debuted here, that a member privately provided me with a photocopy of a special letter on the new Executive models that had been sent out to dealers and copied to Zone offices, dated March 2, 1956. I immediately made a revision to the charts; only a handful of corrections were required for that model.

While the Executive was built on the Clipper Custom platform, it was fitted with a complement of standard equipment that was more in keeping with a genuine Senior. Ultramatic was standard, with pushbutton control available as an option. While there are some gaps in my series of Trade Letters on the matter, there's no mention of standard or overdrive being available as an option for the Executive in that special letter to dealers. Both Overdrive and Ultramatic were optional equipment for all Clippers.

Now, I've read of one, surviving, Executive hardtop that was built with some very special equipment, after much persistence by the prospective customer. Among its unique features were a Caribbean V8, full leather upholstery in a single-color, and radio delete, but I can't recall whether it had overdrive or merely standard trans.

However, the parts book references standard and overdrive parts for "All 56th" Series models, including the Exec. Clutch and pressure plate differ between Jr. and Sr., which is likely due to the difference in engines, as well as the existence of overdrive equipment.

In composing the RPO charts, I deferred to the Trade Letters, but it is entirely possible that we don't yet have the full picture, due to some missing supplements to those Letters. It's also hard to imagine that the part books was set up like that for only a handful of specials.

Upon donation of additional, bona fide factory letters, further revisions to those charts will be made and announced, as needed.