Re: Interior restoration question

Posted by BH On 2010/12/21 11:58:00

Though my Caribbean Hardtop is not available for easy inspection (offsite storage is now inaccessible with all the snow, here), I seem to recall that the front seat bottom frame had some sort of zig-zag springs, concealed by a relatively thin, yet removable, pad, which was covered in a black felt-like material. The reversible seat bottom cushions were simply laid on top of that. Rear seat bottom may have had nothing more than a platform, but still comfortable.

The site's 1955-56 Service Index shows that the change to softer cushions for the '56 Caribbean front seats was covered in STB 56T-13. It was not a "campaign", like the venturi rings in the 2x4 carbs, but merely a running production change that was a warrantable customer satisfaction issue for earlier cars.

Legend has it that the entire inventory of these specially-molded seat cushions went to South Bend, but was later acquired by Standard Suprlus (Newman & Altman), who then sold them all to a boat manufacturer. What a shame.

As for headlining material, my '56 Caribbean Hardtop, two '56 Patricians, '56 Four Hundred parts car, and dad's '56 Exec hardtop all have a perforated leatherette (vinyl-coated fabric) material. Only the hardtops had the stainless bows (covering the seams). My gut feeling is that the '56 Clippers had the same treatment.

However, Randy Berger's Patrician had a solid (NON-perforated) GENUINE leather headlining, which may be part of the documented SPECial interior trim code - done at the customer's request.

The one '55 Patrician that I once owned had a cloth headliner - same color as the inserts on the two-tone cloth-covered seats. Not sure what other '55 models used.

WRT to Exec cloth and leather, I can find no evidence of a cloth seat upholstery with leather inserts for regular production in any Packard or Clipper in 1956. The Executive sedans were offered with a choice of all-cloth or all-leather interior trim, while the hardtops were only available with cloth and imitation leather (vinyl) - all of them in two-tone color combinations.

However, I do know of a reasonably well-documented Exec hardtop that was built with all-leather interior (and Caribbean motor with standard and overdrive).

So, unless it is a documented production exception (and records for most of the 1956 cars ARE available), leather inserts are likely some owner's personalization of the car.