Re: Hood Bracing

Posted by Owen_Dyneto On 2009/6/20 14:00:54

This is pure guess work but it could be that

1) They had the ability to hand modify the hoods, possibly they were done by Henney which did a lot of hand work and lead work on hearses and ambulances?

2) They thought of the Caribbean as a specialty product and did not think it would sell as many units as it did.

I don't think so, but I'm just speculating as well.

Re (1) In addition to the hoods, the trunk lids were also modified with some hand-forming. I'd think Mitchell-Bentley (or Ionia) would have been a more logical choice if they went to the outside, as Henney ceased car-related work in 1954.

Re (2), they announced well ahead of introduction just how many Caribbeans would be made, as each one was a financially loosing proposition. Only in 1956 did they exceed their original production limit, and then only because of extreme pressure from influential dealers and others who, upon hearing of the impending shutdown, put pressure on Packard to use the balance of the unique parts to produce the last batch. Or so the story goes.