Re: If you are under sixty, how did you get interested in Packards?

Posted by Tim Wile On 2013/5/1 14:30:43

Although I've just turned 60, I'll add my two cents to this topic. I've been into cars since I caught the bug from my father, who also had a love of them. His prize was a '49 Chrysler New Yorker convertible that he purchased new and in which I was brought home from the hospital. His prior car was a '40 DeSoto that he had bought used shortly before he was drafted into the Army Air Corps.

I'm old enough to recall the mid to late 1950s cars when they were knew and remember waiting in ancitipation to see the new models come out. It was quite a big deal back then and the car dealers would all soap their windows until the debut date. My dad was originally a Chrysler man but turned to Fords in the late 1950s when he started selling them as a part-time job. One of the major benefits in my eyes was that I got to see the new Ford models before they were released to the public - I thought that was soooo cool.

My interest in Packards probably began with the owner of a local shoe store. He always bought new Packards and I distinctly remember his red and white 1958 Packard two-door coupe parked behind the shoe store well into the late 1960s or early 1970s. With the fins and such, it definitely caught my eye. Eventually, he turned to Cadillacs and I never found out what happened to his '58 Packard.

While my dad was a Chrysler, then a Ford, then back to Chrysler man, he always spoke of Packards with awe. He was never in a position to buy a new one himself and he always found decent deals on one- or two-year old Chryslers. As for myself, I always liked the style of the '55-'56 Packards and I have to admit that I prefer the seniors over the Clippers. No offence meant to the Clipper fans, but I just liked the stately elegance of the '55 and '56 seniors.

A few years ago I finally got to the point in my life where I could seriously consider getting a classic car to work on and restore to driving condition. I have a garage in which to shelter it and the time in which to work on it. After looking around, I finally picked up a '55 Patrician that had been the project of someone obviously younger than myself. Much of my time has been spent undoing what a previous owner did and then fixing it correctly.

I then picked up a second Packard, also a '55, but this one was a 400 two-door coupe. That is ostensibly my wife's Packard and a bit closer to being roadworthy than is the Patrician. But the Patrician is catching up fast. While my wife's first love is the '57 Chevrolet Bel Aire convertibles, she has warmed up to the Packards and is looking forward to some nights this summer cruising in the Four Hundred.

My two grandchildren, my 10-year old grandson, and my 6-year old granddaughter, have already been given rides in Opa's Packard and were thrilled as they could be. My grandson thinks that both Packards are cool but he likes the Four Hundred because it has antique tags on it and we can drive it on the road. The lad's quite practical. Hopefully, my grandson will be assisting his Opa with one or both of the cars this coming summer and perhaps he'll catch the bug. As for my granddaugher, with her personality, she's not intersted in the mechanics, just whether she can ride in it. God help me if she ever gets a look at a fully restored '55 or '56 Caribbean convertible! I'll never hear the end of it.

I don't know if any of my ramblings added to the topic, I hope so.