Re: 55 Patrician

Posted by BH On 2009/3/12 9:46:28

Clyde -

Those are just some areas I noticed, from when I first discovered these cars decades ago, that were prone to rust in the 55-56s that spent most of their days in the snow belt. Several of them are hidden, but not pleasant, surprises for the uninformed buyer if they don't know where to look.

These days, you find same areas rusted out on cars left in field where it never snows, but with wet climates. Similar areas are prone on 51-54s. Of course, no manufacturer designed and built their cars with the expectation the people would still be driving them 50+ years later.

Yet, even my Caribbean Hardtop, which spent over 25 years in AZ and was then garage kept for the last 20 years in PA, has a pinhole in one rocker and he usual rust starting (from the inside out) at the bottom of one of the front fenders.

Now, every car has their own set of rust-prone areas, but a lot of Packards were crushed due to rust and lack of ready-made repair panels for the orphan brands.

Fortunately, many such panels are now available for these cars today - though I cannot (yet) personally vouch for their quality.