Re: Buy or Stay away? - 55 Patrician

Posted by su8overdrive On 2012/6/21 19:10:12

Cars, like women, clothing, art, architecture, cuisine, music, are a matter of personal taste, preference, and there are plenty of 1955-56 specialists here to help you. But if you want a driveable, good-looking, dependable Packard, get an 8 or Super 8 1939-47 on the standard, shorter wheelbase with overdrive.
By the '50s, Packard was an also-ran. If you want a '50s Packard, look for a Mayfair coupe with stick and overdrive. They have good ergonomics, though a Hudson Hornet has better build quality, even an Oldsmobile or any GMobile better body quality/finish. Any 1951-54 Packard with stick and overdrive is a good road car, their 288-ci and 327-ci straight 8s dependable, husky, low-stressed, and underrated engines.

But the '50s cars are, overall, also-rans. Packard had arced by then. They were following the herd, no long leading, apart and above the fray. The downsized 1953-54 Chrysler New Yorkers are better automobiles, in my 'umble opine.

Consumers Reports in 1950 rated Packard's Ultramatic the best automatic transmission on the market. But it needed and needs repair by ONLY those with the tools and knowledge.
A HydraMatic is more forgiving, takes hard acceleration better. A friend drove a '53 300 with Ultramatic and a 327 inline 8 over 130,000 troublefree miles, and the Ultramatic never had anything but fresh fluid and filter every 25,000 miles.

Ultramatic was never intended for the V-8's torque curve and was trouble in the '55 and '56s, as any here will tell
you. Packard's V-8s had some initial bugs, were okay otherwise. But a Cadillac or Chrysler were and are less trouble.

This is just my opine, but if for some reason you're dying for '50s American chrome baroque, get a Chrysler.
But then, i'm a prewar fan, when Packard was in their heyday. My '47 Super's just a warmed over '42, which suits me.

Good luck, take your time, and buy only the very best example of whatever you land on.