Re: 1956 Patrician Roof Chrome

Posted by Leeedy On 2022/12/28 12:42:42
REgarding chrome bows in the ceilings/headliners of 1950s American cars...

GM and Packard automobiles in the mid-1950s both had a tradition of chrome bows in hardtops. Hardtops only. In those days young boys in Detroit would strain to look inside a hardtop to see the chrome bows (this was what people called them). It was almost a game.

A "hardtop" as it was known in those days was usually a pillar-less two-door. In other words there was no "B"-pillar and when you lowered the side windows there were no metal uprights and the side space was completely open. A 1955-56 Four Hundred would be considered a "hardtop."

By the mid-1950s the Big-3 in Detroit began introducing four-door hardtops in addition to the two-door models. This has been forgotten today, but these new four-door hardtops were all the rage back then. Again, no "B"-pillar.

Packard had planned to do a four-door V-8 hardtop but didn't have the money at the time to put one into production (see a photo of the prototype in the Creative Industries of Detroit book).

Part of the idea with hardtops was to get the airy look of a convertible with the top up and windows down. In an era before factory air was prolific, this was how people drove around cities in the summers. Side windows all lowered. It was a look that people thought was "cool"... and thus the word also became a slang.

A "hardtop" as opposed to a soft top (convertible) of course had no top support bows. No need. But some customers and designers liked the looks of support bows. So? Hardtops began appearing with chrome bows... just for looks. It became a popular trend.

People today may not get this. But in Detroit during the 1950s, these chrome bows were considered to be very cool, very sporty. A pleasing touch to the look on hardtops– at least to 1950s American eyes. Chrysler Corporation designs resisted this trend and began installing longitudinal (front-to-rear) bright strips over their headliners.

So. You would never, ever expect to see these chrome bows on a sedan with B-pillars like a Patrician. Nor on a Clipper sedan. A whole different direction.

This Post was from: https://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?post_id=252025