Oh how I'd like to have items like the Albrecht-Burke and other St. Louis items displayed here. I grew up in St. Louis, post war, and each of the pieces has a meaning for me.

Albrecht-Burke was probably the healthiest and longest surviving Packard dealer. My aunt lived a short distance away, and when I was about ten or so, I would walk across the street to that dealership on DeGiverville Avenue to look at the 55-56s on their lot on Sunday afternoons. I fail to remember how long, post-1956, they continued to sell Packards or Studebakers. My aunt moved and that attraction disappeared from my sight. Much later, that building was used to sell Cushman scooters of all types.

A-B moved into the more modern Obermeier Packard building sometime in the early fifties, I believe. Note the bottle opener with Obermeier on it. A-B previously had a large showroom on Kingshighway that was later converted to a Mark IV air conditioner dealer installation center. That newer late-40s styled Obermeierb building fit A-B customers very nicely.

Berry Motors on Locust Street (downtown auto row) was both a dealer and Packard Distributer. That's where my grandmother bought all of her Packards until she switched over to Buicks. That building is now gentrified into The Packard Lofts.

Someday, I'd like to get a photo of all three of my Packards in front of The Lofts, possibly the last remaining St. Louis dealership. Until then, these momentos are wonderful to see again, triggering pleasant memories.

I just re-read the newly posted May 1949 Steel magazine article in this forum. It's occurred to me that George Christopher may have intentionally made his familiarity with GM (Pontiac and Buick) into something more once he joined Packard. My first question is whether the post-120 generations of Junior Packards shared their DNA with the L-head straight eight Pontiac or the overhead valve Buick eights? Did the commonality of senior GM products cause the family sharing of components by Delco-Remy or were they just the best available at a price at the time?

It also seems like the closest thing an American buyer could get to having a real post WW II Packard was a Buick. Similar electrics, similar starter routine with the Carter Car-Start, similar bi-hinged hood that could easily be removed, etc. When it came to "Dual-Dealerships", what other brands predominated? Hudson or Nash as independents might have been natural showroom siblings, but I have noted a number of Buick and some Chrysler pairings. Seems to me that Buick would have been a natural, not only because of the pricing ranges, but having a United Motors availability with Delco and Harrison suppliers.

I also note that both Packard (over the objections and stubborness of Christopher)and Buick were on track to switch from straight eights to V-8s as early as 1953, but delays happened and Buick got there first with its "Nailhead." But both straight eight brands shared the silky smooth Ultramatics and Dynaflows. That might have meant that if I had blindfolded my grandmother, she might not have known whether she was riding in a Buick or a Packard, except for the price. Her dealer sold both.

I took an admiring and closer look at my swept-back winged 1950 hood ornament and think it looks more swan-like than the rather ugly Cormorant. I don't know what kind of bird is seen on the heraldic Packard crest, but it certainly is not a swan feeding her offspring. So, I am content to have both a swan up top with some sort of feeding bird on the Packard emblem. In any case, the ambiguity of it all pales in contrast to GM producing a car, sold in Spanish-speaking countries as a "No Go" (or Nova). Let alone the French Canadian meaning for Lacrosse.

Since my wife pointed out that the upright winged Swan looked like a water fowl skidding to a panic stop, my admiration for a lethal hood decoration has cooled. I still like any of the birds a bit better than the Donut Pusher, but wonder what would have happened if the donut had Goodyear or Firestone emblems cast on it? After all, if the cormorant debate had never come up, how many people would have bothered to see what the term really meant? We're all richer for the debate and the magazine stands proudly named for the value it has to Packard lovers worldwide. It would still be as elegant if it were named Swan or Pelican.

Somewhere in a previous owner's care, the same thing must have happened to my 1950's Cormorant's wings. Instead of positioning them in the original upright manner, they were installed so that the tips are swept back. I have tried to get that wedge out but it appears to be hopelessly stuck where it is. So, as my wife consoles me, countless bicyclists and car covers are safer from getting impaled by my hood. She also thinks that the car looks a bit sleeker, instead of representing a bird trying to make a panic stop on the water. After more than 46 years of marriage, I know when to give up on a subject. She may be right, after all.

I agree with Don. My 1950 Sedan has this version, like your father's car. Nothing too complicated about it. It even survived a couple of post-Irma 60 mph gusts a couple of weeks ago. One of our club members also has a stepdown Hudson and the brackets appear identical to the 23rd Series visor, especially the way it attaches to the windshield center post.

For what it is worth, "Maybelle", my 1950 Packard Eight Touring Sedan still had its glove box documentation intact. Coincidently, it is painted in Egyptian Sand and has almost all of the striped cloth upholstery still there.

The documentation on my paper is still rather good, a bit water stained, but with some pencil and yellow crayon markings. It reads 2392-5 C 29403 OD HE 47.. Obviously, that's the model number for a touring sedan in the Twenty-third series, not a renumbered car, the vehicle number, the Egyptian Sand paint, Overdrive and I'll presume the type of heater. Don't know what the two dots mean. The handwritten pencil mark reads "904" which I presume was either a date or production line number. Nothing else is on my paper document.

I bought both of Neal's books through Dwight last year, when he offered both for a package price that was attractive. He may still have the "two-fer" offer alive.

Both are great and useful assets for a Packard fan. At present, I am told that I am not allowed to have a fourth Packard, but if a 1951-54 would come along, the second Neal book already has me prepared. It is unfortunate that a V-8 edition never had Neal's touch, but someone, someday, may make the attempt. Bob Neal set a very high bar for any who might follow him.

I'm thinking of the literary logistics of doing a Beverly Kimes-like attempt where various author experts tackle the job of their own chapters on the 1955-56 Packards. I already have my Dream Team list of contributors in mind. Each and everyone would be a familiar name and contributor to this forum. Any volunteers out there? George, Howard, Dave, Roger, Ross, Leon and Roscoe....you know who you are.

I bought both of Neal's books through Dwight last year, when he offered both for a package price that was attractive. He may still have the "two-fer" offer alive.

Both are great and useful assets for a Packard fan. At present, I am told that I am not allowed to have a fourth Packard, but if a 1951-54 would come along, the second Neal book already has me prepared. It is unfortunate that a V-8 edition never had Neal's touch, but someone, someday, may make the attempt. Bob Neal set a very high bar for any who might follow him.

I'm thinking of the literary logistics of doing a Beverly Kimes-like attempt where various author experts tackle the job of their own chapters on the 1955-56 Packards. I already have my Dream Team list of contributors in mind. Each and everyone would be a familiar name and contributor to this forum. Any volunteers out there? George, Howard, Dave, Roger, Ross, Leon and Roscoe....you know who you are.

Congrats on your grandfather's Packard Eight. She's a beauty and with only 22K miles, many smiles must lay ahead. And at age 42, you might, too. Three of my four sons are in their early 40s, and view my Packard collection as a curiousity. Only my 42 year old has his own collector gene lit, and it's for restoring really large Autocar trucks. I am still trying to expand his horizon. Somehow, he seems to like my 1950 Eight sedan (2392-5-29403 "not re-numbered") better than the two 1956 V8 hardtops. He says that the long straight eight is more familiar to his tastes.

My car looks much the same with its original cloth upholstery 95% still there. But with 59K miles, the California sun has taken a bit of a toll on some of the upper corners. A previous owner replaced the rubber front flooring in the past with proper carpeting from a nicer Deluxe sedan.

I fully agree with Ross about replacing those skinny battery cables with heavy duty "O" gauge....your starter will immediately notice the improvement with the 6 volt system. The fuel pump suggestions are also spot on. Gas thinned oil or even worse, an engine fire, is not what any grandfather would expect.

As with my two hardtops, the more I drive my 23rd series, the more Maybelle rewards me with good experiences. She almost always starts the first try if it hasn't been too long.

I did not want to highjack the two members who each made a remark, this week, about some rather expensive, if not significant, changes between the 1955 and 1956 years. These days, the automotive accountants would riot if a manufacturer did something similar, especially in a down economy with bad press circulating around your brand.

Some of the most significant changes (and there are many more, apparent to some of you) are:

The switch to negative ground 12 volt electrics (and to almost everything it affected, including the Delco-sourced radios)
Wheel lugs and nuts instead of bolts (no more interchanging of brake drums)
Rear deck lid metal stampings for both hardtops, sedans and convertibles.
Two types of front fenders with soldered peaks on the Seniors.
Brand new front and rear bumpers.
Brand new tail lights and fenders for the Clippers/Executives (living to see another day on the South Bend Packards and countless hot rods)
Brand new dual cowl hoods without soldered pieces.
Dana made rear axles and TT differentials.
Revised front end geometry and shock absorber mountings.
Torsion Level controller packaging.
All sorts of stainless and chrome trim changes

What did not get changed that should have been:
Oil pumps with integral vacuum pump
Interior door handles and cranks that fall off

All in all, the Greatest Packard of Them All might indeed been the ten thousand or so Packards of 1956. The accountants were left with the final verdict in June 1956.