I guess I should chime in here as well. I'm 56 now, but I was 16 when I got my first car, which is also my first and only Packard. I had always loved cars as a kid, and because I had no living memory of new Packards or Packard dealers, I owe my fascination with Packard to the stories of my father. He never owned a Packard, but he always spoke so highly of them. I can never say that I didn't get anything from my dad, because besides his waistline, I also got my regard of Packard from him!

The car that I fell in love with at first sight was the 1956 Caribbean convertible. I saw a picture of one for the first time in 1972, when I was 15. As things should turn out, my father ended up making a deal with a Detroit Caribbean owner to buy his 1955. It was so magnificent I didn't really care that it wasn't a 1956! It was a piece of history and it was a Packard!

My key takeaways are to be sure to talk to young people and share your Packard stories, and I also echo what others have said about letting young kids sit in your cars, or even give them rides. Just before we found the 1955 Caribbean for sale, my father and I attended the 1973 Packard National Meet in Detroit, and we were guests of Roscoe Stelford in the back seat of his 1956 Caribbean convertible! It definitely left a lasting impression!

Cool photo! When and where was it taken?

Hmmm...

http://flint.craigslist.org/cto/3371586321.html

Thanks Randy! I forgot about that, and now it makes perfect sense!

My apologies if this has already been posted on here, but this looks like it might be an authentic Flamingo 1956 Clipper Super hardtop, VIN reported as 5647-4834. However, the AQ Packard book says that the Super HT production only totalled 3,999 -- go figure. The car is in Advance MO, and as I post this, there's only 7 hours left to bid. Not sure it's worth the $999 opening bid though.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1956-PACKARD-CLIPPER-2-DOOR-H-T-/251175442930?forcev4exp=true#ht_500wt_1182

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I think the reason it was heavier is because they literally used a ton of lead body filler to shape and finish those scoops!

I may be mistaken, but I thought that Syracuse University donated that collection back to the Studebaker National Museum in South Bend, perhaps in the mid-1980s. I know that when the Museum was still in the former dealership building, almost 20 years ago, I had the great fortune to be able to browse the minutes book of the Ohio Automobile Co. and other treasures.

In case you're wondering how Studebaker Corporation materials first landed in Upstate New York, evidently it was because one of the Studebaker Corporation Board members was a Syracuse alumnus.

Thanks -- I had never seen such things on Facebook before! Now I have another place to look for cars to ogle!

Example?

Seems to me that a lot of brake parts, like wheel cylinders and even some shoes, springs 'n such dated from the introduction of the 120 until the end. When were those pedal pads first used? I have to admit that I've never paid attention to them before!