I have no idea why the top would go up faster on one side than the other.
It did not do so when the hydraulics were installed( all new pulp, cylinders and hoses from Hydromatic) before the top was installed. Seemed to work fine when the top was installed last fall.
All I know is that it was not going up equally when I first tried it and seemed to improve with lubrication of the joints and working the top gently up and down.
The part that broke on the left side has apparently been a source of problems before according to Fred at Merrits....he has one left and sold one last week. I found a repaired unit which I purchased as a back up but hope to repair mine.
I doubt that it can be properly welded while on the car and removing it will take a lot of work by the looks of it since the top will need to be at least partially removed and disassembly will entail knocking out roll pins from several pivot locations( I think)
I will take some shots and see if I can get them to download-- seem to have problems with that too.

From what I have heard, the driver side piece is the one that always breaks. Might be a good reason to follow the path of the trailer queens and never put the top down.LOL
My general rule with my old cars is that if you see it with the top up it has been sold or stolen.
I placed a call to Bob's Packard Parts as Owen suggested but have not heard back from him. I hoped to have him bring it to Frederick.
I located a unit at Merritt's that I was going to buy but it is hard to justify four figures for a top component.
I have purchased a unit that was professionally repaired for a fraction of that price as a backup but hope to repair mine, drop the lid and just let it stay under the boot. I have no plans to drive the car if there is a hint of rain. I am still considering pulling the hydraulic cylinders and operating the top manually.
As an aside I called Hagerty to see if the damage was possibly covered by comprehensive( seriously doubt it) but because they have a part locator service. If you subscribe to Hemmings they also offered that service in the past and may still be able to help.
My biggest regret is that I just had over a year of screwing around to secure a top with the color match to the interior and see no way to replace the broken piece without having to pull the top- at least in part- to do the repair.
Have you tried to have your professionally Tig welded? I can't see why a correctly welded part should be weaker than the original. Granted- there seems to be an inherent flaw in the top operating system or you would not see the same part( driver side) break consistently. I know that aluminum gets brittle,with age but everyone seems to have the passenger side.
I'll let everyone know how it goes Maybe an oil sheik will bail me out and let me get a 37 Roadster.

The weather here finally broke and it seemed a good time to put some miles on the 1955 Caribbean. The car started right up and all fluids and systems were go......then I decided to drop the top. The immediate problem was that the passenger side was going up quicker than the driver side....so I stopped and libricated all of the joints and put the car back in the garage.
I left the car sit overnight and the next day opted to take the car outside and let the sun warm the new top. I unzipped the rear window, unsnapped the sides and started the lowering process. Same result. I shot some additional lube into the joints and then stood in the front seat area and Helton the top while it started up to keep the mechanism from twisting. I worked it up and down slowly until things seemed to have loosened up.
When the top was about a foot or so from going into the well....I heard a loud snap.
On inspection the aluminum bracket that attaches to the second bow from the rear had snapped in half at the point where the middle screw( three screws on each side attach the bow to the side brackets).
I returned the top to the up position carefully, cursed and put the car back in the garage.
It now looks,like it will probably be necessary to have the top at least partially removed to extract the part to see if it can be tig welded .
It appears on review of the limited literature and diagrams available that the
Attachments points are not secured by bolts but are either fitted with pressed pins or cotter keys at the ends of the shafts.
Has anyone out there ever disassembled the top rails to give some hint as to how crappy a job this will be.
I have some inquiries out for a replacement piece and would also be curious as to whether Packerd used the same top on anything other that the 55-56 Caribbean.
Any help will be appreciated.

I have been using the Coker American Classics on all of my old cars for years. I currently have a set on my 55 Caribbean and although I have not put a great deal of miles on them, they appear to work as well on the Packard as they have on the other cars. I wish I had waited until Coker offered the radials with the sidewalks that look like the original bias ply tire but....
My experience with the tires on my other cars has been both better handling than bias ply and dramatically greater tore life. They are especially impressive in traversing grooved pavement.
I used bias ply tires on my 55 Cadillac for years and the tires seldom lasted 10,000 miles. Universal Tires introduced me to the radials and the nominal difference in price was well worth the investment.

When I installed the bezels on my Caribbean I used the original attachment clips but ran a bead of clear 3M Silicone adhesive around the rear edge.
Seems to hold fine. Never considered using Epoxy but wonder how hard it would be to remove bezels in the future.
I have watched the ads about the epoxy that cures with the blue light and have considered buying it but my experience with various items " AS SEEN ON TV" has not been especially good. The super grass seed that purportedly will grow on a concrete block seemed like a cure for the bald spots created by my female dogs squatting. The spots remained after the seeds washed away. LOL

We picked up around 28" here and Somerset Turnpike- about 15 miles south- supposedly recorded 35.5 inches. There are still cars and buses stranded on the Turnpike which have been there since last evening when traffic snarled due to several rigs jack knifing ....and at last report they will spend another night on the bus.
The one bus is full of college basketball players and another full of some girls sports team. With.some pizza ( Dominos dropped some in) and a few cases of Iron City beer, I think the situation could work out.LOL
There are people living outdoors in this mess, hundreds of thousands without electricity or heat, at least 17 deaths and untold property damage.
We have had larger snowfalls and by all accounts the folks near Buffalo deal with snow accumulations like this routinely.
I have photos from the Winter of 1935-36 somewhere. My father worked with a crew clearing snow along US Route 30 by hand because no machine at the time( and possibly now) could deal with the accumulation. They dug down and created shelves and used those to move the snow up to the next level. The photos show him and fellow workers sitting on the tops of the utility poles along the road. That accumulation melted,too quickly and generated the second major flood,of Johnstown on St Patrick's Day in 1936.
I think part,of today's difficulty with coping with storms is that we have gotten used to good roads, electric lights and heating systems that are dependent on dependable electric service. When the power goes out, there are no lights.....but also frequently no heat . When coal and wood stoves and furnaces were more the norm, loss of power was less an issue.
Let's hope that we do lot have too many people die or lose their homes due to this mess. I'll be grateful that I am warm and that the Internet and cable allow me to wait for the plows.

I strongly agree with Tim's opinion that buying/ restoring old cars in the hope that you will turn a profit is a risky proposition.
You can review the auction results and market trends regarding the Carribean on Hagery's Valuation site. It is free and tracks the sales at the major auction venues.
I began restoring a basket case 55 Caribbean in 2010. At the time I began looking for one to restore in 2007-8 the cars were commanding premium prices. If they were trailer queens restored to the highest standards. Those numbers....like many others....dropped after the market crunch in 2008,
My car was purchased with the intention of restoring it to a high standard but.with the intent of driving it on the street.
The body was removed from the frame, the engine and transmission rebuilt,, the body restored and painted and the interior restored.
Parts are generally available to allow restoration but there are no restoration guidelines......and the prices are prohibitive.
I was fortunate to have friends who do excellent body and paint work without the need to spend the tens of thousands of dollars charged by professional restorers. I was able to have the engine and drivetrain restored at similar savings. The price of $10000 for the interior and top seems in line with my cost.
I was forced to locate and replace the majority of the interior and exterior chrome and stainless.....or to have my cores plated.
The end product is quite satisfactory and the car turns heads and is really fun to drive.......but whether I break even on my out of pocket expenses much less receive anything for uncounted hours of my time is questionable.
Buying a complete original car has the advantage of knowing where things fit together and if the stainless and bumper cores are decent, you can save some time and possibly a few dollars.
Unless you are able to do much of the work yourself, starting with a $49000 start point probably assures that you will have at least twice that amount tied up in the project before it is done. There are any number of very nice cars already available for under $100,000. Check out Schmidt in St Lous....or even Hymen Ltd.
One thing that I have discovered is that the majority of people interested in cars from the 1950's are diminishing. Few people under the age of 60 ever saw a 55 Caribbean on the road when the cars were new. While people seem to be spending outlandish sums for Hemi Mopar and Corvettes, the Packards of the 50's do not seem to command that attention.
If the Caribbean is drivable without doing a restoration, it may be better to just drive it and do needed upgrades as required. It avoids getting bogged down on a project that ends up being sold without ever seeing daylight. There seem to always be a few of those on the market....and cars are only original once. The preservation classes are finally coming to be appreciated.
This forum will be extremely helpful if you decide to take the plunge. I am not sure that I would have been able to complete my project without the help.

Leeedy- Thanks for your prior posts regarding your earlier efforts to replace the top. Big help.
When I began restoration of the Caribbean, I had no idea that the color matched top was not accomplished with a headliner. I knew the inner surface matched the interior color but the few that I observed had utilized a top from Keppich or used the same technique. I guess this would work for show presentation, but it really does not work well if you opt to lower the tops-- it wrinkles badly and is really a difficult installation.
I have forwarded some shots to Big Kev which I hope he will post for review. I continue to have difficulty getting photos to load to the site.....most likely due to my computer illiteracy.
I am not 100% satisfied with the installation but it is adequate for a car that will be driven with the top down.
Thanks again.
RJR

This is a follow up to earlier posts about my steps,in getting a color match to interior after the original top with sewn in liner from Keppich was ruined and she retired.
Following Leeedy's suggestion,,I located white pinpoint nylon with a tan liner and found a supplier of a water based top dye- World Upholstery in California (800) 222-9577.
After securing a sample of the top fabric and a spray can of the dye, I felt confident of coverage and flexibility and ordered a color match. The price is $99/ qt+ $75 for color match + shipping.
The material was secured through an approved upholsterer from ElectronTops who agreed to produce a top from the dyed material. I am not sure if they will agree to do more and it might be better for someone who plans to show the car to secure material from Hirsch or other supplier and have someone tailor the top for perfect fit. Mine is fine but it is not going to be judged.
I will,post pictures if I can get them to load. Anyone interested can contact me through Forum.
I got 10'yards of material( 59" wide) but they need about 7. The dye covered well in two coats and one quart covered a bit over the 7 yards.

Owen- Thanks for the quick reply. My car is a 1955. If the attachment method is the same, I would really appreciate any photos.
You may send them to rjrussell13@atlanticbb.met
Thanks again
RJR