There is a nice Caribbean that was just listed on eBay that purports to be a one owner car with 50,000 miles. The photos might be something to be preserved for future reference and discussion.
The engine compartment does not feature the original Dual quads and batwing and the hoses and clamps,have been replaced with incorrect pieces but the wiring and other features look correct. The interior looks original but the top has been replaced.
The shots,of the trunk show one feature that I have not seen before- a metal support behind the spare tire connected to the floor and lip of the deck lid opening. I am guessing that this was a dealer or owner addition to stabilize the spare but I may be wrong. The trunk carpeting also appears to be an afterthought.
Nice car overall. I hope someone buys it and enjoys it .

Have to agree with Howard that attempting to install the windshield stainless on the Caribbean with the new rubber from Steele will test your patience. My friend got to do most of the cursing but I got some time to harmonize.
One thing that did become clear during the installation was that the channels in the replacement molding is different from the originals which caused problems on the sides-- the original channels were much wider cuts.Once the channels were,widened to approximate the originals the installation was completed without putting the car up for sale. A terrible job.

My only suggestion is to check the molding that is removed,and compare to the replacement.

I bought a stainless exhaust system from Keppich for the 1955 Caribbean. The price was decent and the fit was not bad although I had to cut one pipe and have one of the pipes that exit the bumper bent to fit. As compared to some other items that I have purchased, it was not too bad. His wife provided the interior kit for the car and again- with minor adjustments- it was not too bad.
I thought that I should advise that John Keppich sold the exhaust business last fall and has returned to restoration of his own vehicles.. Unfortunately Gretchen has joined him and stopped selling interior kits and tops.

I had little trouble with either and wish them the best in their retirement.i am not sure if the successor will continue to operate under the KlassKolections logo.

I seem to have struck a nerve with Leeedy that was not intended.
I have restored a variety of cars over the past 50 years or so and have generally relied on those who have worked on the particular model for assistance regarding things that are not clear from the service manuals and literature.
Unfortunately, there are not a lot of Caribbeans still around and those who owned them or worked on them when they were new are gone.
I stumbled on to the Forum and I have found that it has been.extremely helpful.
The learning curve has been difficult and expensive in large part because I made the mistake of starting with a project car that was close to scrap yard condition. Aside from a numbers matching engine that was disassembled and a solid frame and floor,pan, the rest had to be salvaged from two parts cars and a host of vendors.
My desire to find a guide for restoration or a good photo library of images of benchmark cars was largely unsuccessful. I was able to secure photos of Bob Signon's Caribbean at the Citizen's Packard Museum where I purchased the car and made several trips to Hershey to obtain photos of cars there for judging. I traveled to Warren, Ohio and got photos of the cars at the museum and one unrestored car attending the event.
The recent trip to the museum in El Segundo was a fluke since I was already in California and it seemed like a,good idea although my car is nearly complete.
I have watched the postings regarding the detailing of the 56 engine compartment with some interest and have been impressed by the helpful hints and photos afforded to assist a fellow,aficionado in his efforts to create an engine compartment mirroring the details of the vehicle when it left the factory.
I am not sure who Leeedy happens to be or why my comments bothered him. As best I can determine is that he or others documente the Hughes/Peters car back in the 1970's and still have the information. If they choose to keep it and not make it generally available-- good for them. It would have been helpful to have access,to the information but I think we did a pretty good job without it.
I would hope that others who have or have access to other benchmark cars would take photographs and post that information to this Forum so that others attempting to preserve Packards will have an easier time than I did.
I am not a computer guru and if I have difficulty getting the
Hughes pictures or my shots loaded, I would hope that I could mail a disc or memory stick to one of the Ambassadors to accomplish the task.
Keep polishing and getting greasy. It is a great hobby.
Thanks for the help already provided.
RJR

Leeedy - This time I was a bit more careful--- the auto correct maintained all three E's. For the prior error I appologize.
I am not attempting to get into an argument, just trying to secure information to allow my efforts to take a basket case and return it to presentable condition. No more, no less.
I am old enough to remember when Packards were still sold new but I was not quite old enough to buy one new and for a goodly number of years not in a financial position to consider buying or restoring one.
I have endeavored to restore cars that would otherwise.have ended up in the crusher and have enjoyed the process. I have maintained a fairly expensive photo log of the work on the Caribbean as the work has progressed and as soon as the car hits the road this Spring/ Summer I will endeavor to upload the photos and my comments on the quirks and difficulties to ths site in the hope that my foibles will spare someone else the time and expense of repeating my errors.
This is a hobby for me. I do not do it to garner trophies or in the hope that I will turn a profit. I think that the Caribbean was an amazingly beautiful car that will be fun to drive. I could have purchased a completed car or paid someone to restore the car for me, but that would have defeated the purpose. I knew nothing about Packards when I started the project four years ago. In the interim, I have learned a lot and have met a lot of people who have been extremely helpful in finding parts and affording their experiences. The Forum has been extremely helpful.
I have read the posting that you referenced and have seen the article in the Cormerrant. It was that material which inspired my trip to the museum to see the Hughes car.......and to secure pictures that were not clear from those sources.
If the intent of the Forum and the Clubs is to assure that the surviving Packards remain in existence for the next generations, we should acknowledge that a goodly portion of today's population were not born when the last Packard left the line and couldn't care less. The cars have to be reintroduced to the streets and not tucked away in museums,or under covers in climate controlled,garages - if the awe inspiring features and designs may be experienced.
I am not interested in creating a judging guide for those,who prefer to trailer their vehicles to shows but would anticipate that if that was my hobby, that I would prefer that my car be judged based on an established guidebook based on reference to Benchmark vehicles rather than the whims or memories of a judge without such standard.
From a personal standpoint, it would have been a great help to have some clear photographs of an original Caribbean to guide my efforts to return my car to something approaching the car that exited the factory in 1955 rather than hoping that the cars at Hershey that I photographed to guide my efforts were not themselves incorrect.
The bulk of the people,who will see my car will not know or care if the paint colors, carpeting or hose clamps are correct. In fact most will not know that they are looking at a rare American car........but we should care and do what we can to assist those of us willing to try to restore these relics to do it well.
My offer to purchase copies of any pictures you wish to sell stands. I think I did quite well without them....but I discovered a few corrections that need to be made after examining the Hughes car.
Stay well
RJR

Leedy- I am not sure how to respond to your post. I am sure that I am not the first person to take pictures of the Hughes Caribbean. I concur that the curator and staff were terrific.
I have tried without success to secure detailed photos of this car or other benchmark vehicles for several years and would gladly have paid and would still pay for detail pictures of the engine compartment, trunk, interior and other areas of the car to allow restoration approaching original specifications.
Is there some reason why the extensive photographs and engineering details that you mention are not readily available or incorporated into a judging guideline.
I have been somewhat confused that those who restore Packards much less those who are called upon to judge them do not have such guidance.
I do not restore my cars for show but do endeavor to try to perform the work in such a fashion that it does not preclude a future owner from such activity. I drive my cars and will install radial tires, updated halogen lights, electronic ignitions( Petronix) and perhaps electric wipers for safety and ease of operation. I do not change engines, transmissions, interiors or suspension or braking systems--- although the TredleVac has tempted me.
More common Marques like the Corvette and Mopar groups have taken steps to identify Benchmark vehicles and to document every aspect of construction and details- both to aid restoration and to to allow consistent judging.
If the photographs of the Hughes car are available, I am sure they are superior to my efforts. Please advise whether I may purchase copies and I will endeavor to get them into open circulation.
I would hope that similar efforts could be available for other models- we will be working on a 55 Clipper Comstellation shortly and are pretty much in the same haze regarding specifics.
Thanks
RJR

Just got a chance to inspect the Howard Hughes/ Jean Peters Caribbean at the museum in El Segundo. At first I thought that the drive would be a waste since the car is housed behind glass in a climate controlled,room which is not open to the public. Fortunately the curator came to my rescue and allowed me to inspect and photograph the car after the museum closed.
The museum is worth a visit for anyone visiting the Los Angeles area with a superb collection of cars and an extensive collection of rare Packards including a unique 53 prototype coupe and one of the nicest
Dietrich roadsters I have seen.
I will be forever grateful to the staff and curator for their courtesy.
I took a significant number of shots of the Caribbean and as soon as I get them organized, I will try to post them to afford some guidance for anyone attempting to restore a 55 Caribbean.
The Hughes car is a clear benchmark vehicle that should be more carefully documented to provide a guide for restoration and judging. Purportedly the car was the 17th Caribbean off the line and the first to actually be sold to the public. The car has some evidence of deterioration but shows slightly over 1700 original miles on the odometer.
A few observations about the car seem warranted based on my brief inspection in order to answer some questions that have been raised on earlier Forum posts. The color under the parking lights is the middle color and not the gray bottom color. Additionally the Hughes car is not fitted with the hood support rod seen on later offerings. (My car was also not fitted with the hood,support but I added one in the interest of self preservation.)
I also,documented that the inside door jambs,of the Hughes car do not show evidence of paint of all three exterior colors- the middle,color,is,absent--and the paint line of the lower color angles up from the front edge of the door toward the inner door panel.
I hope that the photos will assist others seeking to correctly detail their engine compartments to original specifications.

Since everything seems to go wrong when dealing with Packards, I thought it worth mentioning that sometimes a new problem has a funny outcome.
After struggling to install new door panels on the 55 Caribbean, I installed the interior door handles( after spending an undue amount of time trying to get the clips to fit into " new" handles that were apparently cast in China without the indentation to hold the clips.) and discovered that the doors were locking automatically. The problem was that the doors,could not be unlocked from the outside with a key.
I had never seen or heard that Packard had pioneered automatic door locks . While it would have been nice to brag that in addition to the automatic leveling system, Packard had been 50 year ahead of the curve in affording auto lock, I was more comcerned that I would lock myself,out of the car and be unable to get back inside.
If you want to have auto locking doors on your Caribbean( and possibly other models)- remove the rear screw holding the top interior molding and replace it with a screw that is 1" long. That is all it takes.
The longer screw activates the locking action and prevents the door from being accessed with the key.
Try it-- or do it to a friend. You will not find a solution in the Service Manual.

Wanted to thank all for their comments.,The Pistons are running out equally through the full operation cycle,and there is no binding on any of the pivot points, but the left side is still an issue. This may have been a problem from new since I think the top frame was impacting the rear edge of the chrome Molding below the driver side quarter window. There is evidence that someone in the past attempted to secure clearance by,hammering the inner panel where the rear screw for the molding attaches. That molding was missing from the car when I bought it so it may have been broken by trying to force the top down. No sure but I don't want to risk damaging the replacement.
The main connecting bolt that attaches the top frame to the body runs through a bracket that is attached to the body by 4 rivets . I am reluctant to touch that bracket since it is clearly original and appears to be aligned at the same level as the passenger side.
Will adjustment of the three bolts that ride in the slots and hold the bracket behind the main attachment point allow the top to be lifted around 1/2-3-4 inches to secure clearance above the interior molding?. That should correct the bind on the driver side quarter window.

Maybe someone can provide a little help. My Caribbean was a basket case. We removed the top for cleaning and painting and reinstalled and fitted with new pump, cylinders and hoses. It worked fine. After installing the windows and determining they worked well, we installed the top some months later and installed new roof rail rubber.
The passenger side is fine- the rear window moves smoothly into the roof rail gasket and the vent window lies under the rubber.
On the driver side, the rear window binds in the rubber and more significantly the vent window frame is hitting the outside of the rubber- apx 1/2 " too high.
The manual shows an adjustment for the rear glass but it appears that it is lowered as much as possible.
The top seems to allow some adjustment at the shaft that connects the main roof support to the wheel well via two slots.....but nothing specific that I could determine from the manual to suggest how this would affect the clearance above the windows. There are three screws on the frame above the vent window that seems to allow some adjustment to the front bow and slotted attachment for the top latches.
Any hints on how to secure clearance above the driver side glass. I anticipate that closing the door with the frame of the vent striking the outside of the top rail gasket is an invitation to breaking the frame.
Any hints will be appreciated.
RJR