Thanks Howard!
Does the area where the suspension attaches to the body via spring shackles tend to be an issue? How about the rocker panel/sills, frame, floors... known to be corrosion prone, or not so much? Any other 21st Clipper owners?

Well they do have Opel...such as it is, which is more in tune with tastes there, one would think, and not selling all that well either. I rode in one on the autobahn in 1976 that my friends in Villengen-Schveninngen had that had a 327 Chevy V8... an Opel Admiral or something? Typical GM assembly quality but would really go. They only drive BMWs now. My own experience owning BMs in the past is that they are fragile and expensive to maintain, but one of the best in driving dynamics. Not worth that trade off imo.

My wife is German descent - family names: Wolfel, Schull and Dietrich, from Stuttgart and Dresden. In my experience Germany is one of the most nationalistic car buying nations on earth... look at the top 20 on the registration list - only 2 or 3 of them are not home grown... (can you imagine that in the US nowadays?). Part of the "Not Invented Here" syndrome, one supposes. Even the Japanese will buy "Gaijin" autos at far a greater rate than the Germans will buy any "Auslander" cars... and the Japanese I
I've known consider Germans to be slackers when it comes to work ethic! (no offense, just saying!).. I mean, c'mon beer on the assembly lines? never happen in Japan! But that said, GM has never played to the Euro market properly... and look what they did to my beloved SAAB! (but coming back now, thanks to NEVS!!)

"an Impal...a?"

ROTFLMAO!

Nice old Caddy, in very classy colors. I like oldtimers with patina.

Were there any specific areas tending to severe corrosion weakness on the 21st series bodies, other than the usual suspects in older and not very well rustproofed cars? What areas should be examined particularly closely for lack of integrity and/or are known to be a problem area on these cars?
My own experience is exclusive to '55 & '56s. Thanks for any advice.

I disagree that the Italians did not have had a feel for large American designs, while not big sedans, the Dual Ghia cars that the Italians did for Chrysler were outstanding, and not exactly small, and they typically used the excellent Chrysler hemi V8s of the era to boot. They made 4 or 5 superb prototypes, some were put into limited production, bought by Sinatra, Martin, and other major Hollywood notables, all are hugely sought after now. The VW Karmann Ghia was a direct crib of one of them, on a much smaller scale. Too bad Packard didn't take the Caribbean in the Dual Ghia's direction!

It most certainly is a high quality car and I never said that it wasn't, nor did I cast any aspersions or denigrate it in any way. To the diligent, if one were to look back a year or so, one might well see an ad I posted looking for a Clipper Six, and furthermore some other posts contemplating the installation of a 6 cylinder, which I consider superior in some respects to the smaller inline 8s and more trouble free than the V8s, in a '55 or '56. I'll go even farther and say that I consider the Packard 6 cyl the finest flathead six ever made. But it is also a fact that many hardcore (are there any other kind?) Packard enthusiasts to this very day blame the Packard Six, Packard 110 and Clipper 6 for a diminution of Packard prestige that some (not I) feel ultimately contributed to the downfall of the company, and that clear "prejudice" against the 6 may very well factor into some Packard buyers' decision, and I opined that it might, and being that the OP asked why the car was not selling, it is a relevant factor. That said, I myself personally consider it a very desirable car, as John above has said, however it is also an indisputable fact that some Packard aficionados may well not. My $.03

While a nice car (like all Packards!)I think that being the lowest model on the totem pole and a six works against it, as most people think "prestige" when they think of Packard. These were the kind of lower priced cars that diluted the Packard image, at least in the minds of many enthusiasts.
Just my $.02

It's going to be fabulous, bet you can't wait to see it, it's the crowning event of a restoration. Curious - some clear coats are toooo shiny imo, are they "flatting" out the gloss a bit? Guess being used to the way they looked back then, many new show cars just don't look quite right to my eye, maybe a result of being from that era.

Being a Balto. (Towson actually) native, I can remember Zell's though I was just a kid at the time. A neighbor got his blue & white '55 Clipper Deluxe 4 dr from them. And I bought my first car ('66 SAAB) from Schwing Motors, also mentioned.

Thanks for your good work Kevin. Though we don't have a Packard at present, still come here to see what's up, as the folks here are the most pleasant of any car website I've gone to regularly in the past.