Thank you for the great answer! In the nearly half-century of owning Packards and even running a Web site about them, this is the first I had heard that the Mayfair and Convertible were in the 300 series as I thought that only the Cavalier on the longer 127" wheelbase had that distinction although, of course, I knew that the Pacific and Convertible of 1954 were senior cars, although I never thought of them as being in one series or another. Very interesting indeed! Of course I also knew that they were 200 in 1951 which, as you so deftly pointed out, was very strange indeed and defies logic.

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No, that's not exactly what I meant. I was referring to the model numbers as listed in the Packard Model Info of this site which I thought shows some not mentioned in the parts book. In the parts book are entries such as:

2401-02-06; 2501-02-06-31; 2601-02-06-11-31-33; 5400-01-02-06-11-31-33

. . . which I take to mean:

2401 2502 2406; 2501 2502 2506 2531; 2601 2602 2606 2611 2631 2633; 5400 5401 5402 5406 5411 5431 5433

. . . and which are the Model/Chassis numbers on this site and Body Number in the parts book. However, I was sure I had seen similar entries in the parts book that showed numbers like 5482 5489 5492 5495 5497 which are Chassis Number in the parts book but now that I am looking for an example I cannot find one so perhaps I imagined it! That's what happens when you look at data like this so closely for so long: it all starts to become a blur.

Anyway, I am looking forward to a Henney expert chiming in with additional comments on that part of my question so thanks again for your excellent answer on the rest.

By the way, I have found a number of parts book entries that are just plain incorrect with the wrong model or part numbers!

According to model listing in the 1948-1954 Packard parts book, the 1953 Mayfair and Convertible are 300. Aren't these 250?

Another general Parts Book question is on the model listing for each part. It seems to contain both body number and chassis number together although some parts specify a body number in parenthesis. Some do not seem to exist at all. For example 1n 2602-06-13-26-31 there is no body or chassis number 2602 that I can find other than in the model listings here on this site. My question is, was there model number, chassis number and body number as three separate things? I am trying to figure out what to use in my Parts Book database.

Also, are there any knowledgeable Henney people here? I thought I was one myself having owned many Henney-Packards since the '60s but the parts book has me confused. Perhaps it's not a good reference and should not to be believed as they even spelled Henney incorrectly in the introduction!

The first question is: in 1953 the commercial 2613 chassis is listed as having a 1st type and a 2nd type and each have a different starting engine number. Any ideas what this means or what was changed between the types if other than engine? The 1st type has L300000H while the 2nd type has L400000.

The second question is: the senior Henneys are listed as being in the 300 series and the Henney Junior are listed as Clipper, which is news to me on both counts. The senior Henney was a series of its own and the Henney Junior used the 127" wheelbase chassis, albeit with the smaller 288cid engine and Clipper dash, but it is clearly not a Clipper.

Any thoughts on any or all of this?

Gorgeous Patrician and nice colors. Debi has good taste. I believe that the junior transmission also has smaller diameter plates etc. so might not be up to the weight of a Patrician. Before spending money on it, you might consider looking for a senior core or repairing your original.

My mid-'60s Imperials do not have a heater element either and work well even for defrosting as long as the interior has warmed sufficiently. Perhaps that's the same idea here with the Packard unit. (My Imperial now has the rear A/C - in addition to the front A/C - so no more defroster!)

Sounds good. What was happening on my Mercedes was that each time we started it up and drove it outdoors, it seemed harder and harder to get it to move, as though the brake pedal were being held down. It was because the pressure was not being relieved due to the plugged hoses so the brakes were holding tighter and tighter each time we pressed them until they were almost entirely locked.

Good job so far and the best of luck with the rest. I will probably be going through the same thing on my 1954 Patrician when I start the work to get it back on the road after decades of being parked. In fact, I already went through it a few years ago on my 1953 Patrician just before selling it, by rebuilding all the cylinders including the master and the booster but it was all really quite easy. The hoses and wheel kits can be purchased locally but you'll probably have to buy the master and booster kit from one of the Packard parts suppliers. You might also want to thoroughly clean out the fuel system and possibly replace the tank and sender with one of the stainless reproductions that are available.

Could also be something as simple as the rubber hoses deteriorating which happened on my '72 Mercedes when it sat for a couple years in indoor storage with extremes of temperature, even though it was started and driven outside periodically. Although it has disk brakes, the principal and basic functionality is the same. Trying to bleed it but getting nothing through, completely removing one of the hoses, I couldn't even force 100lb air pressure through it and, as you described, the fluid was black. All the lines flushed clean and new hoses and cylinders, pressure-bled with DOT3 synthetic, it stops better than new. It was a little work but only a minor expense for the sake of safety.

Wouldn't the '51 and '52 250 Mayfair and convertible also have the same hardtop door as the '53 and '54 hardtops and convertibles? they also had the squared corners, unlike the rounded corners of the sedans.

I didn't think that Steele would necessarily be interested now but I had hoped that if he had the pattern, I might be able to talk him into it in the future as I want several sets myself. Through the years I've spoken with staff there who seem interested in patterns even if a production isn't planned for the immediate future!

Are these the air scoop gaskets? If so, have you thought of sending them to Steele first for measurements for possibly reproducing them? I tried to buy an NOS pair recently on eBay but for some unknown reason the seller has me blocked and attempts to reach them were also blocked. I don't know if it's the same seller but it was odd because I had bought one item from them in the past in a completely professional manner and no problems, then several years later inquired about another item and was blocked! It made no sense and I can't even reach them to ask why.

That would be fun and thank you for the invitation! When I'm in Terrebonne (north of it actually, in an unincorporated part of Jefferson County) I don't usually have transportation but perhaps I can borrow a car from a neighbor if time permits. I am generally there only briefly and with pre-set goals of work to be done. Oddly, I am a car collector who hates driving!

As for the Caribbean trunk, you are right. I believe it was shorted both to accommodate the top and to make room for the spare. Rather than extending out the bumper as was generally done, doing it this way gave a good, clean, finished look rather than looking added on as an afterthought. This was also the reason that the rear fenders were apparently lengthened although until I saw the lead in the photo, I didn't know that they were as I have never owned one. I am looking for a very rough 1954 convertible body but have steering away from the Caribbean as it's too scarce to not try to save and restore.