You are right, Hank. My car does have a good home and a bright future. I don't think that I will make up a story about it, however. It really makes me feel good to see how much time and effort you have put into your car, and I look forward to the day when you and I can wait at the line for the green light on the Christmas tree at the local drag strip to see which one of us can take the other in a quarter mile!

Just kidding! I was just thinking about what a drag (no pun) it was when you found out about the original Ultramatic in your car and how it was trashed by some bonehead who thought a Clipper should be able to take a Bel Air or a Fairlane off the line. I'd bet before that happened the gears in that Ultramatic must have shifted a lot better than the gears in that guy's brain, wouldn't you say?

But I digress ... I will still try to find out whatever I can and will continue to keep you posted.

Craig

I feel like I am reaching the end of my rope. Today I received an e-mail from the Studebaker Museum telling me that it does not have a copy of the Clipper's build sheet. Another dead end. I just sent an e-mail the previous owner; hopefully he will respond, but since I received nothing from my letter to him, I'm not holding out much hope this time.

Well, I've got to tell you that I am unhappy with where I am at this point in my search. Those who I had hoped would have replied to my inquiries. I have to guess that they either:

a) Think I'm some kind of nut;

b) Do not have any knowledge but don't think it matters whether they respond or not; or

c) They don't check their e-mail or Facebook messages.

While I am hoping that it is the latter, I really don't know and thus, I am bummed out. But I will continue to persist because a) I must be some kind of a nut!

This past weekend I went back and organized the restoration receipts for my Clipper. Among them was and oldest receipt -- a normal vehicle service receipt from a service center in Albuquerque in April 1962. At the time the Clipper had about 52,000 miles plus change. A closer inspection revealed a name -- Leroy Anderson. This got me to thinking ...

I went on the Internet and there was a Mr. Anderson listed who had lived in Albuquerque and now lives in San Angelo, Texas. He is 67 years old. Doing a little math, I realized that Mr. Anderson would have been 17 years old in 1962, definitely old enough to drive and own a car. I got my first car -- a 1960 Ford Sunliner -- in 1967 when I was 16. The Clipper would have been seven years old, which is about right for a lot of teenagers' first cars. Could this Mr. Anderson be the same as the owner listed on the service receipt?

Intrigued, I then went to Facebook and quickly found Mr. Anderson. I sent him a message containing the details of my search, as well as a few photos of the car to possibly jar his memory. Unfortunately, I have not heard back from him. I figure that toward the end of this week, I will try to contact him again.

Hmmm ....

Maybe mine got burned up in the ash tray!

JW:

Thank you for your suggestion, but I know that the carpeting was replaced during the restoration so I doubt any slip would still be there. Who knows? It's worth taking a look. I need to go through my car's records more thoroughly -- maybe organize them chronologically. I'll let you know what I find out.

Craig

Well, surprise, surprise. Got a letter back from the New Mexico DMV and ... no dice. They replied that they have no record of my car. This can mean a lot of things; but the fact is that if I am able to get any solid information about my car it will simply be good luck.

I am not giving up, though. What have I got to lose?

I find it hard to believe that any company as inherently efficient as Packard would not have kept meticulous records as to the build sheet, factory shipping, and other information regarding each car it produced. And if the company had these records in 1956, then doesn't it stand to reason that these records would exist somewhere or another. Does the America's Packard Museum in Dayton, Ohio contain records for the cars? Here is its information requestL:

americaspackard@americaspackardmuseum.org

and the website:

http://www.americaspackardmuseum.org/the_museum.html

During the 1960s I recall that certain cars, such as Volvo and Mercedes Benz, tended to have a particular problem with vapor locking, especially during the hot summer months. I worked pumping gas in a service station in San Marino, Calif. as a teenager then and we could not figure out what the problem was with those cars. Personally, I never had a problem with vapor lock in my 1960 Ford Sunliner, but then my car always took premium gas, which it consumed like a drunk on a binge. I used premium gas in my 1955 Clipper (with the 352 V8), along with a bottle of lead substitute when I fill up my tank. Seems to run real smooth that way.

Here is an update on my progress to find the history of my 1955 Clipper Constellation:

I had a great conversation with a friend who told me that the find out information on old cars is to approach the matter in a roundabout way; that is, try to get information from those closest to the source.

With that in mind, I followed JW's advice and e-mailed the Studebaker-Packard Club of Albuquerque. Soon afterward I was contacted by a fellow Clipper owner who was enthusiastic about helping me in my quest. From him I found out that the Studebaker Car Museum in Indiana will provide a specific car's build sheet which specifies when the car was built, its original color(s), and destination, all for a nominal fee. While I will be the first to admit that this is not likely to lead me to who specifically bought the car in 1955 or to any other owners between that time and 1982, I still think it could be a very valuable piece of documentation for the car.

Those of you with Packards from 1956 to 1958 should consider inquiring about this information.