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Re: Packard's Executive Decision
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Hello...
Didn't say "MoPar wires" ... I said Dodge and Plymouth wires. These wheels had spokes out to the edge of the rim. Packard V-8 wires absolutely did not. Other MoPar wires (such as Chrysler or Imperial) would interchange with Packard, but there were still differences. Mysssssstery. Seller now claims this Executive has an "Arizona assigned tag"... meaning somebody popped the original serial tag off and then went to state of Arizona and lamed a new substitute for the factory VIN/serial plate ...and then flipped it. With such an "assigned tag" come new papers and whatever the car's past may be, it just goes through a morality car wash and all is clean, new and legitimate again. I'm betting I knew this car... and I'm betting I know a lot more about it. All you have to do is wait long enough...and they eventually turn up...usually for sale by somebody, somewhere...
Posted on: 2016/10/1 11:58
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Re: Packard's Executive Decision
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Hmmmm again... where on the west coast? Then it is very likely it is the Executive that disappeared from my friend's house in Southern California. It had a loose tag and twin rear antennae. And I would know the real owner... who is still alive...hmmmmmm.
Posted on: 2016/10/1 11:26
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Re: Packard's Executive Decision
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Hmmmmmm. I have a feeling I know this car from when it was once on the west coast. If you look at the photos, the interior is puffy and overdone... and there is no VIN (serial) plate in the driver's door jamb. Completely missing. Hmmmmmmmmmm. There was one like this left stored at a doctor friend's house. He died and it disappeared. Twin rear antennae, but it originally was all white with white and black interior... I wonnnnder. By the way... those wire wheels are about as wrong as they could be. Packard V-8 wire wheels never had the spokes out on the edge of the rim. Look like repops of Dodge and Plymouth wheels but way off for a Packard. Gotta do weird things with the front end track and camber since the offset of the wheel would have to be different. Would have to ride funny at high speed.
Posted on: 2016/10/1 11:15
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Re: The Packard Request
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No matter what anyone says about the Request today... it is today's reaction and assessment of something done decades ago. While this kind of thing is cute for magazines and internet forums, the only thing that really counts is what people were saying when the Request was new and sitting on the turntables at the auto shows in 1955. And I assure you... I was there... and people loved it. And yes, I still love it today. As for talk about Mercedes and Rolls still having upright grilles... this was all discussed in the history of the Packard Predictor in The Packard Cormorant magazine a few years ago. While it is nice to see it repeated without attribution, this is not a new discovery or discussion. As for Packard's air conditioning system in 1955-56, it was far superior to Cadillac (as much as I like the car). The electronic rheostat control was quite good and the plenum mix was advanced along with a very powerful front-mounted separate blower motor. The Lehigh V-4 compressor was a monster with proven reliability and ample cooling performance. It was also better than most of everything else, except perhaps for Pontiac. The Cadillac system was hopelessly useless and antiquated... particularly in the convertible with a ridiculous mounting in the rear and absurd rear vent over the rear backrest! Even the most expensive car on the market in 1956 (the Continental Mark II) had a/c vents blowing out of the roof! Nice for putting icicles in the heads of balding men, but hugely ineffective and awkward (I know... I rode in them when new). Packard studied a/c systems and determined a theater-type presence of cold air blowing front-to-rear was far more effective than air blowing rear-to-front. And Packard a/c for 1957 would have been even that much better and more advanced still with electronic controls. The 1955 Packard dealer's showroom album reveals airflow studies that Packard had performed to resolve the design of the 1955-56 factory air system. No matter what anyone thinks today in 2016, in 1955, the Request was what many long-time Packard customers wanted. The theme was hugely popular again on Predictor and it would have been likewise on the 1957 real Packards. And while 1958 Edsel mimicked the look of the intended 1957 Packards, a vertical grille on a Packard was requested by customers and had a heritage. Sticking one on a totally new car with no customer base and no heritage for 1958 was a totally different matter. An upright grille on a Studebaker was merely an upright grill added to a Studebaker. An upright grille on an Edsel 1958 was merely an upright grille on a car with no heritage, no customer base and something nobody quite knew what to make of it all. Putting an upright grille on a 1955 Packard, well, that was merely a return to tradition. The issue wasn't simply adding an upright grille for styling's sake... it was not a pure design issue, but rather, a customer reaction issue. The Request was not a rush project since it had been toyed with ever since JJN arrived in 1952. There were at least a dozen different variations of the idea. Even Dutch Darrin submitted one. On this basis, all of the Packard design projects from 1952-on could be considered "rush projects..." As far as "marketing surveys done at auto shows" these are notoriously misleading (AMC surveyed people who viewed AMX and some claimed they'd only buy AMX if it had a back seat-so why didn't they buy a Javelin?). The important thing (in effect-a survey) that counted was the fact that customers had already written in to say they wanted an upright grille. People (real Packard buyers) had already spoken. So there was no need to ask joe blow at a new car show if he might buy a Packard if PMCC went to vertical grilles. And quite obviously there was indeed merit to upright grilles on Packard since that was the styling theme that was already in place for the future leading up to 1959. This is not a debatable issue.
Posted on: 2016/9/16 13:53
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Re: Original vs restored
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No need to feel that way.
But the auctions and TV are simply leading the hobby around like lemmings. The "social media" just follow and play the same tune. Davis just plain isn't a car town... not at all. As for living in Reno... all that makes me think of is (was) the incredible Bill Harrah collection... that pretty much got decimated after his death. Back in the day, Bill almost had one of every year Packard made-with the obvious exception of the first. Of course there is still a wonderful car museum now downtown and very impressive to visit.
Posted on: 2016/9/5 19:51
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Re: Gages on back of front seat?!
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What the "pickers" apparently don't know is that aftermarket knock offs of genuine Packard ornaments were usually known as "swans" to avoid using names Packard would have used. And there were jillions of knock-off Packard-looking ornaments sold in the aftermarket. They even had them for bicycles. Of course this kicks the door open on the age-old debate of "Cormorant" versus "Pelican"... and no way I'll go there!
Posted on: 2016/9/5 19:23
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Re: Original vs restored
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"Patina" is what we used to call weathering, rust and oxidized paint in desperate need of cleaning and waxing. Until we started having TV shows and auctions making up whole new meanings for what used to be simply colloquial English, "original" meant original. No hidden meaning. Original... as in unchanged from the way the factory made it. And "restored" meant "returned to original appearance and function." NOW in this crazy world of today..."restored" means anything the person saying it wants it to mean. And the silliest, most modified stuff on earth is called "all original!!" Just recently heard someone decribing a poor prewar Packard with a "crate Chevy 350" dumped in it termed as "all original" as if this is a term rather than English language, Nobody wants to stand up and say they have modified or rodded a car anymore. They just use buzzwords invented on TV and in auctions. And worse, there are folks like auction companies that have bank accounts and make up these long, professional-sounding descriptions of shiny thingamajigs they have messed with... and people buy them. People like SPARKLE AND SHINE. Months later they MAY figure out what they really bought. Look at the Four Hundred on a popular auction site. Now painted in colors that Packard never used (looking at the serial tag it apparently was Corsican Black and Maltese Gray when new) but now they call it "red," It has an interior made of fabrics and colors Packard never used either. Also with a new aftermarket A/C dangling under the instrument panel, but with factory A/C doors on top and disconnected. Under the hood, an imported-looking modern compressor and the factory A/C stuff all missing (the blower port on the firewall is all blocked off with some black stuff and whole blower unit gone!). The exterior trim rings painted gold instead of plated gold... the black lines all removed from the ribbed side trim. And whatever those rear-mounted twin antennae came from-it wasn't a Packard. And the trunk is customized with carpet. Of course the incredible low miles claimed would mean it barely ever got out of the garage. So why all the presto-chango modifications, half-removed A/C and weird paint and weird interior on a virtually new car? And the write-up makes it seem like hey... might be this... might be that. One minute the history is known in great detail... the next, it's a mystery. Yet... with all this going on, looks like folks are climbing on top of one another to buy it! Restored? Original? Those are terms that only once had meaning... but that was a long, long time ago. And speaking of TV shows, one of my head-scratching memorable episodes is when they call a Panhard a "pan-hard"...HUH????? Wonder how many people were "taught" by that show? Important to remember... it's just TV.
Posted on: 2016/9/5 18:53
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Re: Convertible top Vendor
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Big vendors today are usually not going to get involved in what they view as individual custom work. Most these companies now are geared toward volume production. If you are doing a prewar car with side curtains, it is best to find a very good trim shop with talented staff. Then either find original pieces (not always good due to shrinkage, etc.) or good existing patterns (better if they are factory patterns). Then have your trimmer use these as a guide. Some postwar tops can still be ordered from vendor companies, but this business is shrinking. Many of the old vendors for ready-made convertible tops and for the fabrics have just plain disappeared or have gone out of business. The trim industry is hugely changed from what it once was. Most convertible tops today are being made from the wrong fabrics and many details like "Hidem"strips used where "Wire-on" strips or even stainless trim should be used. These are common mistakes on rear bow trim, for instance. Wrong fasteners are often installed today that Packard would never have used. Canvas tops on Caribbeans are just not right...and abominations on V-8 Caribbeans. I believe Eric Haartz had some fabric guidelines and other interesting vintage convertible top info posted on the Haartz site. Robbins Auto Top Company (now located in Ventura area, California) used to do onesy-twosy orders, but I'm not sure if that is still true since they have grown so huge and are more volume oriencted now. Their work was always top notch. I gave several of my original Packard convertible top factory patterns to Acme Auto Headlining Company in Long Beach, California well back in the 1970s. They made lots of convertible tops sold nationwide too. No idea if they still have the old patterns today, but they once had stacks of them.
Posted on: 2016/8/31 15:21
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Re: Good sources for Packard Die-Cast Models
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Hello... don't wanna stray too far off of the Packard subject. Just mentioned the Dietrich connection to Gibson. But yes, my Firebird is a very early version with original case. And my Thunderbird is an early prototype with no serial number, finished in black with white trim. Has original case too. And yes, both have indeed been pictured in Vintage Guitar magazine years ago. All my guitars are just the way I got them in the 1950s and 1960s. The Firebird has my initials in 14K gold on it since new. It was used by me in performances with major stars and in the recording studio. My Thunderbird supposedly was made for the Chambers Brothers and used on the recording of "Time"... but for whatever reason it went back to Gibson and was sold to me through the original Guitar Center in Hollywood (back when it was only one small store). As for my Caribbean, I took this photo in the 1970s when I drove it to the funeral of a major figure in the Earle C. Anthony company. Photo was taken very near Forest Lawn Cemetery. The factory colors here were Dover White, Scottish Heather and Maltese Gray. Somebody got hold of it later and did a horrible black paint job and then worse, yanked off my beautiful white top with the pink inner lining only to be replaced with a non-original black cloth top. The piece de resistance was a horrific squash yellowish orange interior. Gad! As for the 1955 and 1956 Caribbean scale models, I have the 1/24th scale Danbury 1956 convertible in Corsican Black and Naples Orange and the hardtop in Dover White, Danube Blue and Roman Copper. I also have the 1/24th 1955 Franklin Mint convertible in White, Rose Quartz and Gray Pearl (looks like black). Both were exceptionally well done, but with minor errors. I keep my scale model Packards in special clear plastic display cases made by Franklin Mint. Have fun with your guitars and Packards in any scale.
Posted on: 2016/8/24 9:20
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Re: Good sources for Packard Die-Cast Models
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Both Danbury Mint and Franklin Mint had some very excellent 1/24th scale Packard models. You can find most of them on eBay if you are patient. Of course, as a vintage guitar collector, you can take solace and pride in a kind of tangental Packard connection. Ray Dietrich (yes, THAT Ray Dietrich who did Packards) designed a line of electric guitars and basses for Gibson. These first appeared in the early 1960s. The guitars were known as "Firebird" and basses were "Thunderbird"-all featuring what collectors refer to as reverse body. I still have one of each that I got new and kept all these years. My Thunderbird is a prototype so early that it has no serial number. So if you have any of these Gibsons, there was a Packard connection-however slight. And-as an added benefit (or curse) the Gibsons have certainly appreciated in value.
Posted on: 2016/8/23 21:20
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