Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

Most if not all of you on here know I plan on building a 4 door Caribbean, but I'm not sure how many know that this was done by dealers in the past. The only thing is with the ones I've seen, is that they didn't go as far as I plan to, ie, removing the "Patrician" script, and replacing it with "Caribbean" script in the appropriate locations on the car. (along with other numerous mods that I have in store for the old girl) My question here is, does anyone have any pics of these cars? It is my understanding that 25-30 Patricians were modified by either the factory or the dealer to include Caribbean side trim and the hood.

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I wonder if the "Carribbean sports sedan" would look better in a solid color (like Black) than the tri-tone Carribbean island colors?


WWDTD?


(what would Dick Teague do?)

I don't know, maybe someone could Photoshop this in some different colors to give us an idea what might look best. I'm actually thinking of doing the white/blue/dark gray color scheme. BUT, one solid color will be a lot easier to paint, and easier on my pocket book!

These cars are not really much of a mystery, they have been written of and photographed in at least two older issues of The Packard Cormorant, a PAC publication. In general they had Caribbean hoods and a similar paint scheme to the Caribbean, and were done on Patricians, though other sedans might also have been converted. They were produced without factory sanction by a Packard dealer, DuBois Motors of Arlington, VA and carried "Esquire" script. In an old interview with one of the principals, he first thought they build "just a few" but in a later interview he recalls the number might have been about 25 or so (as I recall, I haven't read the articles in years). If you want the specific issued of TPC that these articles appeared in, email me for them.

I had heard of the dealer-built "Esquire" editions, but also saw one, in person, at the Centennial Meet in Warren - a two-door hardtop coupe. IIRC, the conversion was rooted in plans by the dealer to make a Caribben heardtop, but when the factory did so for 1956, the dealer came up with the "Esquire" name and even had script plates made to go where the "Caribbean" script would have been.

However, I had not heard that Esquire conversions were made on anything other than a Four Hundred body.

Notice that the subject sedan shows no such evidence of a script plate on the upper front fender. This car is currently listed for sale on eBay, but pix of the interior look like a much more recent type of cloth fabric on the seats. I'd be very reluctant to bid on that car as a collector's item.

I bet Eric will do an even better job with his Pat. The reversible seat cushions might be out of the question, but I'm confident that one could accomplish a treatment on the Patrcian seat that was similar to the all-leather side of the Caribbean cushions.

Meanwhile, I have to agree about the sedan not carrying the tritone scheme very well; light/bright colors make the door window frames stand out like a sore thumb. Darker colors play them down.

Perhaps some of you have heard of the '56 Patrician purchased new by band leader (and marketing force behind the kitchen blender), Fred Waring. He had Carib side trim applied and had the car painted in two-tone - black with some shade of blue/green (perhps Eire Green? )in the area bounded by the Carib side trim. I had opportunity to see this car several years ago, as it had survived in the hands of a private collector in Ohio, but my memories of it car are a bit fuzzy now. I cannot recall whether the roof was left black or also painted blue/green - similar in effect to the two-tone paint schemes on the Executives.

While I prefer '55-'56 Carib convertibles and hardtops in a tritone scheme, I think the two-tone lends itself to the Carib side trim - as evidenced by the attached illustration from a'55 Carib ad. Not sure if I'd like it with top up - which was only available in white.

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That is a nice color combo....

I'm diggin' the black and blue too. I think that the black will hide the window frames very well.

As for the seats, I was thinking of a pair of leather buckets, with a flow-thru console to the rear. In this console, I plan on running heater/AC vents, so the rear passengers get their share. Remember, this car is done in 2007 technology, with '56 style. This means power, agility, speed, and comfort of today's best luxury sedans. Oh, did I mention the woodgrained veneer dash?

Got my curiousity up, I've just gone back to review the second article in "The Packard Cormorant" on the Esquires. Its in the Fall 1974 issue and is a result of an interview with Harry DuBois who owned the dealership that made them. In an earlier interview he had said they only did 8 cars, all hardtops. In this current interview he says they also did 4 door sedans, perhaps 20 cars in all. The article pictures an Esquire sedan based on a Patrician, Dover While/Danube Blue. The conversion of the Patricians was much more complex, and in them (but not in the 400s) the trunk script was also changed to say "Esquire" in addition to the script on the front fenders. This particular Esquire was then owned by Pete Grave of Penndel, PA who purchased it from Russell Didgion of Springfield, VA. The earlier 1972 article pictures a hardtop 400 "Esquire", apparently also in two-tone.

The 1956 400 build sheets show 1 left the factory painted tritone with the notation REQ 100 Caribbean hood and side treatment

Wow, holy dug up three year old thread Batman!