Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

Chuck, that's a great little piece of information! And different than how they apparently did it in 1954, but perhaps because they were now back to building their own bodies? I've seen a few V8s with blank paint and trim codes, next time I'll have to look closer for what the deviations were.

Interesting - does anybody know if there were any other similar late or unusual colors known on 1956s that, like Flamingo, apparently came from the factory and had a code?
Or known '56 cars painted special colors by the factory at the behest of the original buyer?

All:

Sorry to be so late in joining this thread.

I've known about the Packard's offering of Flamingo paint for decades; somewhere along the line I even picked up a Trade Letter on it. More about that later.

Many car-spotters have mistaken badly-oxidized Scottish Heather (Code "K") for Flamingo.

I think it was in 1996 that I went to look at a non-running Exec hardtop that was for sale - thinking of buying it as a donor to help restore my dad's old Exec. I was surprised to find it was a Flamingo car, though a bit faded. I could have sworn the VN tag was stamped as such, but maybe my memory is fuzzyon that. Sorry, no pix. While I didn't buy that car (couldn't bring myself to cut up such a rare example), I learned only recently that it had been sold, but the new owner had planned to restore it to its former glory.

I've only been online since 1999, and the topic of Flamingo paint did come up back at the old ClassicCar site. Years later, at the AACA Packard DF, Joel (packards1) did provide a pic of some bolts and a VN tag that he alleged came from a car that was painted in Flamingo, but the paint code area of the tag was left blank. After years of updates, some reckless housecleaning, and some pissed-off participants, a lot of information has since been lost from that site - looks like that pic is gone. Fortunately, I had right-clicked and save a copy of the Joel's pic, and have attached it (below).

The color on those bolts doesn't quite match my recollection of the color on the OH car, but (again) it was a bit faded. Yet, Chuck's post that a blank paint code area on the VN tag indicated a non-standard paint color makes me wonder if Joel's car might have been some other one-off color, since Flamingo did have its own unique code.

Though I found a "Flamingo" color added mid-year, with chip, for Studebaker in 1963, it is a much lighter shade. The Ditzler paint chip set for 1957 Lincoln at autocolorlibrary.com also offer a Flamingo color, but still a bit lighter than my recollection, but closer than the '63 Stude chip. (BTW, Howard, a friend across town has an original, unopened, quart of that Dodge LaFemme pink.)

Now for the stuff I've been promising.

Flamingo (Code "O") was added mid-year in the 56th Series run - announced in Trade Letter 56-1004, Dealer 2 (Supplement 2). Trade Letters were bulletins sent to Dealers and/or Zones, regarding Sales-related topics, often involving production changes. While I only have marginal photocopies of Trade Letters 55-1001 and 56-1001, which I used to compose the 1955 and 1956 build code charts, I do have an original copy of the Flamingo Letter and will try to scan a copy for BigKev to put up the site this weekend. No chip was provided, however, and I've never seen one in any of the supplier chip sets for 1956 Packard.

Meanwhile, suffice it to say that Flamingo was offered for all models EXCEPT Caribbean, but only available with the certain Interior Trim Sets. That letter also cites some variations in cloth materials used due to some supply issues, but independently of the selection of Flamingo paint schemes. You'll have to wait for the Letter to be uploaded for full details.

The Letter further advises that Flamingo (Code "O") was not available as a solid tone, but only as part of a two-tone, and only with Dover White (Code "M"). That was, however, a reversible combination. Personally, I think an Exec with Flamingo roof and side stripe over a Dover White body would a look a little less wild, but nearly as good as any standard three-tone Carib.

However, there was no mention of not stamping the paint on the VN tag in this Letter.

Attach file:

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Were there any other Mid or Late year 56 factory colors known?

Not offered on Carib. Most odd. Convertibles are generaly accepted as so-called 'evening cars'or profileing cars now. Such lite colors as flamingo would be most appropriate for converts. Especially over the top surfaces for city lites and moon lite and so-forth.

Bearing on the question about "other colors", I refer you to a 10 or 12 page article by Ed Cunningham who worked in Packard's Art & Color section of Styling between 1952 and the end in 1956. His recollections are in The Packard Club's The Packard Cormorant, No. 89 (Winter, 1997-1998).

Though he doesn't name any specific colors, this quote was interesting to me: .....fully trimmed production cars.....were then used for the evaluation of exterior colors. This was easily accomplished since we used nitrocellulose lacquer applied from small pressure pots. We generally painted up to a half-dozen cars in each color category, so the final show could consist of as many as fifty or more specially painted vehicles. These cars were sent out to the field to the normal distribution channels, and ultimately sold to customers.

From what I've read, this exactly the same method that resulted in the 1954 Carnation and Amethyst cars (50 built).

I should have added the source Letter was dated April 2, 1956. I have no other Trade Letters than that, but I have never heard of any other colors announced as such that year.

Also, I had forgotten to include Joel's pic in my original post, but fixed that now.

Owen -

I had the luck of meeting Ed Cunningham many years ago at Perrsyburg - namely because he had a '56 Caribbean Hardtop (painted MES) that I was admiring. I had no idea exactly who he was, then, but he told me that he had worked for Packard in the mid-1950s.

Then, he opened the trunk and, among many artifacts, pulls out a chart that he said he had made to identify color and trim by models for 1956, but it never made it into the showroom album. I offered up my hypothesis that they may not have felt it necessary because the showroom albuum upholstery section covered that.

Only years later, when I examined a complete '55 showroom album, would I recognize and fully appreciate his handiwork. Many examples of that album are missing the paint chip sets, which includes just such a chart for the 55th Series cars. It is a brilliant 2-axis table that concisely depicts the regular production combinations of those three variables that Ed had mentioned, covering all standard single-, two-, and three-tone paint schemes.

Ed was a most pleasant fellow to talk with, and he had a good sense of humor. One of the funniest articles I ever read was his story about a new color/finish of leather. It was an off-white that had been rubbed with a shade of brown, which collected, naturally, in the grain of the leather. As a prank, he called it "Phartedon White" in some printed matter that he had prepared for a jigh-level management meeting, but that name almost made it into the literature for that year!

Brian, how fortunate you were to have met Ed! Phartedon white is a classic, seems it comes up once or twice a year in Packard conversation, followed by a round of hearty laughter.

The article by Ed Cunningham that I referred to above does have a chart on 55 paint and trim which sounds much like the one you describe.

On other thing in Ed's article that caught my attention was the fact that Studebaker color and interior work was consolidated with Packards in Detroit. Bit of a surprise, at least to me.

Several yeaars ago I read that the Carnation/Amethyst cars were specifically ordered by E.C. Anthony. They had the Amethyst color incorporated in the horn button and the medallions that were affixed to the sail panel of the roof. I thought I read that in the Cormorant. I do not remember the number of cars ordered.