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Enough griping, and no (airport) groping. Load the mountain bikes in the Packup and roar thru the backroads of unspeakably lovely Center County Pennsylvania. It was an almost 400 mile weekend--not counting the 15 or so on the bikes. Null problemo and the as-usual 17 something mpg from the 126K Clipper Super. I will be issuing the 20,000 mile field service report in the near future. Go drive them thangs. Who are you saving it for?

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Ross, your Packard pickups are the coolest thing I've seen in a long time, keep up the good work!

That's a very neat old car. Wish I could find one of those around these parts!

Center County PA lured me back again; thought you might like some shots of the 51 in service. Was not in a hurry and kept her at just 60 on the highway (indicated 65)--was rewarded with a real 18 mpg for the whole trip. Fording the stream was not as effective as hoped at cleaning the whitewalls.

18 years of use and 43000 miles for an initial investment of $500. This is the best used car ever.

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QUote:
"Who are you saving it for?"

Amen Ross!!!! I like to get out there and drive them too. Put them thru their paces.

"Ask the man that owns one". That was 50+ years ago.
Today it's "Ask the man that wants something different". OR better yet "Ask the VERY FEW who DO!".

I'd say you really got your monies worth there! Not forgetting the obvious enjoyment in using the car in a beautiful environment. Did it come with the Caribbean bonnet(hood), or was that an upgrade of yours?

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I bet this is the first time a Packard forged a stream since the days of the Packard Proving Grounds tests.

Nice to see you use your Packard off-road.

Baltimore County, where I live, is greatly yuppy-fied now, but when my folks moved here after the war there were many gravel roads, stream crossings, and farmers still regularly used horses. And these would be the roads that a prosperous farmer or local lawyer would ply in a Packard. So the proving grounds weren't pie in the sky testing at all. That said, I am not brave enough to ford a stream in a pushbutton car, in fact am not brave enough to own one at all for regular use.

The Caribbean style hood and side trim is handmade. The hood only weighs a few pounds more than stock and does not require a prop as the originals did. George Hamlin and I did an April Fools piece for a Packard Club mag that this was a prototype for a Canadian market sport sedan called the Banff. Not everyone realized the joke.

Yes, put them thru their paces and get some real driving pleasure. I was grinning like an idiot all day.

I forge a 36' wide 8" deep creek at least 2 or 3 times a year with my 56 Executive with push button and no problems at all. I doubt that it catches any more water than a long haul in a rain storm.

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Is that why people look at me when I'm driving my Packard?