Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

Ok this thread has really drifted,

BUT

A Mexico Packard Plant data plate!

Look at the 2nd video and go about 4:40 time.

museoautopuebla.com/video

What can you read?

Yes I have posted this on the PAC forum too.

Very interesting.

Looks like it's for a '55 Patrician.

Maybe O_D has some info?

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I see from O_D's reply in the PAC thread that he may not be able to further advise.

However, looking at PackardInfo's Packard Dealerships List, copy below, one was "Automotriz O FARRILL, S.A." which corresponds to the dealership at the top of the data plate pictured.

Note - Click on photo to see a bigger, clearer image.

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I have a Cadillac Eldorado version of this air cleaner and it fits perfectly on top of two Packard versions of the 4gc and the Packard v8 dual intake. Didn't want people to confuse what you said about the Chevy version being different since Cadillac is a GM product like Chevy. The Chevy version is indeed different, but the Cadillac version fits.

Quote:

Yes, but the whole reason why I never said the Cadillac unit would not fit. I know it fits and had a Cad Eldorado batwing on one of my Caribbeans years ago (1970s). I continue to see Cad Eldorado batwings on Caribbeans in recent years.. Easier to find than real Packard ones. Every other time I see a Caribbean in an auction in recent years the chances are 50/50 it is running an Eldo unit. Only said the Chevy won't fit and the Chevy looks more like the Packard than the Cadillac unit does. So it is easy to confuse the two. Chevy guys (or people wanting to sell to Chevy guys) have been confusing them for decades. THAT is how I got my first two of these units in the 1970s... from Chevy guys who acquired them only to discover they would not fit.

The Cadillacs were mostly painted gold... mounted in reverse of the Packard...had a chrome "V" symbol with chrome dished drawer pull knobs instead of wing nuts on the pots as I said. But since we've gone this far, some of the Cadillac units had much larger pots than Packards or Chevrolets did.

AND... we can go even further with this since Chrysler used this A.C. dual-quad wet air cleaner too. They painted theirs gold and differentiated the body of their bat wing top by having parallel ribs pressed into the top of the housing.

Just making sure you know I was only adding information for those that may come across this in the future and were trying to figure out what fit and what did not. I was not correcting you. Thanks for adding even more information, as all the things you listed are things I came across when trying to find something to fit my non Caribbean car with a Caribbean intake.... which I still have not got around to doing.... but it's in the trunk! That makes more horsepower there doesn't it? LOL!


Also it's easy to make an Eldorado air cleaner look identical to the Packard one. Take off the V.... fill the holes... switch to wing nuts.

There is a fellow who put together a relatively decent treatise on some of the various batwing incarnations as to what fits what in the GM and Chrysler world. As it was put together some 50 years after the demise, Packard was not mentioned -- or maybe he is one of the young people that never knew Packard ever existed.pontiacsafari.com/L1EarlyV8Pontiacs/56DualQuad/BatwingAircleanerGuide.pdf

There was a Packard assembly facility in Puebla from 1940-1956. Cars were assembled in Detroit then "knocked down" by removing wheels, tires, gas tank and other such items.
Then they were replaced with Mexican made items.

There was a requirement that a certain percentage of the car had to be Mexican made in order to be imported at a low customs rate.

We purchased the entire parts stock of the facility from the O'Farrill family in about 1986.

Thanks
James From
Kanter Auto Products

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Yesssss, I know all this as well. Did this very thing to make one for one of my Caribbeans back in the 1970s. Know it all too well. Was lucky to salvage smaller Packard pots from and scrapped Caribbean with a demolished top and hood.

HOWEVER... as I said before. many of the Eldorado units have larger pots. Compared to these pots, the Packards are shorter in height and smaller in diameter. There are those who will argue this issue today but this was all settled back in the 1960s when simply showing one sitting next to the other. I once even had the measurements written down.

I can tell you that I carried two large Eldo pots around for years trying to get rid of them at swap meets. Think I finally gave them to a rodder guy. There are indeed at least two different sizes of the pots-maybe more.

And just recently there was a Caribbean in an auction with these huge pots and when I told the folks it was an Eldorado air cleaner they were stunned... and the guy asked..."Now how on earth did you ever figure that out?"

James,

Thank you.
That was interesting to me.

Any idea what would have been Mexican made?

I wonder how many cars were shipped to them?
Besides the 6 56 Caribbean convertibles?
Or did Kanter bring any of them back?