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Greetings, Packard enthusiasts. Our 1956 Packard Four-Hundred has finally arrived from Fresno, California. It is a rather sad looking specimen, but we have plans to turn it into a beautiful replica of the limited-edition "Esquire" which was marketed by DuBois Packard.

More informatioin and photographs will follow!

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Congratulations. Didn't realize that is the one you bought. I've seen the car listed here on Craigslist on and off for maybe 2 years and then finally on ebay.

You're right about it looking a bit rough -- at least the description he gave on Craiglist and the star on the side made it sound that way. I don't know the car so hope it turns out better than it looks.

Sounds like a fun project.

I do not know what an Esquire looked like, but your car looks pretty straight on the outside. I really like the stars on it ... Have you ever thought of painting on some more stars, moons, planets with rings around them? It would not only make the car even more cool, but you could then call it the Constellation!!!

There have been several good articles in The Packard Cormorant over the years on DuBois' Esquires; as I recall there were about 20 made though even DuBois himself has given different numbers at different times. They were mostly modified 2-door models though there were a few 4-doors as well, and probably no two were entirely alike. Here's a couple of photos of an Esquire though this one doesn't sport the Caribbean hood which most of them did. I believe this is George Hamlin's car.

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I've seen that car listed several times on eBay with no sale - in spite of the seller citing how much $$$ he put into the car, including complete interior.

I won't repeat any of the many highly negative comments I've heard about this car (let alone, my own), but I'm glad to see that it finally found a home with someone who will bring back some level dignity. I'd rather see something like this turned into a clone of an Esquire than left in its present form.

Look forward to reading of your progresss here at P'Info.

Our "Esquire" will have the Caribbean hood. It is, fortunately, sitting in our shed as I write this. I also commissioned Kepich to do "Esquire" side scripts and a new trunk script that was never done by DuBois. He used a smaller version of the sidescript for the back right trunk insignia. I always thought that looked odd with the stock "Packard" production script on the left. So, I designed an "Esquire" script that matches that of "Packard".
Since it's a replica, I'm doing just a slight customization here and there, plus, a few details that Mr. DuBois might not have thought about.

By the way, the scripts are available on E-Bay for all you "Esquire" owners (I'm jesting!). Thanks for the posting of Hamlin's real "Esquire".

By "negative comments" I hope you meant the car's appearance and not its overall condition! Actually for what we paid, it is a good running automobile but it is going to need much work--both mechanically and cosmetically.

In defense of the young man who "militarized" the car...he is young and new to Packard and thought what he was doing was a cool and inexpensive way to have a "fine ride". He has since confessed to me that he is sorry that he undertook the transformation and wants someday to do another Packard right! We need to support these young folks...even if they should stray a bit. The fact that a young man would find a Packard to be "cool" is a step in the right direction, even if the approach to the cosmetics was not what us purists would like. He was most honest about the car and even threw in an extra transmission in the deal.

Thanks so much for your support and interest. We will only be constrained by the pocket book...not the passion!

Tried to post a nice rendering of how the Esquire will look when completed...but file is too big. Any suggestions?

Yes, I was referring to the car's appearance - as even you, in your opening post, called it "a rather sad looking specimen".

It's impossible to tell from any photos what truly lies beneath a repaint - even if it had been restored to original colors. That's why I've always preferred to buy an unrestored original - even if it needs restoration. Though I don't know anyone who enjoys rust repair, you can see that many who frequent the P'info forums are willing to bite the bullet if it's the "right car".

Sadly, a proliferation of rat-rods in recent years have inspired too many newcomers down the "dark path". Regardless of the paint work and missing brightwork needed, I can only imagine the cost of replacing the interior with correct materials, now. Glad to hear the previous owner understands the error of his ways, which clearly affected the car's marketability.

I firmly believe that as long as it's your name on the title, you're fully entitled to do as you wish with your own property; however, some people fail to fully consider the consequences of their approach. Though it may not satisfy a purist of the "Nth Degree", I suspect that that your clone/replica will be of great interest to many Packard V8 fans.

So, I hope you'll take the time needed for your cashflow to keep up with the budget to achieve top-notch results with your project. If the repro Esquire scripts (that I've seen on eBay) are any indicator, then you appear to be on the right track. BTW, I agree with your re-interpretation of the trunk script, which parallels the addition of Caribbean script to the trunk lid on 56th Series models.

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Don't know what is built into Windows anymore if that is what you are using. If you have a built in imaging program on your computer, there may be a selection to change image size. Last time I worked Windows there was only Paint & I don't remember if Paint has jpg image options. Usually the size commands are in the menu selection under the "Image" heading. If you have nothing then a free and good program for Windows is Irfanview. That has lots of sizing options.

If you have a MAC, then either opening or importing the photo into iPhoto and then doing an export to jpeg and medium settings should work fine.