Packard Forum Index » General

Does anyone know what the wheelbase of the '54 Panther was? Brochure of the day (see link) says 122 inches but December 1999 Collectible Automobile article says 127 inches.

Thanks

packardinfo.com/xoops/html/downloads/1954%20Panther%20Daytona%20Brochure.pdf

I have seen a couple places that say 122" wb, including Sotheby's listing from 2009

The Packard Panther was based on the standard 122-inch wheelbase Cavalier chassis and its design is a remarkable accomplishment. A two seat roadster, its body is so low that it becomes a sleek, aerodynamic package.

rmauctions.com/lots/lot.cfm?lot_id=338345

The Packard Panther was based on the standard 122-inch wheelbase Cavalier chassis....

The obvious problem with that statement is that the 1954 Cavalier was a 127" wheelbase vehicle. However, the statement that the Panthers do have a 122" wheelbase is correct.

Thanks Guys. The odds of Packard geting their brochure wrong seemed pretty small. CA was apparently less careful.

The mis-statements here are not just from CA. The write-up here from the auction company also contains some rather ridiculous statements. Mitchell-Bentley did NOT build the bodies of the Panthers. Creative Industries of Detroit did.

Mitchell-Bentley did NOT do the 1955 cathedral tail light treatments nor the 2-toning on the updated Panthers... Creative did.

Mitchell-Bentley did not "create" the Panthers... Packard did... and so did Richard Teague... and so did Creative Industries. M-B merely trimmed these cars out. No matter who says otherwise.

The order of cars made listed is also incorrect. All four cars were made at the same time. The last three were NOT ordered later. And contrary to ever-persistent rumor, there was no 5th Panther that was destroyed.

The particular Panther shown here in the auction is painted wrong. Originally the roof was black and should be black now. When it acquired this color scheme, the roof was black, not the color it is today. I know because a friend painted it when new and I still have the color photos taken the day it was finished.

Also, this Panther (of the four made) was continually modified numerous times. At one point, it even had a rather ridiculous continental kit on the rear which made it so long it could not get in and out of driveways and the kit was removed. The bucket seats are also not original and were added later... and there were more mods done. This Panther was THE most modified of them all.

There was no "Bill Mitchell Sr." at Mitchell-Bentley. William was not a junior and his father's name was actually Don Mitchell, not Bill. ANd it was Don who had the work done... NOT Bill.

Finally, the Panthers were neither the first, nor only one-piece fiberglass car bodies made at the time. In fact, the Dodge Granada-also built by Creative and made at exactly the same time as the Panthers-was also built the same way. With a one-piece fiberglass body.

Since the auction companies have commandeered automotive history, a lot of crazy and untrue things are being written in the past 15 years or so. But since these big companies say so in their nice-looking, glossy catalogues with the pretty photos and on their internet sites... and the authoritarian-sounding text (that usually does NOT tend to give attributions of sources) it all tends to become..."fact."