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Re: 1956 Caribbean Paint Code VMV
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Forum Ambassador
 
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VMV = Corsican Black/Dover White/Corsican Black. This was a standard paint code offering. If your Caribbean is a convertible there were 15 of them painted VMV, according to an analysis of the original build slips. If it's a hardtop Caribbean I don't have the data of how many were so painted.
Posted on: 2015/6/23 7:58
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Re: 1956 Caribbean Paint Code VMV
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Home away from home
 
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Yes, in answer to your question VMV most certainly was a special order color scheme for 1956 Packard Caribbean-hard top or convertible. There definitely were set standard Caribbean colors for 1956 and anything outside of that was either specially-ordered by a customer or requested by a dealer/distributor. Four standard color schemes were as follows: MES = Dover White, Danube Blue, Roman Copper MAV = Dover White, Shannon Green, Corsican Black MTV = Dover White, Naples Orange, Corsican Black MKN = Dover White, Scottish Heather, Maltese Gray These colors go from the top of the body, down with the middle letter being the color of the middle stripe. For such a low number produced, there are an awful lot of 1956 Caribbeans these days turning up with strange colors they never had originally... or 1955 colors on 1956 cars or vice-versa. But yes, yours would be a genuine factory-done paint job via special order of Corsican Black-Dover White-Corsican black.
Posted on: 2015/6/23 18:51
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Re: 1956 Caribbean Paint Code VMV
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Home away from home
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Hi
Interestingly, while there were four standard '56 Caribbean color combinations, and general industry practice was for new models to be depicted in advertising in one of those combinations, the well-known page advertisement with the high view of the '56 convertible shows it in Corsican Black, Naples Orange, Corsican Black: paint code VTV. Perhaps the advertising art director thought it looked more dramatic in that special-order combination, though its hard to imagine it being more dramatic than any of the standard combinations. Steve P.S. Personally, if I could order a new '56 Caribbean convertible, I'd special order Maltese Gray, Danube Blue, Maltese Gray, code NEN or flipped ENE with a matching dark gray and light blue interior with white accents.
Posted on: 2015/6/24 5:59
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.....epigram time.....
Proud 1953 Clipper Deluxe owner. Thinking about my next Packard, want a Clipper Deluxe Eight, manual shift with overdrive. |
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Re: 1956 Caribbean Paint Code VMV
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Forum Ambassador
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Original paint codes are known for all but 12 of the 56 Caribbean convertibles. A few were shipped in prime but we don't know if that accounts for all 12 of the unknowns.
207 - 3-tone 31 - single color 25 - 2-tone The most common 3-tone was MES (95 cars) The least common 3-tone were EMS & MKC (1 each) The most common 2-tone was VMV (15 cars) The least common 2-tone were EME, LLN, MNM, NTN, PPV and VTV (1 each). The most common single tone was V (13 cars) The least common single tone was H (1 car) Source: The Packard Cormorant, Autumn 1987, analysis of original build slips.
Posted on: 2015/6/24 9:10
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Re: 1956 Caribbean Paint Code VMV
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Home away from home
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Yes, I am very, very familiar with the different colors shown in some advertising at the time. I have the ads, including the 1955 black with a blue stripe and the 1956 black with an orange stripe... and others. I even have the VTV (Corsican Black-Naples Orange-Corsican Black) Danbury Mint 1/24th scale model which was based on the advertisement mentioned. However, it is important to remember a few things that were going on at the time of the mid-1950s: ? Factory standard color schemes indeed were depicted in both advertising and in sales brochures. For 1956, open the fold-out brochure and one of the first things you see is a Caribbean in the MES scheme. ? 2-Toning was just coming into vogue in 1955. 3-toning was wayyyy out there for the time and in case some people weren't ready for it (and some weren't) there were 2-tone cars occasionally shown in ads. Much of the rationale here was very basic salesmanship via advertising. As the slogan says..."show it, don't just say it." In other words, some folks needed to SEE that 2-toning could be ordered and here was how it could look. ? Packard always had a reputation of catering to customers. And with a guy like Earle C. Anthony on the Board of Directors, you knowwww there were going to be custom touches and bending of the rules. By the way, the 1987 The Packard Cormorant magazine went by an analysis of build slips. However, I started keeping records on Caribbeans long before that time and one of my earliest discoveries was that build slips did not always match what actually ended up on the real car rolling off the end of the assembly line. I have tried to do an inspection of each and every Caribbean I have ever encountered in my lifetime...and the build slips do not always match the cars. I don't mean the cars after somebody has molested them with a weird paint job or equipment, but the cars as they were built at the factory. And since I brought up Mr. Anthony in talks of Caribbeans, I believe his 1956 Caribbean was coded "M" for color (which would make it solid Dover White) and had factory seat belts. There was one other solid Dover White car I discovered. Sometime later, Mr. Anthony's car ended up yellow... then yellow with a black stripe and black top. There were other odd color codes that were custom ordered and factory done. Of course, for 1955 and 1956 the best way to know they are factory legit is... ? The code-whatever it is-was stamped into the serial number/model number plate in the driver's door jamb -OR- ? The space on the plate where the color code should be was left blank-which would mean hardcore custom for which there was no corresponding factory color code.
Posted on: 2015/6/24 9:43
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