Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

A friend of mine is in the process of having metal work done on his 53 Caribbean. He tells me the body man has removed the lead in the back end and exposed the original welds. I plan on going over and photographing the work area and with some luck should be able to download pictures.

I may be one step closer to finding answers to my Caribbean prototype quest.

the 1954 Packard Convertible (non-Caribbean) Prototype was on ebay for sale about two years ago, it was a modified 53 Convertible with a 53 Convertible Briggs data plate and a 53 style Stamped plate on the door post with a super early 5479 number on it, It appears that Packard just stamped'em and sold them after their testing/show/demonstration purpose was done. It appears that they only special feature the 53 Caribbean prototype may have had was the Packard script on the lower front fenders. The owner reports that the holes on one side for this script still exist. It appears this car was stamped with a later (Spring 1953) serial number but all other factors indicate a fall 1952 built car. Certainly an interesting find.

two photos of what most folks believe is the 1953 Caribbean prototype:

digitalcollections.detroitpubliclibrary.org/islandora/object/islandora%3A153720

digitalcollections.detroitpubliclibrary.org/islandora/object/islandora%3A153607

would be interesting to know if the newly discovered car has the pre-production continental kit hubcap intact? and also if the location of the backup lights are the same

I would have preferred not to have details shared at this time on this venue. Two questions were asked by Home away from Home, they referred to the spare tire hub cap and the location of back up lights.

I only have the blank cap for the spare tire and my spare tire shell is currently not with the car, but I do know its location.

The back up lights are located in the same place as the car in the photo.

I did find three holes in the right front fender that may have held script.

Disclaimer: Although I have found several similarities between my car and the one in the photo, I still have many questions and several leads to track down.

The photo of the Caribbean quarter panel is the same as all 53 Caribs. The car started life with a body shell of a regular 51-54 convertible, it was extended by using the last 20" or so of a 51-3 senior car, a 300 or 400 sedan.
If you look inside the trunk you will see the end of the junior fender with the oval cutout for the tail lamp. There is a dead space between that surface and the inside of the senior car tail lamp mounting.

The fenders were extended in order to have the continental kit "built in" rather than hanging off the back.

Due to the need for a top well it was necessary to shorten the trunk lid, this was done on all 51-55 convertibles and those trunks are all interchangeable except for the holes to mount the scripts, emblem surrounds etc.

There is nothing mysterious about these cars.

Thank you for your interest in this forum. The Caribbean quarter panel picture is not of the car in question. I am simply trying to gather as much info on the car in Neals book that is represented as the "prototype"

My sincere apologies to the owner, I did not realize they wanted to keep information about the cars' features and/or details confidential, I will refrain from posting or providing any further information about the subject vehicle. I will certainly respect the owner's wishes even though the request for confidentiality was not previously mentioned until earlier today

Apologies accepted! You are correct no prior commitments to secrecy were established. shhhh

more interesting developments, but a small break to fix my septic system and work will keep me busy for a few days. Currently consulting with Leeedy on a few things.

sounds fishy

What sounds fishy? Please respond.