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I was watching one of those auto-restoration "reality TV" shows and the host was examining a 1949 Buick for a trade in-services.

When he got ready to open the hood to examine the motor, he actually swiveled the hood ornament which released the hood latch.

Did Packard ever have a hood ornament that was a hood latch release?

I don't think so. Cadillac-LaSalle was big on it. The 41 Packard hood release is to pull on one of the chrome hood "vents" though

I don't think Packard ever went in for those gimmicks. Probably the most hidden item they ever had was the need to lift a chrome handle which in appearance was integrated as part of the side hood trim on a prewar.

It was actually a bit interesting how there almost seemed to be a thing among GM brands to see who could do the best job of hiding the hood opening or gas filler pipe. Don't remember so much the hood end but am sure Buick was not the only one to have something not obvious needed to open the hood. Not sure it twisted but believe there was a brand where the entire ornament lifted to release the latch and then acted as sort of a handle to hold as you raised the hood.

As for the other end, Cadillac in particular seemed to have a thing for gas fillers under the tail lights and you needed to pull the light assy up or out to get to the fill pipe. I remember a commercial or ad from the 50s or 60s where a station attendant holding a gas nozzle was looking at a car and scratching his head trying to figure out where the nozzle was supposed to be inserted. At this point I don't remember if it was the hidden brand who was promoting that nothing obvious was visible to mess with their styling or a competitor that was saying their styling didn't need to resort to such tactics to stand out but I do sympathize with the station guys confusion because the filler was in some odd places on some cars.

And then we cannot forget the later fillers placed low and behind the license plate on some cars. Can't begin to remember the number of times seeing a car pull away from the station with someone having forgotten to replace or tighten the gas cap. Half of the fillup was sloshed out onto the street as the driver accelerated blissfully unaware. No wonder some cars got such poor mileage.

Though not in any sense concealed, the 1934 Packard line had the gas tank filler incorporated into the driver-side tailight assembly.

When I was a teenager, I was always amused at the station attendants trying to find the fuel filler on my 1954 Cadillac Fleetwood and 1956 Cadillac coupe which was under the left tailllght. Later on my mid-'60s Imperials, they were always trying to pull off the license plate when the filler was behind the large Imperial eagle higher up at the center of the bumper. Then, of course, there were the puzzled looks at the Packard filler's whistle - they would start and stop the filling over and over to see where it was coming from!

The whistle on our 49 still causes strange stares and comments at the gas station. Ernie in Arizona

This 'sort of' fits with this thread. I posted a couple of weeks ago about some Packard sightings in my small hometown in BC, Canada. Of the half dozen or so Packards in the 12-15 car rally, a couple were big 12's. They had the Cormorant, winged hood ornaments that doubled as radiator caps. One of them was adding water to the rad and simply gave the hood piece a half-turn or so, and lifted it off to expose the rad filler neck. I was blown away! How would this not become the most pilfered 'trophy' of all time, from a luxury car like Packard?!?!? I even mentioned it to the guy and he said they tried their darndest to make sure that didn't happen, but that it was a very real probability and threat if the car was left unattended even for a moment. It seemed very strange to me that a manufacturer would design something like that without some form of locking mechanism. Were folks REALLY that honest and trusting 'back in the day??? I can't imagine what one of those 'caps' would cost, IF they could even be found. I saw a Goddess of Speed for my Six on the net the other day for $925; very nice shape - but nearly a grand?!?!? That rad cap would have to fall in there and would sure be quick and easy pickin's for a thief!! Seems short on forward thinking by the Packard engineers. Chris

My '34 hood ornament/radiator cap was originally retained with a chain fastened to the cap and to the filler neck. Yes, a thief could take it but it would require some basic tools and a few minutes time. I suspect those chains were removed over the years as caps were replaced and radiators were removed and serviced. The chain is not listed in the parts list, probably as the plain bail cap was factory standard equipment.

It's also possible the chain was intended more to prevent just inadvertently leaving the cap behind at a filling station (how many have done that with the gas cap?) than it was to deter theft?

Anyone else ever encountered retaining chains on their radiator caps?

The cars that I recall used the hood ornament for a hood release are the Lincoln Zephyrs and Continentals. This may not be true of all model years. The Continentals with the speared golf ball one turns the ornament to the driver's side to release the hood latch.

Stealing hood ornaments that doubled as radiator caps probably happened back in the day when such items could be sold or bartered to other who wanted to doll-up their cars. Light-fingered and larcenous folks have always been and always will be.

Steve

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Our Speedster had a chain holding the hood ornament at the time we purchased it. I never once suspected it was put there by the factory, though. It might have been a "New Jersey thing," or "Eastern thing," like bolting a second four-speed gearbox back to back to make an overdrive system.