Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

The hood ornament is similar but not the same as 55 Packard the hood contour is different as are the part numbers . But the Packard letters on the front of the hood are the same part number on the Packards and Packard Bakers as are the tail lights numbers the same.

With Stude-Packard struggling, I find it hard to believe they would retool a hood ornament for the '57 Packard. It seems they were digging through the over stock to hang parts on Studes. But if it is a slight difference it might have been cheaper to modify tooling.

Oops, you are right with the hood ornament...

I just wonder if the Russians paid roalties for the chrome strips on front fender tips - they also appear on the 1959+ ZIL-111 and GAZ-13 "Tshaika"...

Huh, who did that?!

55PackardGuy, although I saw photos of an Executive with the 374 engine in "Collectible Automobiles" I was not aware that this was a regular engine option. Sales brochure also just lists the 352 engine.

Does an option list for these cars exist besides the accessory leaflet for all '56 Packards?

BTW: Your avatar reminded me at that...

It's a Tootsie Toys '55 Packard Patrician. Although it does not exactly meet the original proportions, I looked long to find one. At last I got this one by eBay...

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michaelk -

The 374-cid engine was NOT a regular production option for the Executive, but there was one example that I know of that was built with the Caribbean version of that powerplant. Yet, that only happened after a lot of effort on the part of the original buyer. Perhaps this is the car to which you are referring. It was a hardtop, painted Norwegian Forest over Dover White. It was also fitted with dark green leather upholstery and (IIRC) had a radio delete order.

When the car resurfaced in the late 1980s, with very low mileage, it was reported by more than one of the hobby publications (outside of club circles) and the special build was well-documented with original correspondence between the buyer and the factory. However, I heard that the car required a total repaint before it was eventually sold. I believe it is now in the hands of a Packard collector in NJ.

As for options, Packard published (and updated) a list of factory-installed, optional equipment in their confidential Trade Letters to dealers - documents which are seldom seen now. Thanks to some copies provided to me, I was able to compile a pair of tables that show option availability, by model, for the 55th and 56th Series. Those tables are available for download in the site archives, but you should consider them copyrighted property of the site - not for publication elsewhere. As a mid-year entry, I had to go with my personal experience with the Executive, but I later received a copy of a factory letter that fully-covered those models and revised the charts to update a couple of points.

BTW, some production options were also available as dealer-installed accessories (ordered through Packard's part warehouses) as listed in the parts book, but some dealer-installed accessories were not available for installation in production.

Engine availability on Packards was not a matter of optional equipment, but specific to each model. See the Model Info section, here, for details on engine usage.

Wow, that's what I call profond information.

Thank you very much!

Just check the motor number, stamped on the flat up front near the base of the oil filler tube. If it doesn't match the vehicle number, the motor has been replaced.

Thanks for the clarification, Brian. Although I had heard of 374 ci Executives, I did not know they were that rare of a special order. A numbers-matching 374 Exec would be a real find.

Executive production was quite low, but they were apparently a good seller. According to Kimes they sold out, but only 2815 were produced. I also read that when they came out, they replaced the Clipper Custom, which was discontinued.

See also this thread:

packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=2249&forum=3

...for some related posts I made yesterday, 2/10 - specifically that of 18:39:02

Esquires have been discussed on these pages quite a few times; there are several good articles on them in back issues of The Packard Cormorant. They were a dealer-conversion, done by DuBois. Perhaps if you use the "search" feature you can locate those posts.

Re a 374 engine in an Executive, I'm dubious that it could be authentic, but confirmation of it's authenticity would be an engine# that matches the vehicle number. Can you establish this? It would be nice to know for certain that this was done.