Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

Update on Randy's Caribbean . Randy several years ago when he first started on his Caribbean project asked me if I would complete his project if anything happened to him. I said yes but told him I would prefer he stick around as I valued his friendship and company more than anything.
With his passing I now have the task of trying to complete his work to his high standards. I told him I did not have the knowledge he had but he said with all the times we talked and help from people on Packardinfo he was sure I would complete his wish to have a 1956 Caribbean.
I have been moving parts from his home to mine will soon have car moved from storage. Some trim parts are missing due to fact where he worked on his projects the owner died and property was sold.
I hope Mal can update registry to reflect change but it will still be Randy's Caribbean to me . I may have to start wearing black.
Thanks in advance for help I will need and wish me luck

Attach file:

---

  Carib storage 002.JPG (135.34 KB)


  Carib storage 001.JPG (124.60 KB)


  Carib storage 003.JPG (143.16 KB)

Tell me that the insulation on the walls is not what I think it is!

Quote:

Pretty Caribbean. Looks likesomeone has done a nice job so far.

It would be nice to see a photo of the serial plate.

Also, on a VMV Caribbean, why are the wheels blue?

Good luck with it.

Leeedy, I don't have a photo of the VN plate of the ex-Randy Berger 1956 convertible handy, but the particulars are:

VN #5699-1164
Theft-proof #D33933
Utica Motor # C1339
Utica Trans # C1004

The transmission # is clearly out of place, perhaps a replacement from a very early Caribbean; based on data from other 1956 Caribbeans I would have expected a transmission number between C1200 and C1400.

Quote:

Thanks much, Owen. However what the serial plate would show (or in my case, confirm) is the paint and trim. According to my records the paint was listed as VMV and interior as 96 (which would be pink/white/gray interior).

At least two (okay, more) of the VMV 1956 Caribbeans were used for experimentation and at one time had special equipment. Much of which was removed either by Packard or subsequent owners who thought they were correcting the cars.

There were several experimental transmissions installed in various 1955 and 1956 Packards. These transmissions would have been used in 1957 production for Caribbeans and certain engines. So I would not fret about the transmission in the vehicle as noted.

Some of these Caribbeans (like two of the VMV cars) were in the hands of Creative Industries of Detroit and a Detroit engineering firm that worked on several of the projects with Creative. Somehow all this has been either forgotten or never known among the Packard faithful. Look for more on these transmissions in an upcoming issue of The Packard Cormorant magazine.

When the experimentation phase was completed, this Caribbean was sent to the Boston, MA factory retail branch to be sold. No idea who the original buyer was.

My 1956 Caribbean that was stolen from me also went through Boston. It came equipped with power door locks, factory air and Autronic Eye.

But again... why the blue wheels?

The plain steel wheels are to hold tires and keep car moveable when moved to storage when Randy bought the Patrician. Randy had a set of factory wire wheels rebuilt to be installed on completed car I have them in my garage to be installed as part of completion of project

Quote:

Understood completely.

When those wire wheels are ready to go, just remember that the red hexagon on wire wheel center caps was not painted red... as repops are....

Quote:

Interesting! I have a pair of originals and a pair of reproductions to go with the set of original wire wheels and the originals are painted. The paint does not appear to have been added later either.

Nope. This has been argued into the ground over the years. Many times. Repop caps have been made so many times that people today are claiming they have original caps that are merely early repops. And a lot of caps that originally had Scotchlite simply went bad and ended up painted. Especially in California and the southwest. Sun just destroyed these things.

There were/are also different heights in the domes of the caps. Nobody seems to know this either.

Here is a 1954 Packard original compared to an early repop. Most can't tell the difference. But if you look realllllly close you'll see one has a red Scotchlite hexagon... the other has a painted hex. AND there are other differences.

One way of comparing repops to originals is to look at the reverse side and see how the clasp rings are made. The first repops were not made recently... they were made decades ago now. Some who have them are convinced the've got Packard original factory parts.

If you are in the Packard Club and get the Cormorant News Bulletin, look in the recent issue (March 2021) for the 1954 Caribbean as displayed new by Earle C. Anthony in L.A. This is on Page 11.

If you look at the photo you will notice the red hexes on the Caribbean wire wheel center caps appear to be white. This is because they are glowing... reflecting the camera flash. The hexes were made of red reflective Scotchlite, not paint.

There are other photos of original Caribbeans and other Packards of the 1950s equipped with wire wheels that also show glowing hexes. Same reason.

I have yet to find or see an unmolested original that was not done in Scotchlite. Of course when the Scotchlite went bad (and it certainly did) it was fairly easy to remove (sometimes it peeled off on its own) and that's when many caps ended up spray-bombed red.

Another "nobody knows" is that Packard intended to offer wire wheels for 1957. Those center caps would have been a new design that had a red plastic hex. If you've attended one of my presentations, I have twice circulated the only known surviving prototype 1957 Packard wire wheel center cap... from my collection.

By the way, reflective Scotchlite hexes were also a genuine Packard accessory. A dealer counter sales display of them is shown in Nat Dawes' postwar Packard book. These hexes were also sold in bicycle shops during the 1950s and tons of them ended up on bicycles. If you look at the "Packard Bikes" thread you will see a set of them on the rear fender of a Schwinn bicycle.

Attach file:

---

  OriginalVSrepop.jpg (181.27 KB)

That makes sense. Then my "originals" must have come sealed in reproduction Packard packaging too, which I do not doubt is quite possible.

The reproductions I have are more recent ones and the quality is far inferior to the others. The stamping isn't nearly as deep or defined and they look overall quite cheaply made although fortunately they were priced accordingly. From a moderate distance they look okay but not up close!