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

There is for sale on FB Marketplace a 1949 Deluxe Eight sedan with gold paint and what appears to be a 1952 cormorant hood ornament. The ID plate appears to say 2362, which would be a 23rd series small eight sedan. However (and this is the Puzzler) if you look at the interior, it appears to be somewhat-worn Custom Eight maroon broadcloth with piping, etc. The door cards appear to be Custom Eight, also. Thde headliner, while apparently of the same maroon fabric, is standard side-to-side,rather than Custom Eight longitudinal. Would the factory have put a Custom Eight interior into a small eight sedan on special order? Would Custom Eight interior parts fit a small eight? Curiosity consumes me.

Although advertised as a repaint, this might be a Golden Anniversary model. The owner apparently thought so when he bought it. My dad was a dealer and he got two of these at model introduction time. I was in kindergarten that year and I remember them sitting hidden in our back yard until announcement day.

If anyone out there is intested, this car has been advertised for a year and the owner appears ready to listen to offers. As I presently own four Packards, I am self-disqualifying.

facebook.com/marketplace/item/7357913615 ... ffc70cc-d2ef-47f4-b8d7-22b2913c2ee6

All of those seats and panels from a 22nd series Custom Eight could be installed in that Eight in one leisurely afternoon. The body shells are the same. That some (probably very rusty) Custom Eight was the donor is further evidenced by the 356 engine sitting on the pallet. Note the cast iron water outlet and water pump pulley as evidence. Somebody put a nice car together from some nice parts that were at hand. The bird is a 53-54.

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You have not yet reached "One Packard for Every Day of the Week" status. You are not finished.

Data plate reads that it is a 2362 so the car is a 23rd Series Deluxe Eight. Interior is a redo and it just looks like they copied the seat pattern from a Custom Eight instead of doing it correctly. Interior fabric is modern velour and incorrect for a 23rd Series. They should have used wool, but the cost of original wool broadcloth is now almost out of reach. When I redid my 1932 900 about 30 years ago, the wool broadcloth fabric cost about $100 a yard. Can't even imagine what it would be today. As for it being an authentic Golden Anniversary car, it is important to note that this was only a paint scheme (Anniversary Gold) and not a model number. Years ago, I had a friend with an original Golden Anniversary car that still had its original paint. But as the data plate for that series did not display the paint or trim codes, there is really no way to authenticate unless you can spot some original gold paint on a hidden area, such as on the bottom of the firewall, door jambs or under the sill plates. As Ross noted, the hood ornament is from a 1953 or 1954. I found the picture below on the internet of this model Packard being driven away during the historic 1949 event. It has the postwar "Goddess" hood ornament which was just a stylized oblong shape with a wheel on the end.

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  1949_Packard_GoldenAnniversary_driveaway.jpg (91.97 KB)

Oops. I looked again. That is not from a 22nd series Custom. That is from a 46-47 Custom Super Clipper. Same basic body shell so it all slides in. That is wool broadcloth, but without the pattern used in the 22nd series.

What you all have answered makes really good sense. It's good that we have this place with Packard experts ready to answer questions like mine. Thank you all.

This pictures appears to be from the article Life magazine did about the 50th Anniversary Packard’s.
Does anyone know the publication date for this article?

I don't remember the date of publication of the magazine, but I do remember that I was there that day and rode home to Indiana with my dad (Packard dealer) in one of those gold cars. My sole claim to fame. I was five years old.

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Steve, you'll probably enjoy -> this thread.

Wow. I guess that wasn't the first Packard driveaway. Really interesting to know that I participted in one of the last!