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I purchased a 1955 Clipper Custom from an online auction because I loved the look of it even though I knew it needed a ton of work. First problem is that I’ve never worked on cars, don’t even know where to begin. My goal is to be able to get the car running and drive around the town with my family. Not trying to put the car in shows nor do I have the budget for that at the moment. In fact, I really don’t even know what it would take to get the car running, so could use some help with that as a first step. True beginner here. Saw the forums on people going through restorations but they are so lengthy I don’t really understand where to start in my case. Appreciate the support.

Regards,
Patrick

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Get rid of it, now, and get on with your life. Chances are - it will never go anywhere and you'll waste a lot of time + money + your wife's nerves on it. You might also hurt yourself. Don't do it. If you want a classic car, save up around $10-15k and get yourself one on good usable condition, which you can actually enjoy with your family, as is. Trust me, you'll still have to do plenty of maintenance to it Messing around with a non-functional antique scrap metal is not a way to learn DIY auto-mechanics, especially for a family man

And welcome to the forum

The first thing you're going to do is remove the spark plugs and squirt Marvel Mystery Oil into the cylinders and let it soak a couple days.
Then, you are going to try and turn the engine over by hand. If the engine can be turned, before going any further, change the oil and filter.
Next, get a battery and hopefully the cranking system is operable. If it is, more Marvel oil in the cylinders and cranking without the plugs.
If the engine cannot be turned over, either by hand or with the starter, you're probably in over your head right now. If I were you, I would take some night courses in automotive maintenance and repair. Maybe a buddy who's a mechanic to help.
If,as you say, you have never worked on cars, you will have TOOL EXPENSE. You don't do engine work with a hammer and vice grips.
How are you at electrical diagnosis? By the way, if you get to the point of hooking up a battery, your car is a POSITIVE ground electrical system. I admire your jumping in to something new (mechanics), but many a Packard has been ruined by persons with good intentions, who abandon
their projects after creating a bigger mess than they started with. Of course, you could pay people to do the work, which could result in great expense. There are a lot of good people with good info here, to help you out.
I sincerely wish you good luck with your project. PB

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Let's be realistic, here. This thing's been sitting in a field, pretty sure that nothing in it is turning anymore

When I started to restore my '54 Panama I came in with essentially zero knowledge. I knew how to change fluids (oil, coolant, differential) and I had done suspension and brakes on my modern truck. Everything about a classic car was a complete mystery to me. I learned everything as I went.

Your car seems to have a decent interior, which is great. With some cleaning it should be useable without needing to replace anything besides the headliner at some point. The seats and door panels look great. The dash should clean up nicely. Body doesn't look too bad either.

The engine is the big question mark. The engine bay looks pretty rough with lots of surface rust, dirt, and grime. If the engine turns then you are in luck and have a good chance of getting it running. If it does not turn then that is much more work in order to get it running. Here's where I would start:
1.) Watch some videos on YouTube of getting old cars running. Lots of good channels out there that show the basic process. Just look around and you'll come across quite a few.
2.) Gather your friends that are mechanically gifted. If you don't have mechanically gifted friends, look around for a local car club and get plugged in with those guys. My experience with local clubs around me is that the guys are super helpful and want to teach.
3.) Gather tools, or use someone's that you know. You'll need a good amount.
4.) Pull the plugs, Marvel in the cylinders, let soak, then try and move the engine with a breaker bar on the crank nut. Fingers crossed.
5.) Once engine is free and moving by hand, then you can go through the rest of the process to get the engine running (watch videos).
6.) With engine running, then replace the brake system front to back
7.) Probably will need to replace the gas tank, rebuild fuel pump, rebuild carb.

It will take a lot of time and money for sure. But if you are wanting to learn then getting your hands dirty is the best way to do it. This car will be a daunting project if you have never worked on cars before. If you just want a car to drive, then saving up a bit like jw4 said is an easier way to reach that goal. I wanted a car to drive my family in, but I also wanted to learn everything too. So I bought a project and have spent the last 5 years restoring it. It took me a whole year to get it on the road. The rest of the time I drove it and enjoyed it, while working on different projects in the off time.

How much did you pay for it?

Thanks everyone. Paid around $800 so not much into it at the moment whatever the path forward. Guess I have some thinking to do on how much project I can take on.

Good. I was scared you would say a few grand. So you have money for tools and parts as you got this at a fair price.

The good news is that there are many people here that have started out this way that can help you. The "bad" news is that it's a large learning curve. The existing advice so far is good. I would also like to know who can help you with this project... can you borrow tools from anyone for example, or do you know anyone that can help troubleshoot? It's not necessary, but will make things easier. At the end of the day, that car was parked for some reason and we'll have to figure out what.

I don't like how the distributor is off. It will need repaired but also the oil pan will need dropped and cleaned out as who knows what could have fallen in. Did you check the oil, transmission, and coolant fluid levels?

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I cannot agree with this one, sorry. Haven't we all had a stupid never-finished projects we've regretted getting into? Considering the TS's circumstances - this is it for him, 99%. I am sure that everyone appreciate a little friendly encouragement, but this is not the right time for this empowerment when we are practically certain that the person is not going to make it
He'll still have to learn and do plenty, with a car that is running and driving. Attempting to work with a lawn ornament, on the other hand, will do nothing but discourage a future classic car enthusiast and create a very bad impression about classic cars for everyone around him, in general.

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I tend to agree with you here. This is a big project given how rough the engine bay is. My car was at least "running" in the sense that the engine was free and the previous owner had it running enough to idle. So it wasn't nearly as daunting as this one.

There are plenty of good 48-56 Packards out there that are in much better, running condition for under $10k. I can think of at least three in my area (Pacific Northwest) that are clean drivers for $7k or less.

Maybe keep this car as a parts car and get a decent quality driver? What's your budget?