Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

A little help is appreciated. Does anyone know of a source that can definitively tell me what the proper colors are for all script adorning 1955 400 HT's?

Packard (modern looking script) - in rear quarter panels?
Packard (older cursive script) - RR of trunk lid?
The Four Hundred - forward of both front doors?
"V"'s found on cathedral tail lamps?
"V"'s found with medallion on rear roof pillars?
Packard letters found on front of engine hood?\

Did I miss any?

Help appreciated?

Kevin
Tucson

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Having seen incorrect ornamentation being used on the 1955-56 cars, I am compelled to respond as matter of public to all Senior V8 owners.

The "PACKARD" hood letters on 1955 Four Hundred and Patrician models were chrome-plated, but not factory-installed on Caribbean. These same hood letters were also used on 1957-58 Packardbakers, but the plating on a set I purchased from a Studebaker vendor left a lot to be desired.

The grille ornamentation uses a chrome-plated vee over a gold-plated circle; the grille crest, used for 1955 only, is done in a gold finish, with red paint for the field of the shield. The castings for the circle and vee used for 1955 are NOT the same as what was used on 1956 models.

The script plates on the front fenders of the Senior cars for both 1955-56, aft of the wheel opening (and ahead of the front door opening), were gold-plated: using "The Four Hundred" for 5587 and 5687 models and "The Patrician" for 5582 and 5682 models. The 1953-54 Caribbeans used chrome-plated script plates, but the same casting was gold-plated for 1955-56.

The "Packard" script plates on the rear fenders of all 1955-56 Seniors models were gold-plated EXCEPT for the 1956 Executive, which recycled the script plates from 1954 models - same casting but chrome-plated.

For 1955 Senior cars, the vees used on the roof pillars were chrome-plated (like the grille ornamentation), but the vees on the taillights were gold-plated. They were not used on 1956 models.

As for the trunk, I believe both the "400" and the traditional "Packard" script were gold-plated, but don't want to rely on my fuzzy memory for this particular area without confirmation from someone else.

1955 Caribbean was devoid of script plates on the trunk. Patricians were the only 1955 Senior models to have script plates installed by the factory above the trunk handle/ornament, and they were chrome-plated. The "Packard" script plate as used on the 1955 Patrician trunk was recycled for use on the 1956 Executive. The rest of the 1956 Seniors cars used gold-plated script plates located above the circle-vee ornamentation, which followed the same plating scheme as the on the grille.

I know of no source that will corroborate all this, but my statements are based on personal observation of unmolested original cars (though from years ago) and "extrapolations" from the parts book listings.

Thank-you very much Brian.

Kevin
Tucson

Now that would be a good Article to write up Brian. With the text as you described it, and a couple of pictures or illustrations. It's almost a Judging Guide to 55-56 exterior trim.

BigKev -

I will try to do that, but even if we get thawed out enough here so I can get back into my offsite storage, nearly all of the trim pieces specific to the '55 models that I used to have in my personal stash of parts were sold off some time ago. Most anything left over from the sale of my '55 Patrician went on eBay.

Perhaps this summer, I can get some detail shots on actual vehicles to corroborate the statements and develop a reference article.

I take it composing an article with pix is like attaching image files in Forum posts, which then appear inlne, but is there a way to place the pix with the related text?

Brian,

The best way to create an article is to write it in Word so you ahve precise control of the layout and formatting, and then just save it as a PDF.

That is what I did with the FuelPump article, and my upcoming CARB rebuild article.

If you want to write something inline, the use the Kovi editor as it gives you better layout controls.

Brian, you got everything exactly right except the 1957 Packabakers. The letters look the same but have a different curvature to fit the Studebaker hood. I suspect they were modified from the original dies to save money in 1957.

That's interesting news, Joel.

That set of the hood letters came from the former Newman & Altman parts "showroom" many years ago, so my recollection may be fuzzy. IIRC, they had only one set of letters on display and referenced 1955-1957-1958, but they did ask me what year I was putting them on. The letters I got did fit the curve of the hood on my former 1955 Patrician, and the buyer of the car later came back for them.

Yet, I see that the 1957 hood is more square, with a flatter front, but what about the 1958s? I don't have a 1957 Studebaker-Packard parts book to check the numbers.

Also, was there any modification to the 1955 Packard hood bird casting, which appears to have been recycled for use on the 1957 Clippers?

I had also heard that there was an extra hole machined into the rim of the 1956 Clipper taillight housing for use on 1957 or 1958 Packardbakers, but I haven't seen that on any taillight bodies that I've found at Stude meets. Any thoughts?

The 1957 Packard hood bird has a different curvature on the bottom to fit the Studebaker hood. I am sure they just modified the original die to make the change.

Sad news indeed, as it seems quite a bit of tooling like that survived for decades - if not in the hands of the suppliers, then passed from Studebaker to other companies.

The '55 hood letters could probably be laser-cut from a malleable, yet platable, base metal, curved between a set of rollers, and then pins brazed/wleded to them prior to plating.

The '55 hood bird, however, would have to be completely recast, then. Yet, it seem to me that the '55 bird doesn't pit as badly as the '56 version - at least on the underside of the wings. That probably has to do with moisture lingering on the underside of the wings, which have a more oblique angle for '56.

I may just have to look into casting parts in stainless or bronze someday. I remember art students in college, decades ago, with a process to make bronze statues using "armatures" formed from wax (paraffin).