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

When I found my 22nd series deluxe 8 touring sedan it was full of misc packard stuff. So I put it all in the back of the shop and Ive been pulling it out a little at a time. I'm near the end and after pulling out some parts I promised v8packard I found a iduno. This iduno looks alot like the vent shades from the 2nd gen f body gms, firebird-camaro. Through all my thumbing through pics of packards I've never seen one. I did see that pic of packard accesory sale 20%, I think it was in the recent photo column here. But didn't see anything like it. So if anyone has one or has seen one or wants one letme know. There were rear window border thingys in the car that matched the packard color grain materials ect that didn't fit my model so this may or may not be to an 8 or even a packard for that matter.

Attach file:

---

  (31.46 KB)


  (39.44 KB)

If it's not a Packard accessory (I don't know too much about postwar cars) they were common on Studebakers.

I have seen these in JC Whitneys catalogs of the 40's & 50's. It is an aftermarket accessory.

The only one of those I ever saw, was in the back window of a 1951 Cadillac.

The Cadillac was an immaculate, one owner black sedan that used to come out of hiding once in a while only on dry summer days. It was driven by its original owner who always wore a blue suit and a fedora hat and was usually accompanied by his gray haired wife who wore a summer print dress and a hat.

This was in the late sixties. Once or twice a year it would come into the gas station where I worked for a tank of gas. Every time, I was also asked to check the oil, water, battery, and tire pressure. No tip.

I'm sure the venetian blind was an original 1951 accessory from the Cadillac dealer. The owner was that kind of guy.

It is possible they were made for other makes too. The point is, they may be rare but they were a genuine period accessory.

Rusty,

I'm a child of the self-service gasoline station era. By the time I began driving in late 1974, gasoline station attendants had disappeared here in our town. Was it customary to tip attendants for those services you described and if so, at what rate?

Thanks

Kevin

In some of the stations that were in the more affluent communities it would have been gauche not to tip. It was a sign that you were not well bred. Also there was no rate like in a restaurant, you flipped the guy what ever you found in your pocket in the way of change, a quarter, a half a buck.

ALK

I've seen a similar "venetian blind" on a 47 Custom 8 sedan

ok cool. Thanks for the info. I suppose if it is this rare it would give me more cool points mounted in the back window than a back shelf. And hey, it certainly looks cooler than tinted windows and it ought to keep the A/C more efficient. I'm going to get out of the office and make a bracket to hold it right now

Marvin King has a Packard set of blinds on his 2262 automobile. They are rare.

Tips were rare, but so were Cadillac driving customers who expected a full service with a tank of gas.

Regular was 45.9 cents a gallon, most customers bought $2 worth. Once in a while $5 at a time, on payday and summer weekends you got "fillerups" which might cost $10 or more.

We offered to check oil and clean windshields. Occasionally someone would ask to have the tire pressure checked but usually because one tire was down.

Mr. Cadillac wanted EVERYTHING checked, and the tires carefully inflated to factory specs. It took 20 minutes to sell him a tank of gas.

The only thing he did not want was the windshield cleaned. The windshield was always spotless like the rest of the car.

Once he was assured everything was in good shape and the tank full of gas he would go motoring carefully off the lot and up the hiway at exactly 50 mph.

As I say I only saw the car once or twice a year and only on clear summer days. He must have kept it in the garage because I never saw it parked on the street or in a driveway. I think the owner lived in the old part of town in a neighborhood of 2 story brick houses built around 1880 to 1900. At least that is where I usually saw it.

The sort of neighborhood inhabited by successful businessmen and professionals back in the Model T days. The kind of place you expected to see Buicks and Chryslers more than Cadillacs.