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

Thanks Rusty, I made sure to add the 5 inches to the '51 200's roof and rear door bottom corners to make it representative of the 127" wheelbase car.

Ross - excellent use of common stampings to make the new rear doors and floorpans, thanks for sharing. I worked on the Lincoln Town Car in the early 2000's and we did the same thing to the floorpan of the 6 inch extended "L" version. Added some labor cost to the body shop but saved a bunch in tooling.

A bit of trivia. The outer door skins were likely done with a trim die. The same stamping but a small die was used to cut the notch at the bottom of the door.

The 1936 37 Cord sedans used the same trick. Front and rear doors were the same except the rear doors were notched for fender clearance.

Trim die is more proof that the clever Packard engineers knew how to stretch a dime. The earlier comment about how the legroom in the Clipper was the same throughout the line is telling... not enough Junior/Senior differentiation in those years, inside or out?

At the risk of dumping too much junk into this thread, wanted to float a different styling theme involving hidden headlights, which was very much on the minds of designers immediately post-war. Does add mystery to the appearance but not sure it works with the contour cars. Warranty issues aside, interested in your take.

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One other thought... grill theme inspired by 40-42's vertical louvers and chrome surround. Turn signal lights flank the grill, headlights are hidden. Driving lights hidden or integrated in bumper.

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Don't know if it's the camera angle or the treatment but the car looks very tall and narrow.

Undoubtedly the treatment! That said, the car is a bit tall and narrow to begin with so adding 8 inches to the hood might have only added to that appearance.

Had often heard folks say they wished Packard had returned to the traditional grill in the 50s. Here's an attempt borrowing from the 40-42 chromed grill surround. Moved the headlights inboard because they didn't seem to look right at the corners. Overall look is similar to Rolls/Bentley/Jaguar of that vintage. If anyone really wants to see the standard headlight location version, will post upon request. Am glad modern computer graphics has given us the chance to explore design elements for this era.

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You mean like this?

packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/myalbum/photo.php?lid=3565

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Yeah, thanks. Mr. Evers' wonderful renderings really highlight the choices facing all the designers in those years. Traditional grill or modern? Straight through sides, straight through front fenders or sloping front fenders? Headlights at the front corners, inset or hidden? Private greenhouse or open? It is interesting to look at the broad sweep of automotive design and how the Europeans charted a different course than the Americans immediately post-war yet today they have all settled in roughly the same place. What should Packard have done for '51? I think it a question worth continued exploration. There is still much to be pondered about both Packard and car design in general.

I think the Reinhart designed 24th series Packards were right on for the time. They were as attractive and stylish as anything being offered. Trouble was they continued with the antiquated straight-8 for far too long. But we all know this story all too well.

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Put a 51 Packard next to a 51 Buick, Olds, Chrysler or Lincoln and it looks quite sleek and modern. I feel the center section of the grill is rather lame. but not as lame as the festering pimple school of taillight design favored by GM. IMHO.