Re: 1953 Cavalier "Hardtop" Sedan
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Home away from home
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With that small chrome pillar it changes the look to me in a very nice way. That's one sharp Packard!
Posted on: 2019/5/24 22:02
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Re: 1953 Cavalier "Hardtop" Sedan
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Home away from home
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Glad you like it, I do too! Overall height is almost an inch lower than Cavalier and Patrician and the rear glass has more rake, all of which help give it a sportier look.
Posted on: 2019/5/25 15:39
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Re: 1953 Cavalier "Hardtop" Sedan
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Home away from home
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Nice! Would the chrome 'pillar' between the front and rear door glass have stayed there when the windows were down? (I think Kaiser-Frazer's 4-door hardtops had a similar fixed pillar between the windows.)
Posted on: 2019/5/25 17:21
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Paul
www.studebakerskytop.com |
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Re: 1953 Cavalier "Hardtop" Sedan
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Home away from home
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Yes, benefit being greater structural rigidity.
Also, the chromed window frames would have been fixed to the doors like concurrent Nash, which means the car would have been "hardtop" in appearance only and constructed like a conventional sedan. Benefits of window frames fixed to doors with only the glass rolling down would have been better water sealing and improved interior quietness. My understanding is that Packard struggled initially with keeping Mayfair dry. Were the chrome window frames instead fixed to the side glass like a true hardtop coupe or convertible, the B-pillar that you mentioned would have needed to be wider to allow the windows to roll down, to detriment of appearance.
Posted on: 2019/5/25 19:42
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Re: 1953 Cavalier "Hardtop" Sedan
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Home away from home
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This is how the Clipper might have fared. And by the way... all due respect and appreciation to the owners of the lovely cars that these work-ups are based on.
The Clipper sedan shown has the same hardtop backlight rake as Cavalier above, and per established Packard strategy also uses the same side window frames, side glass and B-pillar. Notice that the rear window frame forward rake is a bit "stiff" compared to backlight rake. From an appearance perspective Mayfair and Cavalier above get away with it because of the distance between the two elements. On this Clipper they are closer together and therefore look a bit odd. Since Packard would have needed to tool a new roof and backlight for this would-have-been car anyway, it could have dialed in whatever backlight rake it wanted. Key was that it resulted in rear roof height that provided adequate rear headroom and good appearance. These two elements almost always fight each other in car design. Am also showing a 2-door sedan that, by virtue of the chrome on its fixed B-pillar, makes it a Sportster right out of the gate, at least externally. The work-up uses Mayfair hardtop's front door glass, chrome surround and vent windows, which makes it more hardtop-like.
Posted on: 2019/5/25 20:36
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Re: 1953 Cavalier "Hardtop" Sedan
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Home away from home
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It may not seem like it now since the era of the hardtop has passed but it was the next greatest thing in those years. Every carmaker who aggressively participated by fielding pillar-less hardtops and even hardtop-styled sedans saw immediate benefits. The affect on Packard's image and sales with models like these would have returned far greater sales than ever garnered by halo models like the Caribbean, even as much as those were important too. What a shame Nance didn't recognize this opportunity before he took the helm, institute such a program immediately upon arrival.
Steve
Posted on: 2019/5/27 21:15
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.....epigram time.....
Proud 1953 Clipper Deluxe owner. Thinking about my next Packard, want a Clipper Deluxe Eight, manual shift with overdrive. |
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Re: 1953 Cavalier "Hardtop" Sedan
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Home away from home
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Maybe to further save money they could have converted their straight 8's to F-heads like Willys did on the inline 4 and their own 6's. Much the same benefit as full overhead valves but allows a much larger intake valve. I believe Rolls Royce also was using F-head inline 6's at the time.
John
Posted on: 2019/5/28 8:18
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Re: 1953 Cavalier "Hardtop" Sedan
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Home away from home
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Am not familiar with F-Heads but if the technology delivered the power and fuel economy of OHVs then certainly it should have been looked at. Whatever they chose also needed to make good ad copy because perception was part of the battle.
Absolutely Steve, by 1953 2-door hardtops were all the rage and Packard was lagging. Nance should have made it a priority to quickly create a car that would compete with Coupe de Ville. He certainly had opportunities. I should probably start a new thread rather than offer examples here.
Posted on: 2019/5/28 15:13
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Re: 1953 Cavalier "Hardtop" Sedan
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Forum Ambassador
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My parents bought a new '52 hdtp from J.P. Mooney in McKeesport Pa. They wanted my stepdad to leave it in the showroom because it drew so much attention. It was Sunset red metallic and Twilight taupe metallic with genuine dark red leather and grey nylon interior with a dark red dash.
WOTTA car!! I learned how to hotwire it when I was 14. Taught myself how to drive.
Posted on: 2019/5/28 21:36
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