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

1951 Patrician 400 2452-5685, My avatar pic. It is enroute to Texas from New Hampshire. Will be here Friday ! Can't wait ! Like a kid on Christmas morning...ROTFLMAO
Will post more once I have it in my possession.

HotRod

Attach file:

---

  Packard 3.jpg (41.75 KB)


  Packard 4.jpg (30.58 KB)

Mark,
for including your '51 Patrician Touring Sedan in the Packard Owner's Registry.

Mark, I'm wishing you many happy years and miles of pleasure from your 1951 Patrician, a very nice car with great road manners. A few years ago I had the pleasure of carefully examining a very low mileage 1951 Patrician as it was being prepared for export to a foreign owner. Less than 5,000 miles on it as I remember, and in nearly "as sold" condition. It was well-optioned with one especially uncommon option, the rear windscreen wiper.

Paint code K, Trim code 601.

Attach file:

---

  51 Patrician 039 sm.jpg (427.33 KB)


  51 Patrician 036 sm.jpg (169.04 KB)


  51 Patrician 015 sm.jpg (220.48 KB)


  51 Patrician 006 sm.jpg (169.55 KB)


  51 Patrician 025 sm.jpg (237.46 KB)


  51 Patrician 029 sm.jpg (334.46 KB)

A 1980s PAC president and local chapter director had a 1951 Patrician just like that that was very low mileage. Probably not the same car as it was here in California but I’ve always wondered what became of it.

As for the rear wiper, I have an NOS one still in the box but have been debating with myself whether I want to use it or not on one of my own cars. On one hand it is a rare accessory but on the other it is rather odd looking!

Don, possibly the same car. I only got involved with it here in NJ as it was being prepped for transfer to Port Newark for overseas ocean transport to Scandinavia. I never did inquire or learn where in the US it was from.

In addition to the rear wiper there is also another relatively scarce option -- the rear window defroster. You can see the electric motor for that option just behind the wiper motor.

I agree with O_D that you will find your "new" 51 a very nice and dependable car. If there are any problems in the car, once those are sorted, with minimal maintenance you should have many miles of pleasant driving. I drove a 51 just like the green one O_D posted photos of (minus the rare options) my last two years in high school. Unfortunately at the time, to me being a teenager who knew it all at 16 it was just a 10 year old car. I was less than enthralled to be driving a Packard when most of the other kids with cars had the cool Chevys or Fords. Despite what I did to the car and did not do in the way of regular oil changes or when done, even quality oil changes, plus all the other neglected maintenance the car rarely left me walking.

Yes, the poorly maintained 6v ignition system did not like to start the equally poorly maintained engine very well on cold mornings or after it sat for a few days. That was the major left walking issue with the car but after father had to take my brother and I to school a few times he decided to take care of the cold engine issue with a crankcase heater rod that replaced the dipstick in the oil dipstick hole and an 8v battery. Helped but not a total cure and the effort would probably have been equally effective if we changed spark plugs and performed other maintenance on the engine and ignition system. That was not the way he did things.

In hindsight, I realize how destructive I was to an otherwise good car and that is a sad thing to remember. I often wonder if other cars of the era would have been as reliable if they suffered the same abuse. After I graduated and moved away the car sat for a few more years and then was sold to one of his friends to join a stable of junkers. It was probably scrapped.

This looks like a great car and the trunk is one of the nicest I have seen. Have fun with the car and be sure to join the Packard Club.

Quote:

The low mileage green car of which O_D posted photos shows conclusively that the trunk was flocked consistently thruout and on Patricians at least, included the cardboard behind the seat. I remember several discussion on the forum where comments had tended toward paint or the rubber like sound deadener compound as being the only covering for the sides. I do believe the flock probably started out the same color on all but tended to fade or wear off or maybe the glue dried and the fibers fell off over the years. The cardboard could have been plain on lesser models but at least on the senior model they went all out. I suspect even the floor had flocking over most of the surface and had the additional covering of the thin mat in the center areas most prone to wear.

Mark Stivers - great looking car! Looking forward to more pics once it's delivered.

Nice looking '51 Packard.

I actually wondered if there were any car equipped with the rear window wiper. I guess there was....
Would a '51 actually be called a Patrician?? Or just a 400?

John