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Re: 1955 Caribbean Convertible BOOT - wanted
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Home away from home
 
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Ask the National Packard Museum in Warren, Ohio. They have the very low-miles 1955 Packard Caribbean that Howard Hughes bought for Jean Peters... NEW.
This Caribbean is the closest to NOS anyone will ever see. Unless someone has done away with it, the original top boot and boot storage bag were in the trunk. Of course, it is even more likely (given the way museums work today with limited knowledge of such things) that they are naively displaying the car with the top lowered. Absolute SUICIDE to that convertible top. So catch it while you can. The folks at the museum ought to allow a pattern to be made from the top boot.
Posted on: 2022/10/11 12:03
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Re: 1955 Caribbean Convertible BOOT - wanted
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Home away from home
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Here's the boot on the car as of September 2020.
Attach file:  20200918_123247.jpg (127.28 KB)
Posted on: 2022/10/11 13:21
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Re: 1955 Caribbean Convertible BOOT - wanted
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Home away from home
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Ohhhhhhh, that poor car! All those years of good care and sane storage of the top... only to come to this... O-M-G!
And... naturally like folks today who just don't understand these cars, they cover and hide the most interesting part! Now no one viewing this Caribbean can see the bright pink color on the inside of the rare factory original top! No one can examine the original factory convertible top fabric. Why? This museum has the rarest, most unusual 1955 Caribbean... with a beautiful factory original top (most people–even diehard Packard fans– have never even seen one). But the museum chooses to hide it all. Lower the top and cover it. Just like any other garden variety convertible Wow. WHY? Here I am driving this Caribbean in Beverly Hills in the early 1970s. It had around 850 miles on the odometer at the time. We rarely put the top down. Mostly for shows and temporary displays. But never for extended exhibitions like now. People now viewing this Caribbean can't see the top fabric. They can't see that it had color in the top well and on the inside of the top. They can't see how the top was made. AND... the original fabric will shrink and crease in no time flat if left in lowered position. Again... why? Just a very, very, very bad idea. Attach file: LeeHHughesCarbbean001.jpg (120.46 KB)
Posted on: 2022/10/11 16:49
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Re: 1955 Caribbean Convertible BOOT - wanted
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Home away from home
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So glad ‘40s have canvas, not vinyl. I saw a ‘55 or ‘56 at Hershey or St Michael’s recently with the top down, but even the boot shrunk to a point where it couldn’t be secured.
Posted on: 2022/10/12 10:04
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Re: 1955 Caribbean Convertible BOOT - wanted
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Home away from home
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The boot on the wife's '55 Caribbean is in good shape. While I can't be sure it is correct, it fits nicely and looks good. However, there is 3000 miles of asphalt between Simi Valley CA and where you are.
I could install it, take some pictures and make some measurements for you. I would think that should work OK for a good upholsterer.
Posted on: 2022/10/14 19:29
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Re: 1955 Caribbean Convertible BOOT - wanted
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Just popping in
 
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Marty, I would greatly appreciate if you could take some pictures and measurements and if your boot and send it to me. That would be really helpful. I am in Delaware
Posted on: 2022/11/8 7:23
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Re: 1955 Caribbean Convertible BOOT - wanted
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Home away from home
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I'll try to get to it in the next week or so. I need to move some cars around in order to put the top down.
Posted on: 2022/11/12 13:36
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Re: 1955 Caribbean Convertible BOOT - wanted
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Home away from home
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Sorry it took so long. I would think any good auto upholstery person should be able to make one without a lot of problems.
Attach file: IMG_4481.JPG (155.36 KB) RightSideDShoingLocation.JPG (176.42 KB) ShowingHump.jpg (203.35 KB) RightSide-SnappedInPlace.JPG (184.16 KB) IMG_4484.jpg (264.43 KB) LeftSideNot Snapped.JPG (166.88 KB) LeftSideNot-Snapped.JPG (180.49 KB) RearPanel-DriversSide.JPG (153.08 KB) Sketch.JPG (387.73 KB)
Posted on: 2022/11/30 18:11
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Re: 1955 Caribbean Convertible BOOT - wanted
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Home away from home
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Quote:
Nice effort... except for one major point: where did the snaps on the top of the rear seat backrest come from? And where is the boot flap? Why is the boot on top of the rear backrest instead of behind it? The illustration here is completely missing the tuck-in flap on the boot. Not there at all. Take a look at the big flap on the Hughes Caribbean boot (obviously not in proper mounting position, but there). Original boots had a large tuck-in flap with a built-in stiffener in the front of the boot... but not snaps on the top of the seat backrest. The boot tucked behind the backrest, not on top. Where did these snaps come from?
Posted on: 2022/11/30 19:13
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