Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

These are pics of our one of one 1955 5562 Clipper Custom , to date the only Clipper known to have a TP 222XXX and as you can see, the paint,seamsealer, pinch weld etc is pristeen. Same as other 55 of unmolested heritage.

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I dont want to be misunderstood. I am not saying the early production 55 with blank TP are suspect. They all seem to be early production and very closely grouped in run number. What I am saying is weld spatter and seam sealer missing is an issue in any instance and before I concluded a wavey bent up pinchweld with hammer marks is as factory- I would need to see this in quite a few other cars within the same grouping of early production cars to begin to think that was normal. I am more comfortable with what IS the norm on all the other cars, many of which have been pictured on this forum already.

CustomClipper55,
The seam sealer was discussed in this thread, not sure if it helps or not.https://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=2025&viewmode=flat&order=ASC&type=&mode=0&start=220

Maybe the person applying the sealer changed day to day?

Well, that was my point. This pic on the thread you referenced( and dozens of others on various threads) all have the seam sealer in the same places, applied first, and painted over from the factory. More telling is the sealer in the corner and the finish there where the panels meet. It is very consistant and does not vary much from car to car. Just as telling is the straight, clean edge of the pinch weld lip. We can repost dozens of photos and they will all look remarkably the same. Any variation from this will require much more examination.

Then there is this one. It looks like a TP# tacked to a blank firewall.

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Thanks Ltrd for those images, that is unique in my experience. Assuming the explanation was nothing nefarious, perhaps another example of the chaos at Conner as Packard again began building bodies for the first time since 1940 and maybe their response to suddenly realizing they had built bodies with no theft-proof numbers. From the data thus far, the vehicles with no theft-proof are all VERY early 1955 cars - you don't happen to have the VN for this one, do you?

The number itself really gives no useful information, as stated before unlike the neat progression from 1929 thru 1954 the 1955/56 cars are just an unordered jumble. The D34XXX numbers appear in both mid-range 55 production and 1956 production.

Nice tack welds. It is assumed that instances such as the cut and weld shown are a result of repair if not tampering and for the discussions here we should be focusing on the vehicles with unmodified, untouched Fire wall and cowls where the TP s are. Is there any proof cars came from the factory with such hack jobs? I dont think Packard would allow such low quality be released to the public nor do I believe people would accept such. I hope those who are categorizing the numbers and those who may be employed to advise the less knowledgeable in a purchase are using prudence and common sense.

Anyone who is interested in the topic can reference this thread, and can look at this pic , and this and others and can make up there own mind or sek expert advice.
https://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=2025&viewmode=flat&order=ASC&type=&mode=0&start=0


https://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/uploads/newbb/757_51e4e658eae7d.jpg

As stated earlier, our car has the TP without a C or D as the first digit and there are only 3 5582 known to have this and 2 5587 cars and as of last week only 1 5562 with a 222XXX T P. As of today no one has responded to requests for clippers with this TP and I am still interested in hearing from all else who own similar however I am interested in only those that show un damaged or modified looking as this.https://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/uploads/newbb/1794_55257f85f2564.jpg

Since these 1955s seem to be the only year of Packards to have strange anomolies in the thief proof numbers ie out of sequence, blank, or 2xxxxx numbers ( which may duplicate #s used decades earlier), can any V8 experts comment on blank or one of one TP on a 55 car that is proven to be a true,untampered as delivered anomaly car if it would add to the interest or collectability of the vehicle?

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It is assumed that instances such as the cut and weld shown are a result of repair if not tampering

That's your assumption, not mine, I don't have any information to reach that conclusion, and we may never have.

If the area beneath the number in question is blank, I suspect it was done by Packard to avoid the cost of discarding an otherwise saleable body once they discovered their error with the earlier bodies. As to repair - to repair what? And why? As to tampering, with one exception that doesn't make much sense; almost no one except myself has until recently ever paid any attention to these numbers and they weren't used by any state or federal agency nor even mentioned in the documents Packard was required to file with each state's Secretary of State for each year's upcoming production.

To my thinking, the only case of tampering that makes any sense is if the vehicle is a mongrel Caribbean cobbled up from a 400. If the vehicle in question isn't now a Caribbean, I believe the most likely explanation is that it was a factory correction to an earlier aberration. It will be interesting to see another such ever surfaces.