Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

hav ya seen the Request? I request a slow ride in one of these bad boys .
i'll be in the back seat.

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Those of us who were at the PAC National in Gettysburg last July had several days to enjoy the Request. Here's a current picture, courtesy of Mike Grimes.

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O_D, Did the car have a restoration yet or did they just take care of essentials.

It looks very good in the current pict but I remember you mentioned the current owner was going to do extensive work and one of the one off pieces was extremely expensive. I ask because that large gap on the L side of hood/grill/bumper is still there. I thought I remembered reading or maybe hearing from Mr Dobbs at the Berkeley PAC meet it was caused by some kind of accident. There was resulting misalignment but if it had the restoration, maybe it was there from a hurried original build??

HH56, the car has had it's mechanical details attended to and was quite driveable, joining us on a couple of driving events, but it's full restoration is still pending. As you may recall, when Larry Dopp (or Dopps) found it years ago on the West Coast, it was in deplorable condition, had been in a severe accident, and was repaired to presentable condition at the time but not what you'd call a restoration. This work was pretty well photo-documented in an issue of The Packard Cormorant some years ago. There are misaligned body panels and the like, and the major project to which I think you refer are the front bumper halves which are made up of many separate (bronze?) sections brazed together, extremely heavy and in poor condition. As I recall, the car again made the show circuit for Packard in 1956 and thus has 1956 upholstery - I don't know Mr. Marano's plans with regard to the restoration of that.

The car abounds in interesting little odd details. For example though the taillights look to be 55/56 lamps, they are not the same - perhaps early prototype units but different lenses and different casting. Other similar features throughout the car. I suspect the next time we see it, it will be stunning.

EDIT: It does not have a body serial number or thief-proof number, and is vehicle-numbered as a 55 400, #1003; presumeably #s 1 and 2 were preproduction prototypes of the 400 to-be, and the third was diverted to this project? Just my own conjecture.

Another photo, rear view, from Gettysburg, again courtesy of Mike Grimes. And a photo that better shows the alignment issues with the hood, grille and bumpers, this photo by myself.

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What a great thing to see for Thanksgiving!
I see what Owen means about the tail lights. Compared to the ones on the '55 parked next to it, the lens look shorter (or the bumper lower).
I remember reading an article not long after it was discovered near Seattle (I think) saying aside from the bronze bumpers there was also a tremendous amount of lead which made it a little strange to steer.
I'm real glad it was rescued. What a moment it must have been to discover something like that which was thought to have been destroyed years earlier! Wish it had been me.

here is apic of it at the motel at night

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It looks like the main problem of the front end alignment is the left-front bumper section is sagging, probably from weight, which could account for the misalignment of the fender creating the gap in the hood seam. Get it to Victoria's Secret for a push-up bra and it'll be fine.

At the Berkeley PAC meet in the 80's, the owner gave a small group of us a lecture on the state of the car as found. IIRC (and it has been a lot of years), he said car had hit something and the bumper had been bent as well as shattered. Parts of the bumper were in the trunk but don't recall if any other damage was mentioned.

He and his people had spent many hours reassembling the front and there were some pieces missing they had to make to fill in those spots. Had missed the mark on a couple but the effort was what they could do at the time and in a short time frame.

He had barely completed that much prior to the meet and there was still work to be done elsewhere. Said to do the bumper right, would have entailed a new mold and complete casting which he could not afford to do.

Another thing I wonder if ever got fixed was the early trans linkage problem. He had parked it and went to move when he couldn't get out of park. Spent several minutes trying to move the lever before it finally went. Classic symptom of the straight linkage problem SC's mentioned some early 55s had. Would be interesting to know if the present owner still had that problem when he got it and if so, fixed during his work.

Any pictures available of the engine compart? I'd love to see how the hood interfaces and closes.