Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

Looking at multiple 1955 Clipper pictures I notice that some of them have a trim piece that runs down the front fender onto the driver door and stops. And some have the same piece but that it continues downward to the base of the door.

I have not been able to determine why there is a difference. Can someone enlighten me? The one I just bought stops halfway through the driver's door.

Thanks.

Marketing and the price point aimed at it's competition .

Clipper Deluxe was the lowest cost and was the plain jane. Almost everything was optional & chrome reflected that. The Super was slightly more adorned at a little higher cost and with more options standard. The Custom was at the top and could be fitted out to be almost equivalent to a Packard model -- albeit on a shorter wheelbase & without the Packard styling cues. The more upscale the model, the more chrome and doo-dads that came with the car to justify the additional cost. Having said that, even the lowest cost Clipper was a quality product.


If you want to download the 55 dealer album, it pretty much tells the story. There are some comparisons in back as to how a model stood against another mfgs offering in the same price range.
https://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/article/view.article.php?174

Howard, I have seen '55 DeLuxes, Supers, and Customs with the straight side trim, and with the curved or cove type side trim. I believe that all the early '55 Clippers came with the straight side trim, and a little later the curved or cove type trim was fitted. To accomplish, as you describe, a more interesting car to best the competition. Anyone else have information on this trim question?

(o[]o)

I agree with JW. I do not know when, maybe the PAC V8 roster keeper could tell us.

It was my understanding the paint scheme looked too much like a GM, Olds, or Pontiac? The curve stainless gave Packard the ability to add more color?

That could be. I remember reading somewhere the cars were thought by some to be too close in appearance to another mfgs models and mgt wanted or styling decided to make some changes. Don't remember whether the article said changes were made before or after introduction. With the delayed 55 debut, would have thought they could have made the changes in time but perhaps not. Knowing if early or late production would help answer any questions.

Howard,

I recall the dealers telling Packard that the Clippers looked too much like the Pontiacs where they both had similar trim and color styling that dropped down from the beltline and went on back to the tail lights. I did a quick look in the Model Info section here, and you can see the straight and curved trim styling.

(o[]o)

I just finished putting new ID descriptions on the PAC website. In some cases you cannot tell a Custom, Deluxe or Super if you can't see the name on the front fender or trunk.
If the owner didn't define it properly, it was almost impossible to describe it accurately. And I was using 55 and 56 Packard Clipper brochures. Several 55 brochures were printed at different times - very confusing.

I made it a point to note these trim differences, as best I could, when I composed the content for the 55-56 ModelInfo[/url] pages, nearly six years ago. ALL of the images that I used for the '55 Clipper pages came from the SAME brochure - same as used in the dealer showroom album (referenced - and provided, here - by HH56).

The '55 Clipper Super Panama (5547) and Custom Constellation (5567) - both hardtop bodies - appear to have used only the curved door molding throughout the production run. The quickest way to tell the difference between those two models is that the Constellation was NOT available with fender skirts (shroud) - as documented in factory Trade Letters and duly noted in my RPO charts - because the line of the rocker molding was extended to a special wheel opening molding.

However, the '55 Clipper Deluxe (5522), Super sedan (5542) and Custom sedan (5562) started out in production with the short, straight door molding. I can't tell you when, but production later changed to a curved door molding for those bodies, but it's documented in the 55-56 parts book (Gr. 30.295). It's impossible for me to tell the difference betwen these three models/bodies at a glance; in the asbence of a view of script plates, one would need a view of the interior, with access to said dealer album and understanding of respective trim sets to do so.

I'm inclined to agree with the comparison to same year Pontiac, but in the absence of bona fide factory documentation, am reluctant to say that's the reason for the running production change.

The curved molding certainly does allow for a more dramatic two-tone - though I've read that some people don't seem to care for it.

This is turning interesting--a simple question becoming not so simple after all. Just looking at the RPO list, all 55 Deluxe and Super Clippers were on the same chassis & came with everything optional. Basically, very little difference to justify the Super's higher price other than maybe a slightly plusher interior since chrome was the same. Dealer album shows the sedans all having a short piece in front stopping mid door while hardtops continued with the curve to bottom. Guess they must all have wound up with a curve.

At least in 56 they made a clear distinction with two straight short broken chrome lines for the Deluxe and the full length top & bottom lines solid for the other models.

Yes, side trim clearly set the Deluxe apart from the Super in '56, but Super and Custom lines were more blurred. Wish they could have done something to avoid that - though without intruding on the future Exec line.

Beck when my dad was considering the purchase of a new Packard hardtop in the spring of '56, he couldn't afford a Four Hundred, but he just wasn't satisfied with the looks of the Clipper Custom side trim. However, when the salesman showed him pix of the new Executive with Senior front-end, straight side trim, and those Clipper taillights, it was a done deal.