Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

I had my garage door open this morning, with the the back of the packard pointed out the doors. A car stopped and an old friend from High School got out. I hadn't seen him since graduation! After awhile we got onto talking about my packard. I explained to him about swapping the motor with another one that I had acquired. He tells me of a guy he knows who builds hot rods, customs and such having an old packard motor in his shop. I can't resist, so we hop into my truck and head about 3 miles out of town to his shop. He is there and confirms that he has "this old motor" that has Packard on the valve covers. He uncovers it and it's a 352 w/twin ultramatic still attached! I try to hide my excitement, but fail. He said that a buddy of his chopped up the car and used the tail light sections of the 1/4 panels & headlight sections on a custom job, and got rid of the rest. The guy saved the motor because "it ran & drove so damned good he didn't have the heart to get rid of it". I scrapped away at the engine stamping by the distributor and see the first 4 digits are "5587" which is out of another 1955 400. He said I could have it for $100 dollars if I thought it was fair. I've never whipped out my wallet so fast in my life. I'll pick it up tomorrow! What is so funny about this is I live in a small town of about 800 people. What are the odds of finding another 1955 engine within a 3 mile radius of me? Not good, as it took me close to a year & a 700 mile multi-state road trip for the other one I found. I truly have found gold....in my own backyard.

It's usually that way. I found my '56 Pat parts car less than 5 miles from where I was living at the time. You never know what you might luck into, just ask BH about his Carib!

Great find Don! Good people have good luck. Keep us posted.

Someday, I'll tell the full story, here, of how my Carib found me, but it might be best left to open a project blog. Right now the priority is paying the monthly bills, keeping my mundane daily driver on the road, and trying to move forward with landscaping work so I can break ground for a garage (and cut my costs on rent).

For now, let me just say that it's better to go "fishing" for cars and parts than it is be "hunting" for them. The key is to have a little "bait" (like a Packard that can be seen in your garage or driveway) and a little cash reserve in a separate bank account (or line of credit).

You'll still have to separate the crackpots and con-men from the real people, but the greatest things will turn up when you least expect it.

I too struck gold in my backyard. I moved back to Santa Fe, NM from Walnut Creek, CA in 2005. I decided to start looking for a Packard after getting settled, and having a bit of money left over from the generous Bay Area real estate market. My father was the Packard dealer in Santa Fe from the mid-30s to the mid-50s, and I had to have one. I found a 1939 120 Convertible Coupe advertised in Hemmings. This looked like just the car for me; however, it was in Connecticut. I wanted to look at one of these cars to assure myself that this was the type I wanted. I recalled seeing a similar car in Santa Fe a few years earlier. I looked-up the owner in the PAC directory, and it turned out he lived just around the corner from me. I talked with him about the Connecticut Packard looking at his car. He said he would give me a call when they got it out of the garage from its winter storage. He gave me a call a few days later,and I went over to see the car. It was a gorgeous 1937 115C Convertilbe Coupe in Packard Cream. I described the Connecticut 120 and said that his car seemed to be much nicer. He then told me that there was another car, just like his, for sale in Santa Fe. The owner was in bad health and needed to move to a lower altitude. I was surprised to hear this, two almost identical 1937 Packards in a town like Santa Fe. Then he said that the owner and car were just around the corner from him. This was even more surprising. I contacted the owner and bought it after a few days of looking at the car, and going back and forth on the price. Gold in my own backyard.

It's funny BH how you said having a packard in the driveway or on the property helps. I couldn't agree more. I have had alot of different projects over the years. For along time I had alot of 58-66 Thunderbirds in the garage. But I have never had as many converstaions, stories, or attention than after I acquired my '55 400.

I remember an old fellow, about 75-80 years old walking his dog up & down my street. He had been doing this for years. We would say hello now and than. Than I had my Packard dropped off along side the garage after buying it. The next time he walked by, he stopped dead in his tracks, walked right up to me and said "I haven't seen a packard in year!" He rambled off all the options to me, the torsion suspension, (He knew more about the car than I did). I asked him how he knew so much about it, and he told me that he had worked for Studebaker for 30 years and had worked there during the Merger. He remembered the Studebaker dealers were in awe of the new '55 & '56 packards. Alot of the Studebaker dealers in the Oregon,Washington & Idaho area started selling both brands at their dealers. He had some good stories. I hadn't seen him for awhile, one of my other neighbors told me that he had died. I wished I had asked him more.