I am going out on a limb here: I think this seller might want to consider parting out this 1955 Packard Caribbean rather than selling it as is, but let’s see what Barn Finders think. The Packard is advertised on eBay for $25,000, and it is located in Tucson, Arizona. The seller comments that it belonged to his father who recently passed, so his car collection is in liquidation. This is a third-year Caribbean; production was always low but 1955 set a highwater mark at 500 copies. The model was a Hail Mary of sorts, aimed at reinvigorating Packard’s sagging reputation. While it did attract niche buyers, it wasn’t enough to save Packard after its disastrous merger with Studebaker. The nameplate disappeared by 1959.
A restoration was in progress when the car’s owner passed, and though the engine is bristling with notes regarding parts missing/incorrect/or rebuilt, including names and phone numbers of the mechanics, nothing is dated. Meanwhile, the 352 cu. in. V8 sits with no valve covers. The V8 was an upgrade over prior years’ straight eight; output was rated at 275 hp. The ’55 also received a pushbutton Ultramatic automatic, and Packard’s “Torsion-Level Suspension” utilizing four torsion bars and a motor. Power steering was standard on this luxury car, along with several other technical marvels of the day.
Interiors were furbished with leather upholstery, a two-spoke steering wheel, and a plethora of switches and gauges. From the dash, the driver could control a rear heater, even the radio antenna. Power windows and power seats were standard. Of course, those luxe features make a restoration all the more complicated and potentially expensive.
This car’s front clip has been separated from its body, for what reason we’ll never know. Maybe that’s easier than dealing with an MGA that’s lost its nose, but it took two professionals to reattach my MGA’s nose, so I can’t imagine putting Humpty back together will be simple. After 1953, tri-tone paint jobs, those trademark hooded headlights, and a divided hood scoop became part of the Caribbean’s style idiom. Regarding prices, this nicely restored example sold for just $46k last month, which casts a long shadow on the seller’s asking price. If you owned this car, how would you handle its disposition?
I’m going to go with Michelle on this one. I think it would take someone who REALLY loved/wanted one of these to complete this restoration. It’s sad that the original owner passed away before it was completed, but it just seems that this is an expensive headache of a jigsaw puzzle. Parting it out will probably best the easiest path to take. GLWTS!! :-)
Its very sad that the owner passed away before getting to see his vision of a beautifully restored Packard finished. It looks like it is a solid car. I admire all the labeling and notes too, they were very thorough it appears. But I agree with Michelle and Moparman above. It’s going to be a huge undertaking to figure out Humpty Dumpty and if any of the pieces are missing and then find them. Perhaps it would be better served to help other Packards get back on the road. But, if you’re up for the challenge…
Other problem is the price, it just seems to be optimistic for what it is.
Def restore,even in average condition these are worth 50k the Caribbean convertible was so rare and even moreso now.concours they’ll top 120-130k easy so ya..totally worth rrestoring.
Seeing more in the $25-80k range, with decent drivers going that low. Beautiful and great car, but the restoration costs and parts issues a big hurdle. You are looking at $35,000+ to redo that trashed interior correctly with the two sided leather/fabric combo.
I hate seeing a car that someone had a passion for left unfinished due to health or passing. This Packard is going to now be someone else’s labor of love and I am just not sure the market is large enough for someone to pay near the asking price. There is a lot of work left and the work is only half of it. The real headache is going to be chasing down parts and trying to put back together something that they did not disassemble, which can be an adventure all its own. The positive is that it looks like a good amount of the needed parts come with the car. Good luck to the seller, I hope he finds buyers for all of his father’s collection.
I think it makes more sense to buy one or two sedan parts cars to support the restoration of this one. The one sold by Mecum is either not as nice as the photo suggests, or it was a screaming bargain, according to the typical value guides.
I have a feeling the car had a frontal accident, so the entire clip had to be separated. I’d look at what remains of this car very closely and check the frame for straightness. And once bought, where on God’s earth are you going to get the entire front including suspension? And the transmission is another issue. Who knows if it’s any good? Those were built by Packard in-house, and parts are not easy to get for them. For all the things this project requires, the entry price is too high.
I believe you are way off-base with your comments. See my posting elsewhere in this thread for more information. Did you look at the eBay listing which has way more pictures than shown here? Also, the tag on the trans even says it was rebuilt. Did you see there’s still a “price tag” on a new or rebuilt levelizer control switch mounted on the frame?
The body is off the frame ; obviously the plan for this car was a total frame off restoration , and removing the front clip was necessary to do that. Putting a front clip on a car isnt that hard, its not like its a one piece unit , once the frame and drivetrain was completed , the body would be set on , and the fenders, hood , etc ,would be some of the last parts put on after the car was a runner again. The good thing about this car is that there seems to be a lot of the last “true” Packards still around as parts cars , the bad is that this car needs a lot of work to get it back together , and I’m not too sure there’s a lot of younger people interested in these classics
Restored, these cars are just beautiful. Make mine midnight blue, please, with wide whitewalls and spoked wheels.
They should mount this body on a derilect airplane front end, kind of the opposite of the Chevy truck/airplane mashup recently featured here on Barn Finds…
Off $5K for all of it.
I love Packard automobiles I was born the year of the all new Packard V8. My grandparents and parents drove Packards. Grandpa told many stories about Packards. Packard was an American company that should never have gone out of business. So I have a deep feeling towards Packard. I wish someone could actually start a new Packard corporation and build new, modern Packard automobiles. Looking at the Packard shown in this article, it’s probably worth a lot more as parts. However, I am not a professional restorer. But to me, it looks like a mess. I couldn’t do it. Good luck to whoever buys it.
Couldn’t disagree more with the parting out crowd. These cars are so rare and what a disservice it would be to all of his father’s hard work to now sell it for pieces. Just looking at the meticulous work that’s already been done says this dream needs to be finished.
This is a full frame car not some unibody car with a subframe. What’s going on was a frame off resto which requires removal of front fenders, etc.
It is a solid car. Yes it will require a lot of hard work, but isn’t this a big part of what this hobby is all about? If I had the room and didn’t already have too many projects I would give it a go. For many reasons it deserves to be saved. Sorry if I stepped on some toes.
When I was a young whipper snapper, I had an uncle that had one of these, (actually, one that was darn near a twin to this) and I will never forget going out in the yard when the family all got together for a holiday and just standing there in awe of that car. I was only 6 or 7 at the time and I honestly believe that it was that car that started my love affair with automobiles in general. I truly hope that someone with the time, knowledge, and money buys this and restores it to its former glory. What a cool memory. Best of luck to the seller and buyer both.
I will stick with my Franklin Mint copy
A fellow Packard fanatic will pick this up and do exactly what was described above, use sedan parts to finish. What potential!
Aside from one person who regularly posts here I don’t know everything but this might just end up as the first (?) Packard based ratrod
A little more research should have gone into the write-up.
This car is part of the estate of Sandy Chirco, founder of Tucson Packards, and a man renowned in the Packard community, who passed away last October.
While this may have been the last Caribbean Sandy tried to shepherd through a restoration, I daresay this was most likely not the first, over his probably 40+ years with Packards. And he was certainly knowledgeable enough to insure anything done to the car was done correctly. An Ultramatic rebuilt by someone (for Sandy) would ABSOLUTELY have known exactly how to rebuild it. Same with the guy who did the carburetors (as marked on the tags). Sandy would not have hired just Joe Schmo from the shop down the street to rebuild Packard parts for his own car.
I see a bunch of comments on here bemoaning the improbability of completing this car (as originally intended), due to lack of parts or faith in what’s already been done, or other excuses. It also seems as though some commenters didn’t look at the eBay listing, which shows this to be a virtually complete car, but in pieces.
The Packard community I described earlier, once contacted, is an incredible resource of something missing – parts, technical knowledge and/or service. I know of one fellow who has parted out almost 150 of these 1955-56 Senior Packards over the years, and has a lot of parts for these cars for sale. Sandy himself was a large resource, with many, many years of experience with Packards, and an immense collection of parts for sale.
You can certainly quibble about the asking price – I always do. But there’s every indication this car was headed towards a top-flight quality concours restoration, possibly worthy of places like Pebble Beach, etc. The frame and running gear, with a few small exceptions, looks like it’s ready to rock’n’roll.
If I was a few years younger, had a few dollars more, and a slightly bigger workspace, and a lot more time, I wouldn’t hesitate to see if I could buy it. First thing I’d do would be to buy a Patrician “parts car” and use that for the roadmap to assembly. But that’s just a dream for me.
Yes, the work done so far looked top shelf. Loved the tags identifying missing parts he was looking for.
Thank you for sharing all of that pertinent and interesting information. Hopefully, someone aware of the actual situation, condition, and value of the car will restore it. What an awesome ride!
Pretty cool to get the backstory. I for one found it really interesting.
I like the older model with the big rear wheel opening and chrome molding, but this would be cool when done. I had a golden Hawk that came with this engine, it had tonnes of power. The ebay ad shows the chassis all restored, it says that the engine and trans are rebuilt. All it needs now is a year of labor, chrome and leather, I’m guessing 50K or if you have to pay someone 100K+
Some nice chrome wheels on the back, hitch up the team, and hit the town. Top down, of course.
Father of a friend had one of these (‘55 or ‘56) when I was in high school. When Dad was out of town his son would take it out. We’d stand on the back bumper to get a rake -air springs- then put the top down and take her for a spin. Powerful, luxurious, what a car!
Our family still has a 52 that my grandpa bought new, still has the seat covers put on new. My brother has a 48 limo, 49 henne(Hearst) and sold a 55 a few years ago. Great cars, ask a man who owns one.
I guess for most on this site its about the money. Where are the people with the passion? ………..CRICKETS?…
This car should be restored. This one is exceeding rare. There were very few built plus this one has factory install air-conditioning That was extremely rare in any car in the mid 50’s and even more so in convertibles. Considering the low production numbers of this model and the fact that it has factory air could mean this is one of one. Or at least probably the only remaining survivor. I have the convertible I want and limited garage space otherwise I would grab this car.
A 1955 Packard was my first car. They are very dependable,and you can still buy parts for them. There (is,or was) a Packard Car Club.
The automatic was no trouble on my car.
A convertible with air, and an automatic is very rare.
Tell the seller that you will only take the car as a roller.
He took it apart,so he should put it back togather !
Lots of room to negotiate a much better price.
You really need to love this car to go thru a restoration project !
Good luck with it.
He can’t put it back together, he’s dead.