Packard built some of the finest luxury cars in its earlier years, but this Clipper was designed to be a mid-priced car with some luxury features. Unfortunately, it also had a reputation for poor workmanship. I’ve always thought they had a worried or puzzled expression. This Clipper is listed on eBay in Columbia Cross Roads, Pennsylvania where bidding is slowly climbing toward the BIN price of $5,500. It was owned for 40 years by the previous owner and was restored 26 years ago.
The inside looks nice and original. The carpet, door panels, and upholstery all look to be in really nice condition. The black and white combination is in contrast to the colorful paint scheme on the outside.
This is the original engine, a 245 horsepower 352 V8. It runs well and looks original, but could use some detailing and paint.
This old Packard has it’s fair share of bumps and scrapes, but overall the restoration has held up well. The paint is certainly not to everyone’s taste. There must be a few folks somewhere, perhaps colorblind or hipsters, who find this paint scheme appealing? It has four doors and is not a Chevy or Ford, so it’s appeal is certainly limited, but it is a nice old driver. One might think it makes a personal statement you’d rather not make, but it certainly is mid-century modern. If this Clipper doesn’t have too many hidden faults it could be a nice old driver. At the very least, it will give readers an opportunity for derisive comments, hopefully, some will even be clever.
You can always find this car in a car park, if your not blinded by the color, the size (height) would be a giveaway.
Big is not necessarily beautiful. Too bad the pink doesn’t glow in the dark or maybe it does.
I love the grill ornament, a ship’s wheel, wonderful for a barge.
Remember, it’s a Packard!
The ships wheel marked this as a Clipper.
“Ask the man who rows one!”?
the black needs to be changed to white or the white needs to be changed to black,,,,,,,,,,, that “Pink” just needs to go away,,,,, Paint it Black.
It was the 50’s. You had to be there.
That car should look worried, it’s on it’s last legs. More accurately, that droopy design kept with the Packard “tombstone” grill shape. I can’t say anything about quality with these cars, but Packard never put out a piece of junk, and these cars ( and ’56) are the ones that should have saved Packard, but we all know the rest of the story. I believe this may be the 320 V8. I read, the 352 was for the Clipper Custom. The only glitch I can see with this car, is the transmission. I think it has the “twin Ultramatic”. ( designed by a young John Z. DeLorean) If it has the “torsion-level” ride, even better. Floyd Clymer said, it was the best riding sedan he drove. Such a shame, Packard had everything with this car. This is a steal for a piece of history. Just be ready for “what’s a Packard”?
The 55 Packards were doomed. They had a new engine, transmission, and suspension. Add to that they lost Briggs as their body supplier. That required them to do their own body stamping. They set up shop in the former Briggs Conner plant. Conner was never big enough and caused a lot of production problems. Setting up the new plant caused production delays resulting in 55 Packards not being available until January, 1955.
Howard & Ed: you are both correct, it’s a Super, so it’s got the 320 base engine, the same one used in the Nash & Hudson cars for ’56. The main color is called Scottish Heather, and was not available on the Clipper line, only on the 1956 Senior Packards.
Whoo! I pure D looove the color combinations from the 1950s! Two-tones, three-tones … I even remember seeing one FOUR-tone painted car when I was a kid. Back then, if you could afford a new car, most likely you ordered it – just like you wanted. No “packages” of amenities just to get the one or two options you wanted. A mint green interior with a huckleberry blue exterior? Sure! Man, I miss that!
It certainly looks solid and complete for a car of that age, an affordable price for a car from that era. Mask off the black and white and shoot some red over the pink and you’d have something unique for cruise night that wouldn’t challenge your masculinity or beer allowence.
Good n Plenty!! lol
As our Hispanic friends write: jajaja!
It is ugly and its mama never married.MHO However, once knew a man had a pink and black 55 Studebaker commander with YELLOW, black and white insides. Amazingly, He would actually take it out of the garage in the daylight and drive on public roads!
It was the 50’s and excess and gaudy was in style.
Dang. Got to the listing too late. Sold already. Love the different color combinations a lot better than the boring ones we see on the roads today. Would have gladly taken this one.
Be inclined to blow over the pink with a coral blue or similar shade green but other than that leave as-is.
THE hot color combination in the mid-50s was charcoal and pink. I remember wearing charcoal trousers with a pink shirt. It was all the rage. Pink was NOT an emasculating color. If this is the way the car came from the factory, don’t spoil it by repainting it something else. Rather, marvel at the cultural statement this car makes, and enjoy it. The factory fudged on the charcoal – using black instead. There are still quite a few mid-50s Packards around. If you want a different color combination – wait for it.
Great looking car for breast cancer awareness groups, change the black to white. Not too expensive. Very nice
i for one like the colors, but i also drive a pink and white 54 caddy. people of all ages even kids about 12 and over love the colors. it gets alot of good attention. leave the paint as is and enjoy the compilments, there will be many i know.
It’s different. I like it.
love this car
Referring to this car as having been “restored 26 years ago” is quite an overstatement. The pink over spray and black paint over the original pink in the engine compartment reflects a cheap paint job. I’d guess the car was repainted and reupholstered back in the day and that’s about all.
I like it and I own an Edsel. Any Edsel jokes coming?
No joke, just a remembrance. Edsels were cool! My swim teacher back in 1958 had a ’58 white/aqua(turquoise?) convertible. Often, she’d give me a ride home after my lesson. Man, I thought I was Hot Stuff. Me, 11 years old; her; 21 year old blonde in a white tanksuit. Lola Albright – you and your car are etched indelibly in my memories!
Those that dislike the color are the ones that would be in a Goodwill and make fun of a striped suite.
If you were too young to remember (I for one am) It WAS the style. Don’t knock it for the color it is a beautiful combo and is a time stamp of the era.
its not a dislike of any of the colors but why 3,, any 2 color combination of any of the colors would be fine, but to each his/her own,,, thats cool.
Again it was the 50’s. Enough was never enough then.
This same car was for sale near Watkins Glen NY a few weeks ago, on Craigslist.
I agree with AMCFAN. And Craig, tri-tone color combinations were quite common in the mid ’50s. If you have to ask why, don’t buy it. The question is not whether I like the colors, it’s do I want a car that truly represents mid-50s culture. For me, the answers are no and yes, in that order. No, I don’t care for the colors, but if I want a real statement of mid-50s culture, I’ve gotta love this one!
The colorblind version ain’t half bad. : )
The colours on that car appear to be White Jade, Rose Quartz, and Onyx, in descending order. While a little colour cluttered compared to today’s monochromatic plastic slabs, they actually made cars look cheery back then. Chrysler also used the Tri-tone look, on all lines save their Very top ones, i.e 300, Fury, D-500, etc. Can’t recall if the Adventurer was Single tone, but either way, they turned heads then, and cause traffic pile ups NOW. fun fun fun…
Rob
The tri color schemes were nicknamed “Neopolitan” as in the 3 flavored ice cream. I remember Ramblers and Metropolitans in those color schemes also.