Here is the ignominious end to one of America’s most prestigious Marques – the Packard. This 1958 “Sedan” as the Packard brochure so named it, and also known officially as Model 58L, was the last model that the storied auto builder assembled. Unfortunately, it was more a tarted-up Studebaker than it was a Packard but I must say, wow, check out this car’s condition – it’s in magnificent condition! Hailing from Ocoee, Florida, this spectacular specimen is available, here on craigslist for $25,958.
The 1950s were an incredibly competitive time for the American automobile business. The BIG three, GM, Ford, and Chrysler were kicking hindsides and taking names – they were ascendant. Lesser manufacturers sought refuge in mergers. The year 1953 saw Kaiser and Willys joining forces. The following year, American Motors was born as the result of a lash-up between Nash and Hudson. Also pursuing the urge to merge in 1954 was the formation of the Studebaker-Packard Corporation. Within four years, the Packard part would be gone. Packard assembled about 2,000 model 58Ls in ’58, 1,200 were four-door sedans such as our subject car while the remainder were either two-door hardtops or station wagons.
Depending on your perspective, this four-door sedan is either a beautiful example of late ’50s excess or so ugly that it’s way cool. The seller tells us that this Packard is from a collection and is being sold on consignment. The listing goes into some pretty specific detail about the car, as it sits, but it doesn’t elaborate on its past and what may or may not have been done to it. The listing does state, “Paint is P-5818 Canyon Copper Polyurethane” which makes me think it’s a repaint in the original shade. The extensive stainless trim and obvious chrome bits proclaim this car’s era but it’s the depth of the Canyon Copper finish that really caught my attention – and I don’t even like brown!
Power is courtesy of a 225 gross HP, Studebaker 289 CI V8 engine. Buried halfway through the listing is, “This vehicle is on consignment from a very large collection of vehicles. They are being sold as museum-quality cars which means they may not run or drive and may not have run or driven in numerous years. The vehicles are in a condition where they would be on display in a museum. As museum pieces, we were required to disconnect or remove batteries and drain fuel tanks. Once again, these vehicles have not been driven or even started in quite some time“. Sooo, maybe it runs and maybe it doesn’t – there is no mileage recording so it’s not possible to make a determination about the engine’s likely condition. A “Flightomatic” automatic transmission makes the rear wheel connection.
The interior’s upholstery, headliner, and carpet are very presentable, and attractive, though the lower portion of the door panels are showing some discoloration. I have to say that the instrument panel is a bit pedestrian, not quite what I expected in a Packard but I imagine cost containment was front and center with Packard’s engineers and marketeers in ’58. Of note, this sedan is A/C equipped, it has an under-dash “Frigiking” cooler installed.
It’s sad to realize how far Packard had fallen by the time that this example saw the light of day. Considering the turn of events, it’s probably best that Packard closed its doors when it did as opposed to dragging out the inevitable and further sullying its legacy. Fortunately, there are still a few examples, such as this spectacular 58L, in existence so we can still experience what was a challenging, trying but exciting time for American motoring, right?
It’s so weird, I like it.
As many Kustom cars that used 58 Packard taillights Im surprised there are any Packards with them left.
`56 was actually the first year for these taillamps. LOL–there weren’t enough `58’s built to steal them from!!
Studebaker sold Packard to The USSR. The Russians rebadged the Patrician as the “Chaika 13”, with the same body style up until the early 1980’s. They were the most feared and hated cars to people who lived behind the iron curtain (“What would you do if the driver was looking at YOU…. And what would you say, if he were pulling up YOUR way?”
I don’t believe that is correct. The GAZ Chaika resembled Packards, but neither Packard nor the dies or parts were sold to USSR. You can Google this. Like many products sold in the Soviet Union/Russia back then, and China in more recent years, they were copies of other company’s products.
I was thinking the same thing, Slantasaurus. So many customs with the ’58 Packardbaker taillights and also from the ’54 Packard, I believe. Maybe it’s ’56.
Maybe the customizers used up the OEM.
Just about everyone puts these down. I like it, especially in the 2 door coupe style. Catfish front-end, looks like to me. And Packard went out with Dagmars! Can’t beat that.
Studebaker sold Packard to The USSR. The Russians rebadged the Patrician as the “Chaika 13”, with the same body style up until the early 1980’s. They were the most feared and hated cars to people who lived behind the iron curtain (“What would you do if the driver was looking at YOU…. And what would you say, if he were pulling up YOUR way?”
Objectively, this is a monstrosity but it’s a well-preserved example of Packard’s final year of official availability, so… yeah, it’s collectible, even on that basis.
Personally, to me Packard production ceased with the ’56 models, but this is worth something, I guess.
It’s interesting that with such an outlandish exterior treatment, the interior is pretty conservative on the dash. I do like the trippy upholstery.
To me it looks like a kustom you would see in the car magazines of that era.
“This is the end, my only friend, the end”,,THAT guy had some demons( Jim Morrison) What this is, is a last gasp effort to stay afloat, throwing everything they had from the “parts bin” at it,,but too late. We’ve been over and over the demise of Packard, and this only shows the desperation. They tried every angle, V8, 4 headlights, A/C,( not sure original, FrigiKing was an aftermarket company) electric wipers,(added later?) some sort of vacuum unit that may indicate troublesome air ride, even supercharging,, by any other name it should have been a hit. The buying public is a finicky and then, loyal bunch who for some silly reason would buy a Chevy with HALF the options, because their daddy had Chevys. I feel, a Studebaker/Packard was one of the best cars offered, most with quality aftermarket parts. People missed out on a really great car here and for 5 figures, the average person may never get to see how nice.
And another thing. The styling always hits a nerve today. Oh, clever ones have such cute names trying to express their displeasure, “hideous”, “what were they smokin”, and such. I say, look back at what the other car companies offered. Chrysler? Buick? Good heavens, EDSEL? This, like Beatle boots, was the style at the time, and I think it, like all Studebakers are beautiful, even the Avanti,,kind of.
I love these………theres a packard Hawk i see once in a great while by me,but ive never been able to find out wheres it owner lives
Poor Packard. Bad management, bad mergers, weird styling choices, and an ignominious end.
Hey! It’s got an Audiovox FM Converter!
Ha! I saw that too. That was one of the 1st things your 1st paycheck at the new job went for. A hot lead to the fuse box, the antenna lead to the AM, ( most were readily accessible then), tune the AM to, 1090, I think, VOILA! Instant tunes. Music that never dared come out of grandpas AM radio, AND it went from car to car. Well worth the $19.95 price tag. Those chrome wheels would have to wait.
Beautiful looking car. It’s a shame the company was to end after this. They produced some great cars over the century.
that is one ugly catfish front end – right up there with the Daimler 250sp…
Exactly what I was thinking of a comparison. I also note that the rear view, minus the fins, looks like a 56 Chevy.
‘Tarted up Studebaker’ is not exactly the description I would have used. This had to be designed by committee with no one taking open credit for the design…and for good reason. Yikes, how any business could survive this sort of decision-making. Of course this should be preserved….just like the skeletons of Burke and Hare in Edinborough’s Medical School.
When you get down to it, though, everything but the front clip and the tailfins is basically Studebaker.
I think these last gasp ’58 Packards are horrendous. The front end looks like a platypus. This is a nice example of truly ugly car.
I agree. It reminds me of my ’57 Belvedere in profile, but that’s as far as it goes. I couldn’t (and still can’t) understand why anyone would design a car with headlights and grill that looked like somebody was bemoaning the terrible loss of something or was a fan of some long extinct deep ocean fish species with a gaping mouth, bulging eyes and double tail fins.
I can appreciate it for what it is. I just would have a hard time looking at it in the garage.
Yes it’s ugly but should be preserved as a part of history. Fact only 1200 made in 1958 and only 800 2door. For the car history fans I would love to see them in person
Interesting to me anyway is that Packards last car had a Stude engine but Canada continued to put Packard engines in their cars. What were the differences between the two V8s? Anybody?
As far as I can remember the only Studebaker that ever used the Packard V8 was the ’56 Golden Hawk.
I remember the Studebaker V8 had an unusual six head bolts per cylinder design, whereas most engines have four or five. And, the Studebaker’s valve covers were held in place with two studs extending up from the rocker arm supports. On the Packard they had bolts running down through the covers’ outer gasket flanges.
Another difference is some Studebaker V8s had a supercharger. Some Packard V8s had dual four barrel carbs. But, neither brand had the other’s option.
The Studebaker engine R4 option had 2x 4 barrels. The 58 was a good Studebaker but not a good Packard. I did not care for the style but that is my choice others may like it.
Thse are not really sought after by Studebaaker collectors. The 64 Daytona imo is a much better buy than this. Look at the 64 build order to see how well it is equiped.
I don’t know about the Packard V8s, but my 54 2d Studebaker coupe had a 62 Hawk V8 in it. My understanding is that, in comparison with the Chevy 283 and the Ford 289, the Stude 289 had almost 50% more swept bearing area, a much heavier crankshaft, and could be bored out to 0.090 without issue. The only problem with it was the small oil drain holes in the heads that could result in a quart of oil in each valve cover, which of course shortens the life of the stem seals. I had the heads redone and installed new special stem seals (they were caps and the guides had to be slightly ground to accept them) and had the valve guides knurled. Some owners installed external drains in the valve covers that went directly to the oil pan. Great engine otherwise.
Packard should have stayed with what they did best. Luxury cars, trying compete with Ford and GM was their downfall.
Both engines were designed before the merger and had very little in common, beyond what everybody copied from the Cadillac and Oldsmobile engines. The Studebaker V8 was famously handicapped by its too-close bore centers. Their engineers thought octane would increase indefinitely, so they could upgrade power through compression and never have to worry about increasing displacement. They maxed out at 289 ci. Packard’s smallest V8 was the 320 in the ’55 Clipper; their biggest was 374, and the block had the capacity to go to 500.
The Studebaker V8 was increased to 304 cubic inches in the 1960s.
The Avanti still looks really good to me, a timeless design, look at the prices the similar Ferrari’s and other exotics from the 60’s and ’70’s are fetching and the Avanti was a true four seat grand touring car in the best of the British and European traditions, but better, at least in North America, because 4 people fit with their luggage, it was powerful enough, reliable, and, if it broke down, you could get it fixed.
It was a race to the sheet metal shop and Chrysler Corp and Studebaker-Packard had a tie. They had to split the stockpile of tail fins for some creative adaptability–Chrysler stuck them on the Dodges and you can see what Studebaker-Packard did with the ones they got.
A face only a mother could love.
With most new cars looking like a melted bar of soap, I find this car very appealing in a Picasso kind of way.
OK,OK,OK so I’m the dunce who loves it “UGLINESS 4 doors and all and all. Problem is the Daytona that is listed is far more affordable on my military pensioners…Would to love having my 92nd BD with this in my garage..
Responding to Vince H: Thank you for the clarification on the R4. I hadn’t been aware of any Studebaker V8s with dual carbs. We really do learn something every day.
Some R4 info: R4 engine was 1964 only and had no relationship to the 2×4 carb Packard engine. It was a hand built engine built in California, not a regular South Bend production line engine. Very few R4 cars were sold to the public (reportedly only about 8).
The Packard and Studebaker V8s had considerable differences: production spans, physical sizes, bore spacings, displacements, number of cylinder head bolts, valve cover designs, etc. Quite a few differences between them.
Howard,
It was Monkee boots, not Beatle.
And around the same time there were Desert Boots also.
Yet in the mid 1960s I remember seeing ads for Ringos, which were boots named after Ringo.
Actually having grown up at that time in history, there were Beatle Boots and Dingo Boots, not monkee boots.
It’s a 1958 model car painted in Polyurethane, and you “think” it might be a repaint. I can assure you it would be.
Rick & Azzura;
Not going to argue the point. It could be a demographic thing. In the mid 60s I was on the east coast by NYC. The targeted age group, 13 thru 16.
It’s shocking how badly Packard dropped the ball, starting during the war. They made piles of money building Merlins, but must have done no planning for after hostilities. Kaiser pivoted from building Liberty ships to a clean-sheet car in a factory that had never made cars before, Studebaker had fresh bodywork barely a year after VJ Day, GM had fresh bodies for Cadillac and Olds for ’48 and Ford had the Shoebox for ’49, which didn’t even have vestigial separate fenders. The ’48 Packards looked like what they were, ’47s with the space between front and rear fenders filled in awkwardly. Packard was caught flat footed–and flat headed for that matter. They were last to the market with their own OHV V8, and the ’55s were full of bugs. If those cars had come out working as advertised, it may have been a much happier ending. They sold decently, but if you “asked the man who owned” a ’55, you wouldn’t buy a ’56, and not many did.
There’s a stunning black 1958 Packard station wagon in “Hearts in Atlantis”.