A rust bucket. A rattletrap. A clunker. There are so many words to describe a pile of iron on wheels, which has become a rust bucket ages ago, but still seems to have some life left in it. This 1955 Packard Patrician Sedan, taken out of what would otherwise have been its resting place forever, is all those and something more.
But seven decades ago, this car was all the rage. It was on the cover of every car magazine in the early 1950s. Packard Motor Car Company rolled out the Patrician in 1951 in Detroit. It was a car ahead of its time. It wasn't called "Patrician" for nothing. "Patrician" is a term that defines the ruling class in Ancient Rome.
Ruling it did, too, back then. The Patrician 400 was the top of the line and came with massive brightwork all over its body, beltline included. There was plenty of chrome inside as well, while the seats were wrapped in high-grade upholstery.
The Packard Patrician also featured Wilton carpeting and hassock-style rear passenger footrest. With a list price of $3,662 (around $42,000 in today's money), it was every inch a deluxe sedan and the most expensive model in the Packard lineup.
Under the hood, there was a 5.8-liter (352 cubic inch) V8 engine, the brand's first and last, sporting a Rochester four-barrel carburetor. The sedan came with 260 horsepower and 355 pound-feet of torque, figures unmatched at the time. A Twin Ultra-Matic two-speed automatic helped put the power down.
Photo: eBay
Right now, this barn find doesn't drive, doesn't run, doesn't even dare to dream of doing it ever again. Unless someone falls in love with it and decides it is worth investing time, money, and a lot of heartache into this rust bucket. It is obvious from miles away that this car has fought the elements for seven whole decades.
In 1955, Packard only built the Patrician Sedan. And we have one right here. What is left of one, actually. The 1955 model year came out of the hands of designer Dick Teague, who drew a new modern grille, the 'Cathedral'-styled rear taillights, and hooded headlight housings.
Furthermore, it was he who came up with the idea of a two- and three-tone body. Under the layer of rust eating at every single panel of the body, the 1955 Packard hides a two-tone paintwork, with the Topaz and Agate shades being separated through a chrome line that has missing sections on the sides. "The paint is terrible," the listing reads. And we totally agree on that one.
A new dashboard layout with a bronze-like surface showed up on board in 1955, and so did the wraparound windshield. A windshield that is shattered as if a missile went right through it. As far as we know, this car has never been to a war zone, though.
Photo: eBay
Packard sold the Patrician with a starting price of $3,890, which nowadays translates to around $42,500. 9,127 cars were produced that year, and not many survived. And the one that we have right here is one of the survivors.
Rusty from bumper to bumper, with the chrome having seen better days a gazillion years ago, this Packard Patrician Sedan is halfway between the crusher and the next Concours d'Elegance. But to get there, it is going to need more than just TLC, because it is not just a plastic surgery that it needs, but also serious work on the undercarriage and interior.
That is an interior that breathed luxury ages ago. It was covered in light tan and brown doeskin. There wasn't anything more precious than that type of leather back then. Now, it can easily be peeled off, and everything seems to fall apart inside the cabin, plagued by rust as well.
Aging has got the best of that poor flooring, especially on the driver's side, where you can just see through it. Meanwhile, the trunk floor is just as bad, matching everything else around the car.
Photo: eBay
The listing claims that the X frame remains strong, and so does the torsion bar in front. The car sports drum brakes all around, but there is nothing for them left to stop.
So is it going to be the crusher or a Concours future for this 1955 Packard Patrician Sedan? The rust bucket is on sale on eBay for $1,000, listed by a dealership in Morgantown, Pennsylvania. Whoever will take it home is going to need a trailer truck and duct tape to keep the Packard together during transportation.
Right now, the only way it can turn out to be profitable is to purchase it for the $1,000 requested by the seller, put it in a museum in "as is" condition, and cash as people queue to see the rust-plagued sedan that brings back memories from the good ol’ times.
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