Photo: Classic Auto Mall
There's one question we often come upon when covering vintage cars. That being, at what point is a classic vehicle truly beyond saving? At what point have the countless years of wear, tear, rust, and dust accumulating on one automobile made it so logistically impractical to fully restore it'd make anyone with an ounce of sanity think twice, opting to let the thing rust back into the Earth? If there were ever a litmus test for such a question, this 1955 Packard Patrician might just be the ticket.
To most younger car enthusiasts, the name Packard probably doesn't mean much. Some might not even know there was a genuine competitor to Chrysler, Lincoln, and Cadillac from a non-big-three-aligned luxury car manufacturer in the first half of the 20th century. The 1955 Packard Patrician, in particular, might not be the best vehicle to introduce a younger audience to the brand. The model came from a time when Packard had already begun its post-war spiral into irrelevancy, capped off by the axing of the moniker by the combined Studebaker-Packard group in the early 1960s, a far cry from the genuine Rolls-Royce and Bentley competitors the brand was known for before and for a short time after World War II.
By the time of the Patrician's debut in 1951, the Packard brand name had already lost much of the luster it'd spent the first half of the 20th century accumulating. Three years into the model's production run, Packard was purchased outright by the Studebaker Corporation in 1954 in a fruitless effort to keep both companies afloat. Needless to say, this strategy didn't work. But in the mid-50s, Packards still had their upsides. Fans of other mid-50s American sedans like Chevy Bel Airs and Chrysler New Yorkers would've found themselves right at home behind the wheel of this Packard. You know, before all the rust and smashed-out rear windscreen hurt the resale value a touch.
Under the hood of this especially crusty hood, at least according to the listing, lies a 352-cubic-inch, overhead-valve V8 that, although not the first OHV engine on the market, still had enough grunt to satisfy the standards of mid-50s passenger car performance. But you can't help but think that getting this particular engine, rusty and dirty fuel lines included, up and running again would be a pretty tall order, even for a skilled mechanic. The frankly tragic state of the interior does little to help affairs.
But on the other hand, it's hard to argue that there are almost none of these rare 50s Packards on the road today and that this alone merits a full restoration whenever possible, regardless of the challenges. Could you imagine how gorgeous this Packard would look with its two-tone paint corrected, its interior gutted and re-upholstered, and its engine given new life? As if doing any of that is remotely trivial, but it's fun to dream. If someone out there is nuts enough to give it a try, you can find this Packard at the Classic Auto Mall in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, for a mealy $1,000.
By the time of the Patrician's debut in 1951, the Packard brand name had already lost much of the luster it'd spent the first half of the 20th century accumulating. Three years into the model's production run, Packard was purchased outright by the Studebaker Corporation in 1954 in a fruitless effort to keep both companies afloat. Needless to say, this strategy didn't work. But in the mid-50s, Packards still had their upsides. Fans of other mid-50s American sedans like Chevy Bel Airs and Chrysler New Yorkers would've found themselves right at home behind the wheel of this Packard. You know, before all the rust and smashed-out rear windscreen hurt the resale value a touch.
Under the hood of this especially crusty hood, at least according to the listing, lies a 352-cubic-inch, overhead-valve V8 that, although not the first OHV engine on the market, still had enough grunt to satisfy the standards of mid-50s passenger car performance. But you can't help but think that getting this particular engine, rusty and dirty fuel lines included, up and running again would be a pretty tall order, even for a skilled mechanic. The frankly tragic state of the interior does little to help affairs.
But on the other hand, it's hard to argue that there are almost none of these rare 50s Packards on the road today and that this alone merits a full restoration whenever possible, regardless of the challenges. Could you imagine how gorgeous this Packard would look with its two-tone paint corrected, its interior gutted and re-upholstered, and its engine given new life? As if doing any of that is remotely trivial, but it's fun to dream. If someone out there is nuts enough to give it a try, you can find this Packard at the Classic Auto Mall in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, for a mealy $1,000.
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