1 of 400 Convertibles: 1954 Packard Caribbean
To help move away from the market’s perception of them selling luxurious, but stodgy cars, Packard introduced the Caribbean in 1953. These high-end cars were built in 1956 and would be one of the company’s finest hours (until the Studebaker-Packard merger unraveled the Packard brand). This ’54 Caribbean looks like a museum piece but some of it has been restored though the mileage is just 33,000. The seller is liquidating his/her collection, and this is one of the machines that must go. Located in Houston, Texas, this elegant drop-top is available here on eBay. The current bid is $22,100 without making much headway into the reserve.
The Caribbean got some of its styling cues from the Pan American Packard which was on display in 1952. For its first three years, your Caribbean purchase was limited to the convertible body style, but a hardtop was added in 1956. These automobiles were built in small numbers in 1954, with only 400 copies being delivered to buyers. It was powered by Packard’s 359 cubic inch “straight-engine” which was replaced in 1955 by a V8. Buying one of these fine machines would set you back more than $6,000 when new, which equates to nearly $70,000 today.
This edition of the ’54 Caribbean looks as though it has just stepped out of a time capsule. The seller believes it was repainted only once and the interior was restored with ultra-fine period-correct materials. The convertible top is the most recent replacement item. We’re told the mileage is believed to be accurate given the tightness and fit of the vehicle. It’s participated in a few car shows and often takes a trophy home for the owner.
The engine is original, but the Ultramatic transmission has been rebuilt. We’re told the 6-volt generator has been upgraded and we see two batteries instead of one in the engine compartment (the first time I’ve ever seen that). The only non-working item in the vehicle is said to be the radio. If you were looking for total perfection, you might want to have the chrome replated. For a premium automobile from the 1950s, could you do much better than the Packard Caribbean?
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Comments
Sure isn’t a barn find, but I really like seeing it. Man, what a car!
Last year for the infamous tail lights! Nance told Teague to Do something about those damn BULL NUTS lights. Reportedly Teague came up with the beautiful Cathedral tail lights in a single weekend for 55 and 56 Packard line with some variation on Clipper. This Caribbean is a true find. For me the ultimate Packard was 56 Caribbean in tri tone. For Packard enthusiasts, read LAST DAYS IN THE BUNKER. Unfortunately Packard AND aspirational names are now gone. Replaced by glorified trucks and nondescript names combining letters and numbers.
Check out the Packard REQUEST. I believe a one off with traditional Packard grille on a 55 or 56 Packard.👍 🏆
Correct. It was based on a `55 Four Hundred hardtop to answer the owners who longed for the traditional upright grille from the `30s. IMHO, it came out actually looking far better than the grille on mass produced Packards.
Also, the Packard Predictor..prototypes of what future Packards could have been..
These are way cool. 4000 miles of hydraulic lines to run the windows, seats, and top. The glove box slides out like a drawer in a furniture chest. I’m glade they rebuilt the transmission. I had an experience with one of these. If the engine is locked the converter does not slide out of the tranny so if you cannot get it to turn the engine and transmission come out together. Two giant iron masses that are as long as a city block and weigh what seems to be as much as one of the base stones of the great pyramids. I hope the grille is in good condition for that potmetal mass in today’s world will set you back your villa in Costa Rica to replace. This one’s color combo is nice. The few I met eons back were unique. The one I had to remove the driveline from was this green with a red interior, the other sky blue over red. Truly works of art but one must become one with the machine and have great patience. An old world mechanical mindset is needed for vehicles like this. I love it……
Hydraulics for the power accessories when the entire industry went to electric due to advances in tech., and to overcome leak/failure issues associated with hydraulics. They simply didn’t have the capitol.
Yes leaks and failures but electric appliances also had their issues back in the day. Maybe the thought was one pump instead of umteen motors. ( not sure it was cyclinders or motors that ran the seats and windows) Hydraulics powers the world today. Someone needed to try it. Convertible tops used it for many years.
Cadillac also used hydraulics through 55. They certainly had the cash. The rest of GM did.
2 paralleled 6v batteries, something you don’t see too often! Very pretty car.
Hi Mark. I had to put the same setup in my “54 Chevy because it was so hard to crank, worked beautifully and never had another problem.
2 paralleled 6 volt batteries do not make a 12 volt system.
2 paralleled 6 volt batteries do not make a 12 volt system. And why are you assuming there are 6 volt?
I have a 6 volt Optima like these as a spare battery for my 49 Packard. Keep it in the trunk…just in case. But if the normal 6 volt battery is kept well charged there’s no problem in getting it cranked. Looks like those 2 6 volts will fit in the old 6 volt tray on pre 55 Chevys.
One thing for sure they are not 12 volt. They look like 6 volt batteries that I remember from those days. Of course I could be corrected.
But they make a 6 volt system with twice the current.
This was the year i got my drivers license and with the license and a car I set out to visit all the car dealerships in Birmingham. This was by far my favorite car. I still have a brochure from the dealer. I hope and pray that someone buys this Packard that can actually afford it. By that I mean to keep it in a nice garage out of the weather, and not take it home and throw a tarp over it. I have seen this numerous time where people scraped all there money together to buy a car they have always dreamed of and no garage.
I wish the new owner the best of luck enjoying this car and give it the tender loving care it deserves.
For this car, Packard bored out the old straight eight one more time, to 359 cubic inches, in a desperate attempt to keep up with Cadillac in the horsepower race. Have not had any experience with these, but one man who had, told me that the factory bored these out a little too far and were prone to cracked cylinder walls.
For this car, Packard bored out the old straight eight one more time, to 359 cubic inches, in a desperate attempt to keep up with Cadillac in the horsepower race. Have not had any experience with these, but one man who had, told me that the factory bored these out a little too far and were prone to cracked cylinder walls.
Dad put two six volts in our ’53 Chrysler after carbon buildup made the engine sometimes unable to turn over. It ran on 6 volts, both batteries engaged only for starting.
Really seems like a neat idea. Just get a 12V generator, run starter off 12, everything else off 6. I’d just never thought of doing it like that!
You guys do not seem to know your electrics. You can not get 12 volts from two paralleled 6 volt batteries. They must be in series which these are not and you can not charge them with a 12 volt generator unless certain provisions are made.
On my ’49 Cadillac I went to a place in Birmingham that rebuilt batteries. I bought a 12 volt battery that they put an extra post on the battery to make it a 8 volt battery. Then I went to a starter generator shop and they adjusted the voltage regulator (remember those). I drove the Caddy for a number of years and several out of town trips and never any problems. Nothing but simplicity.
Back in the 1990’s, my brother found one of these in a barn in Arizona. He ought it for $400. It hadn’t run for many years, but all the parts were there. It took us almost a year to get back over there to pick it up, but to our chagrin, it was gone. So were the inhabitants of the farm and everything else. All we had left was the paperwork and dumb looks on our faces.
Parallel gets you amps, not volts, as some of you clearly are aware. Perhaps, as mentioned, this one is a slow cranker. Probably works the generator a little hard if you run the system down.
What a beautiful car. I love nearly all Packards of the 50s., especially the Panther. Good luck, BF, on finding one of those!
Except for the 1953-1954 lower grille, looks a lot like the Packard my father got in 1951. His had the large winged hood-ornament and P-A-C-K-A-R-D across the lip of the bonnet (hood) — dropped in 1952. The dashboard also was similar, but with three round pieces the same size — the one on the right being the clock, which always kept accurate time. His did not have the “continental” spare– but it had dual exhaust with chrome “Packard”-branded ends on the pipes under rear bumper. SPEAKING of the bumber, does anyone remember the red reflecting tape you put on your rear-bumper for night-time visability in the lumination from.a following vehicle’s headlamps? Ever try to get it OFF? By all means, repair the radio — don’t replace it!!! The 1951 had a wonderful radio that pulled-in stations from all over, even during the day, with the richest of sound and that wonderful 10 kcs. adjacent channel heterodyne whine endemic to A.M. radios back then (before starions went nuts with hyper-modulation which masked it). I can remember motoring in southern Ohio during the day, listening to KMKX from St. Louis or WLS from Chicago, or KDKA from Pittaburgh — all clearly. Try THAT on a modern car radio (good LUCK)!