I have a Packard too, one of the lasts ones. A 1955 Packard Clipper Custom Constellation. I'm a Buick guy so don't
me. But I always wanted a tri5 car and when I seen this for sale for 350 I had to buy it. It had it's engine and transmission but the engine was incomplete. It also features the torsion bar suspension self leveling suspension. Is project #2 and don't see it done for another 5 years if that because til want to do everything my self even the paint and upholstery. Well I think alot of car company's went under because the big 3, mergers, politics, and ww1 and 2. Even tho Packard had engines in boats and planes in the wars it didint have all the connections to keep it a float. Studebaker was a poor choiseto do business with.
But the day I bought this Packard was very strenuous. I was sore for a couple of days after and my lips where chapped to the point of splitting.
It was in the Mojave desert in CA. The owner had about 40 Packards on a dirt lot. He told me prior that he I would have to bring two tires because both driver side tires and rims where gone. I got thier and my plan was to jack up the car, slap on two tires call the tow man and bam. But my jack failed, I would not jack up all the way, I had even brought a piece of thick plywood with forethought that it would not jack up on dirt. So I had to think, no way I was leaving wi th out It. I had a crow bar. I always have a big hammer and crow bar because you never know when u might need it. My dad left my family when I was 14 and told me he would never come back, he wasent lying . The only thing he left where some tools and that crow bar. So I started to dig wi th the crow bar to loosen the dirt around the brakes. And dig out the loose dirt with my hands. Plan b was to dig holes big enough around both brakes to slide in wheels. By the time I had one ready I ran into another problem no wheels would fit, I brought 3. The problem was that Packard hubs have a big pin protruding to only except Packard rims. A good idea for mounting A rim. So out came the hammer. I wacked it a bout a hundred time from ' all angles till it broke off laying on my back and on my knees. Then another problem, Packard had a different size diameter to ' all my tires so all 5 lug holes wouldnt line up. And they were not the common nut type. It needed to be screwed on like a bolt. So I sorced wheel nuts from an adjacent Packard. By this time i was tired and trying to mount the tire had my arms wobbling. The best I could do was line 2/5 holes on the wheel. Then I repeated this whole thing for the other tire. Called the tow man, and the tow man got stuck he was so frustrated. But wi th his helper he got unstuck, and we towed it home. I played the old owner 350$ and he told me what the f#@# is this. I told him the ad said 350. He kicked up dirt and cussed up a storm saying that the guy who put up the add didn't to it correctly but not in those words. He wanted more, I showed him the add and luckily it was still on Craigslist after I flagged it for delatrong on multiple computers and had told my cousins and best friend to do the same, even co workers.he was mad but after he seen how hard I worked he agreed.
She sits at my mom's house as I await to buy my own home.
