I had this exact year and model car when they were pretty much laughed at, in the late 60s early 70s. I drove it from Philadelphia to Tampa when I was right out of high school. It ran like a freight train on the interstate. Sure miss that car!!
I learned to drive on this baby. Ours was granada grey. Answer to questions: Weight =4115 MSRP=3662 Horsepower=155 @ 3600rpm. Also had the highest compresion ratio in its day--7.8:1. The smooth quiet ride is unsurpassed, even by today's standards. The Ultramatic transmission had a lockup torque covnverter--30 years ahead of the inidustry. Vacuum operated windshield wipers had a vacuum storage tank to prevent "wiper slowdown" during acceleration. A Great Car is what this was and is.
The 55/56 redesign was a make over of the 51 body. Packard had by then fallen on hard times by then and didn't have the money for a completely new car. The 51 to 54 body shell is under the 55 & 56 and you can see it when the car is completely disassembled. Briggs Body was purchased by Chrysler, so Packard had to start building their own bodies and that was also complicated by the fact that they had left the East Grand Blvd plant and had moved the assembly operation to the Conner St plant..
I wasn't born when this car was built but I would love to cruise around in one of these. My dad loved the 53 Mercury Monarchs, that's another one from that era I wouldn't mind owning and driving.
The 200's were deadly for Packard. They should have been called Clippers even then and had a different look to the grill. The 200's pulled Packard down in the effort for volume, something Packard should never have been, a volume make. The 56 was great redesign, very smart looking and every bit as up to date as the Lincoln-Mercurys of the period. The 57 'Black Bess' was a test mule, it was ugly because it wasn't meant to portray the lovely models Packard actually intended to produce.
The Conner St. plant was called 'the cracker box' because it was tiny compared to the massive East Grand Blvd plant. Packard had plans to build an all new body for 57 and the show car called 'The Predictor' was shown at several auto shows. Only one mockup of a sedan was hand built and it was called 'Black Bess'. It was quite ugly and was later cut up. It was over for Packard. All Packards from 57 & 58 were dressed up Studebakers. What a sad good bye for such a grand marque.
its sad there is one sitting in my local junkyard...complete car with the packard straight eight. i wanted to go pull that motor out but it weights 1000lbs probably
When I was a kid,my next door neighbor had one that was Sky Blue &Stainless Steel fenderskirts . He traded it in for a '65 Plymouth Fury. I almost cried when I saw what he traded it for.
'54 was the last of that model, which I think is much better than the '55 & '56. They had a flathead straight 8 up to '54, which Pontiac had also 'til '54. Packard's greatest engineering feat was their Torsion-Level suspension in '55 and '56.
Briggs & Co. BUILT the bodies. They did not design them. John Reinhart and later Dick Teague designed for Packard in the post-war years, after the "bath-tub" design was allowed to stay around too long. These cars were fresh and current looking at the time, and the 51s were actually awarded the "most beautiful car" of 1951 by the Society of Motion Picture Artists. Only market pressure made Packard give up the Straight Eight. it was an outstanding engine and better than all of the early GM V8s.
It's very subjective to say the Packard straight 8 engine was "better" without qualification. Straight 8s were longer than V8s which made it harder to find room for one under a modern hood and Packard's straight 8s were over-engineered and heavier. Their old-fashioned L-head design results in an inefficient combustion chamber shape compared to a modern overhead valve design. L-heads in general are prone to overheating, but Packard engines compensated by having a larger than normal cooling and oiling system. Packard engines were, however, quiet, vibration free and rugged thanks in part to their 9 crankshaft bearings. When Packard finally did build a V8 engine, it was likewise over-built.
Most garages of the time were not large enough to accommodate these Packard 400's, something which may have affected sales. I remember that he 1951 Packard 400 was among the most luxurious automobiles of the era.
Not really true. It was 18 ft 4 in long. Most garages, even then, were 20 ft. long. It was 6.5 ft wide, nearly two inches less than the 1951 Cadillac. There were several things that affected sales, but this car was no bigger than a Buick, Oldsmobile or Cadillac. By 1951 this car was seriously dated. The straight 8 had been superseded by the V8, yet Packard clung to the straight 8 design until 1955. Packard had failed to bring out an automatic transmission until the 1950 model year, a full 10 years after Oldsmobile and 9 years after Cadillac. In only its second year, the Ultramatic transmission was still experiencing serious teething issues. The styling on this car doesn't look too bad, a little heavy-handed and overly conservative but acceptable; but it followed three years of upside down bathtub styling that had killed sales for Packard. They did not win back many fans with this car. Once lost, the fans were gone for good. Cadillac, Lincoln and Chrysler Imperial were building cars that were too compelling. Some people blame the Clipper and other "junior" Packards for cheapening the brand. I don't put a lot of stock into that theory. Chevrolet has been able to successfully sell under one brand cars as diverse in price as the Geo and the Corvette, the Nova and the Caprice. Oldsmobiles had cars as cheap as Omegas and expensive as Ninety Eights and Toronados. Cadillac brought out the cheaper La Salle, but made no secret that it was built by Cadillac craftsmen, had a Cadillac engine and was sold exclusively through Cadillac dealers. People even referred to it as a junior Cadillac. What cheapening of Packard that occurred was done by Packard itself. Before the Great Depression and WW II, Packard sold a lot of limousines, but most people has stopped hiring chauffeurs and started driving their own cars. This 1951 Packard 400 Patrician, while a nice sedan, is not a limousine. It's designed to be owner driven. Packard also stopped building the V12 models. This car with its Super 8 engine used to be the middle of the senior Packard line, but in 1951 it was top of the line. As noted in the video, the company started looking for ways to cut costs starting about this time. What really brought down Packard was a series of poor styling decisions starting in 1948, overly conservative engineering going back as far as the 1940s, and lack of funds to continue to develop two brands after the merger with Studebaker, and of course competition from other high-end brands.
dkwatib Packard seemed to be it's own worst enemy,probably something witch sadly lead to it's demise. My father drove them until about 1950 and was of the opinion that the post-war Packards were not of the same quality as the pre-war cars.I thoroughly enjoyed reading you're well researched comment, THANKS!
I had this exact year and model car when they were pretty much laughed at, in the late 60s early 70s. I drove it from Philadelphia to Tampa when I was right out of high school. It ran like a freight train on the interstate. Sure miss that car!!
I learned to drive on this baby. Ours was granada grey. Answer to questions: Weight =4115
MSRP=3662 Horsepower=155 @ 3600rpm. Also had the highest compresion ratio in its day--7.8:1. The smooth quiet ride is unsurpassed, even by today's standards. The Ultramatic transmission had a lockup torque covnverter--30 years ahead of the inidustry. Vacuum operated windshield wipers had a vacuum storage tank to prevent "wiper slowdown" during acceleration. A Great Car is what this was and is.
These are one of my favorite packard designs. They look like a british version of a hudson. Somewhere between a rolls royce and a hudson hornet.
I love this era Packard - thanks for posting.
this oldie is very pleasant to listen to
A Beauuuutiful Car!❤️
The 55/56 redesign was a make over of the 51 body. Packard had by then fallen on hard times by then and didn't have the money for a completely new car. The 51 to 54 body shell is under the 55 & 56 and you can see it when the car is completely disassembled. Briggs Body was purchased by Chrysler, so Packard had to start building their own bodies and that was also complicated by the fact that they had left the East Grand Blvd plant and had moved the assembly operation to the Conner St plant..
I would never have had an appreciation for this car were it not for this video. Thank you for preserving it forever.
Packard had a huge plant and took really good care of their workers in the past.
you are one of the lucky ones who captured the essence of Packard....Welcome my brother...
Really nice car .
Packard was a competitor to Cadillac and Lincoln in 1951.
Walter Briggs house in Deroit is up for sale......Boston Edison district, almost 10,000 sq ft.
I wasn't born when this car was built but I would love to cruise around in one of these. My dad loved the 53 Mercury Monarchs, that's another one from that era I wouldn't mind owning and driving.
The 200's were deadly for Packard. They should have been called Clippers even then and had a different look to the grill. The 200's pulled Packard down in the effort for volume, something Packard should never have been, a volume make. The 56 was great redesign, very smart looking and every bit as up to date as the Lincoln-Mercurys of the period. The 57 'Black Bess' was a test mule, it was ugly because it wasn't meant to portray the lovely models Packard actually intended to produce.
The Conner St. plant was called 'the cracker box' because it was tiny compared to the massive East Grand Blvd plant. Packard had plans to build an all new body for 57 and the show car called 'The Predictor' was shown at several auto shows. Only one mockup of a sedan was hand built and it was called 'Black Bess'. It was quite ugly and was later cut up. It was over for Packard. All Packards from 57 & 58 were dressed up Studebakers. What a sad good bye for such a grand marque.
Sweet looking car!
Top of the line!!! What a beauty. One of the best looking and driving cars of it's era.
The car was designed by John Reinhart, not Briggs. Reinhart later designed the Continental Mark ll, with the legendary Gordon Buehrig.
I own a '51 Packard...
Awesome Packard.....my dad loved his Packards ('41/'47/'49). I should have bought a Packard rather than my '40 Caddy 60S.
AMC had a 327 V8 too
Nicest of the "modern" Packard's!
its sad there is one sitting in my local junkyard...complete car with the packard straight eight. i wanted to go pull that motor out but it weights 1000lbs probably
The ropes were to aid in getting the car, much like the loop handles often found on the inside door pillars.
Walter Briggs from Detroit was at one time was also the owner of the Detroit Tigers basesball team. The stadium was callws Briggs Stadium.
It was NOT a merger. Packard bought Studebaker
Downright gorgeous car! Very stately. Colors are superb. Lucky you
Beautiful..wonder how much that chrome front grill weighed?
When I was a kid,my next door neighbor had one that was Sky Blue &Stainless Steel fenderskirts . He traded it in for a '65 Plymouth Fury. I almost cried when I saw what he traded it for.
The outer grille shell was the biggest single piece of die-cast pot metal ever made at the time. It may still be.
'54 was the last of that model, which I think is much better than the '55 & '56. They had a flathead straight 8 up to '54, which Pontiac had also 'til '54. Packard's greatest engineering feat was their Torsion-Level suspension in '55 and '56.
Does anyone know what the name of Hollywood Bob's book is called?
Briggs & Co. BUILT the bodies. They did not design them. John Reinhart and later Dick Teague designed for Packard in the post-war years, after the "bath-tub" design was allowed to stay around too long. These cars were fresh and current looking at the time, and the 51s were actually awarded the "most beautiful car" of 1951 by the Society of Motion Picture Artists. Only market pressure made Packard give up the Straight Eight. it was an outstanding engine and better than all of the early GM V8s.
It's very subjective to say the Packard straight 8 engine was "better" without qualification. Straight 8s were longer than V8s which made it harder to find room for one under a modern hood and Packard's straight 8s were over-engineered and heavier. Their old-fashioned L-head design results in an inefficient combustion chamber shape compared to a modern overhead valve design. L-heads in general are prone to overheating, but Packard engines compensated by having a larger than normal cooling and oiling system.
Packard engines were, however, quiet, vibration free and rugged thanks in part to their 9 crankshaft bearings. When Packard finally did build a V8 engine, it was likewise over-built.
Awesome looking car. Although I drive a more modern car, what I wouldn't give to be able to ride, maybe even drive, a 1951-54 Packard. :)
Most garages of the time were not large enough to accommodate these Packard 400's, something which may have affected sales. I remember that he 1951 Packard 400 was among the most luxurious automobiles of the era.
Not really true. It was 18 ft 4 in long. Most garages, even then, were 20 ft. long. It was 6.5 ft wide, nearly two inches less than the 1951 Cadillac. There were several things that affected sales, but this car was no bigger than a Buick, Oldsmobile or Cadillac.
By 1951 this car was seriously dated. The straight 8 had been superseded by the V8, yet Packard clung to the straight 8 design until 1955. Packard had failed to bring out an automatic transmission until the 1950 model year, a full 10 years after Oldsmobile and 9 years after Cadillac. In only its second year, the Ultramatic transmission was still experiencing serious teething issues. The styling on this car doesn't look too bad, a little heavy-handed and overly conservative but acceptable; but it followed three years of upside down bathtub styling that had killed sales for Packard. They did not win back many fans with this car. Once lost, the fans were gone for good. Cadillac, Lincoln and Chrysler Imperial were building cars that were too compelling.
Some people blame the Clipper and other "junior" Packards for cheapening the brand. I don't put a lot of stock into that theory. Chevrolet has been able to successfully sell under one brand cars as diverse in price as the Geo and the Corvette, the Nova and the Caprice. Oldsmobiles had cars as cheap as Omegas and expensive as Ninety Eights and Toronados. Cadillac brought out the cheaper La Salle, but made no secret that it was built by Cadillac craftsmen, had a Cadillac engine and was sold exclusively through Cadillac dealers. People even referred to it as a junior Cadillac.
What cheapening of Packard that occurred was done by Packard itself. Before the Great Depression and WW II, Packard sold a lot of limousines, but most people has stopped hiring chauffeurs and started driving their own cars. This 1951 Packard 400 Patrician, while a nice sedan, is not a limousine. It's designed to be owner driven. Packard also stopped building the V12 models. This car with its Super 8 engine used to be the middle of the senior Packard line, but in 1951 it was top of the line. As noted in the video, the company started looking for ways to cut costs starting about this time.
What really brought down Packard was a series of poor styling decisions starting in 1948, overly conservative engineering going back as far as the 1940s, and lack of funds to continue to develop two brands after the merger with Studebaker, and of course competition from other high-end brands.
dkwatib Packard seemed to be it's own worst enemy,probably something witch sadly lead to it's demise. My father drove them until about 1950 and was of the opinion that the post-war Packards were not of the same quality as the pre-war cars.I thoroughly enjoyed reading you're well researched comment, THANKS!
🦅🇺🇲🦅
It really has a class look to it, especially compared with the Cadillac. I even like the low-end Packard 200 from the high pockets years
Packard Love