This 1955 Packard Patrician is Packard’s top of the line 4 door sedan, a luxurious and powerful car! It’s loaded with features – 352 cubic inch V-8, 4 barrel carburetor, Twin-Ultramatic transmission, Power Steering, Power Brakes, Power Windows, Power seat, Radio, Power antenna, Tinted Glass, and torsion bar load leveler suspension. And, the delightful thing about this car is that all of those things work properly!
A good looking car, with a recent paint job, and a very thick file of restoration receipts. It’s an original California delivery car, sold new in San Diego.
The load leveler feature deserves a special note – this car’s load leveller system works exactly as it should. If you’re not familiar with the system, all 4 wheels have a torsion bar, which is connected to a very large electric motor. The car senses load imbalances, and adjusts front and back to keep the car level. So, let’s say you have to put some really heavy items in the trunk, the car will still ride level. Another benefit of the system is the suspension is both firm and really comfortable at the same time, and it handles road irregularities beautifully.
Note the black California license plate. The tail lights are in nice shape, as is the center emblem.
Nice! The tires on this car are very recent radial whitewalls.
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Here’s a video of the car in operation!
The former owner lavished a lot of effort and expense on this car.
One of the things he didn’t do was to plate the front bumper, which I think could use some attention.
Here’s the 352 Cubic inch V-8, with 4 Barrel carburetor. It runs great – quiet, smooth, with excellent oil pressure and quiet lifters, an important thing to look for in these V-8 Packards.
The engine bay is reasonably clean but not show detailed. Ivory is the correct color for 1955 Packard Engines.
All as it should be ! Mechanically this car is great, with everything operational. The brakes were recently and completely redone, including rebuilt power booster, wheel cylinders, hoses, brake linings and springs to the tune of $1,500 !
The interior is beautiful, done in the original brocade, purchased from SMS auto fabrics. The fabric is bright, brilliant and exactly correct, and the seat foam was redone too – it’s a very comfortable car to sit in and drive! The plain sections are done in vinyl.
Beautiful dashboard, bright, clear gauges, and everything works, too! Ok, the clock doesn’t work, but that’s the only thing that doesn’t.
Wow that dashboard is pretty!
Excellent back seat and doorpanels
Here’s another view of the back seat and doorpanel. Note the backside of the front seat is the original, it shows the slightest bit of discoloration.
Beautiful emblem on the roof
Looks really nice and correct!
Nice!
Nice!
If you dial BE-4-3261, will anyone at Kettner Packard answer? You’ll note the paint was done on the doorjambs. The former owner stripped the chrome and parts from the car in order to have it painted, so the details are nice. The paint job is a decent quality single stage finish – very nice, but not a $10,000 show paint job. I noted a couple of chips here and there, but overall the paint looks very nice, and the fact that it was done with all the chrome and trim removed really makes it nicer.
The rear bumpers are shiny, but the chrome shows some age. I think it’s the original plating.
In short – a nicely done car ready for adventure. It’s not a show car, but it’s very nice, correct, and totally operational!