Read the original Edmonton Journal article describing this 1955 Packard, its history and acquisition.
This car is a 1955, Packard Four Hundred with Ultramatic transmission, a 352 engine with 260 HP. The engine and entire powertrain is still 100% original and running fine. The original owner was John Filatoff of Lethbridge, Alberta who gave the car to his daughter in 1968 and she finally sold it to a collector in 1997.
1941 - The first two Packard-built Merlin engines to be completed were demonstrated on test stands at a special ceremony at the Packard plan in detroit on August 2, 1941.
1942 - Full production began in 1942 and by the end of World War II, 55,873 Merlins had been produced in the USA. The Army and Air Force used the engine almost exclusively in the famed P-51 Mustang, for it provided greatly improved high-altitude performance over the Allison V-1710 engine used in earlier series of the airplane. The V-1650 Merlin also replaced the V-1710 in the “F” series of the P-40. The British also used Packard-built Merlins during the last three years of the war in their “Spitfire”, “Mosquito” and “Lancaster” airplanes.
1955 - January 17 - The 55th Series Packard Patrician, 400, and, Caribbean (5580) are introduced. This is the premiere line for Packard for the year. The engine is the 352 cubic inch version that is tuned to produce 260 horsepower. Twin carburetors and other tuning adjustments take the Caribbean horsepower to 275 - the most in the industry. Twin Ultramatic is standard with the senior line. It is a unique transmission that offers two forward speeds and a direct drive type of torque converter. The 5580 chassis is 127" which results in Packard's first 127" wheelbase convertible since 1950. All three cars, the 4-door Patrician, the deluxe 400 hardtop, and the Caribbean are first-rate products. They are well designed and well made with beautiful appointments. They suffer a bit from a shortened pre-production testing program, but none of the problems proves to be "life-threatening" even after 40 years of use. Prices start at about $3,900 for the Patrician, about $4,000 for the 400 and about $6,000 for the Caribbean. Sales of the Patrician are 9,127, which make it Packard's most popular 1955 model. About 7,200 of the 400 are sold plus 500 Caribbeans.
1955 - February - Pan American Airlines brings suit against Packard for its use of the name "Clipper" and later adds the names "Pan American", "Constellation", "Panama" and "Caribbean". The suit lingers on into 1958 when the names are dropped and no longer have any value to Packard.
1955 - As the new V-8 cars are released, buyer interest rises and production rises to 55,247 units.
1955 - There is discussion about the development of a V-12 engine. On July 21, 1955, the concept is dropped.
1955 - Nance hires a new chief designer - William Schmidt from Lincoln-Mercury to replace Edward Macauley who retires almost unnoticed. Dick Teague is made director of Packard Styling, and Duncan McRae, who was recruited from Ford, is placed in charge of Studebaker Styling. McRae replaced Raymond Loewy who had a contract with Studebaker for services through 1962. To secure a release from Loewy is reported to have cost Studebaker-Packard a million dollars. It is just another case of throwing money away.
1955 - Packard changes its ad agency, dropping Maxon, whom it employed from 1953, and hiring Ruthraff & Ryan.
1955 - Production for the year 1955 closed at 55,247 of which 16,833 were upper level non-Clipper cars. The Packard Division made a profit on that level of production though total corporate losses stood at close to $30,000,000.
