Packard Caribbean Convertible 1955

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Model number: 92618PK

Review of the model:

If you like I thought that the Cadillac was top of the American Motor Industry, in the first to the mid fifties. We forgot to think about the fine make of Packard! Oh yes! Packard made one of the most handsome top of the line models that even out perform the other high-end brands in the period. The name was the Caribbean and up to 1955 it only came as a convertible at a staging price tag of nearly $6,000 USD. It was not a car for every man as they only produce 500 cars in 1955. The beautiful highlight of the cars was their sparkling tri-color on the exterior as well as the interior. The most striking color-scheme is in my taste The Rose Quartz, Gray Pearl Poly and Jade White. Road Signature have the model in scale 1:18 in this lovely color, and I was lucky to get one.

When unpacking the model, you will notice that this model car is one of the early ones from Road Signature, but as usual the paint work is very fine and the chrome parts shine like the real thing. The point were the model show its age, is on the plastic parts; they are more fragile and crispy, sure due to a more low cost plastic compared to the later models. That has an impact if you chose to disassembly the model. So be cautions about the plastic, special the steering wheel and underbody parts when/if you go with an custom super detailing as me!

The advertising department of Packard has made some fantastic drawings in the brochures, where the car looks low, long and wide! But they are much exaggerated. So much that I thought that the model was way to high and short! – But no the model is perfect to size – the drawings are the cheaters!

When I buy a model car for my collection, one of the first things is to do some research on the net of the real car. This also gives me some references to see what I can improve on the model to give it a more realistic appearance. I found some photos of the real car, which shows the models interior need some paint on the linings on the doors and seats. The car comes without carpet (as always in this price segment) But I saw a guy on the net, who use the soft part of Velcro band as carpet! This model only need black carpet; this is the easiest color to find in Velcro! – hope some day to find Velcro band in more colors.

Road Signature model cars always need a new paint on their steering wheels, just as this one – Here I’m glad of my Liquid Chrome pen from Molotow as some interior parts need extra chrome paint.

As said before the chrome parts on this model is great. The front grill is marvelous casted, only the “holes” need some black paint. The big emblem in the grill gets some gold paint on the V-shape wings.  I most give high-five to Road signature; the headlights is outstanding good, only the directional-lights and courtesy light on the side of the car need white paint over the chrome.

The wheels are always good on those models from this maker, and if you look carefully on the center of the hubcaps emblem and text is shown. The wheels themselves are wire wheels, but Road Signature has made them solid with spokes molded in. But its easy to give the wheels a more realistic looks - with a help of black paint. The tires are well made with white walls.

If we go back to the rear end of the model car, the first things that strike you is the fantastic well designed Cathedral shape tail-lights one of the hallmarks of the Packard Caribbean. Seldom the taillights from Road Signature, comes with real red plastic, but the over painted red on chrome look very realistic. This is also the case on this model. Backing lights had white paint applied here and the holes on the exhaust pipes where black painted.

The deck lid to the trunk can not be opened on this model. The doors have the old fashioned dog-leg type hinges, but when closed the doors have no ugly gabs the same can be said on the hood – it opens fine and have no severe gaps when closed. (Remember this is more seen on a light color model than a darker one)

The engine compartment is a bit sparse, but can be super detailed if one chooses. The parts are very plastic looking, but new paint and wires can make the difference.

I know in scale 1:24 Danbury Mint  make some fantastic models of the 1956 Caribbean but if you are willing to spend some hours on the model from Road Signature it come close – to a fraction of the cost if you go all the way on this model, one thing are for sure, it will stand out in your collection.
 

I will give this model 3 out of 6 stars  ******

Below here are pictures of the model, historical description, old brochures, technical data and some movie clips for the real car. So please enjoy!

History:

1955 Packard Caribbean
By Thomas A. DeMauro and others

The Packard Caribbean was a personal luxury car produced by the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan, during model years 1953 through 1956. Some of the Caribbean's styling was derived from the Pan American Packard show car of the previous year. It was produced only as a convertible from 1953 to 1955, but a hardtop model was added in its final year of 1956.

In 1955 model names and series positions were shuffled once again. Two-door offerings from most affordable to most opulent included the Clipper Super, Clipper Panama, Clipper Custom Constellation and Packard Four Hundred--all hardtops--and the Caribbean convertible.

Following the ever-present lower, wider, longer theme that characterized the 1950s, chief stylist Richard Teague's sleek exterior modernization included a wall-to-wall grille, heavily hooded headlamps and a front bumper featuring an air intake and bulbous guards. The grille trim wrapped around the fenders to flow into the side trim.

Interior appointments and exterior trim were also revised and generally varied with each model, and multi-tone paint treatment choices seemed more prevalent than ever.

The Caribbean however, received new quarter panels with a chrome simulated air intake at the leading edge behind the door and tall cone-shaped tail lamps that filled in the ends of the fins and had backup lamps under them. Also new was the better integrated rear bumper that featured pass-through for the tailpipes. Body trim, the grille texture and the wraparound parking lamps were also different from the Clippers'. The Clippers were now 214 13/16 inches long and the Packard Caribbean was 217 7/16 inches. Width was 78 inches.

Packard's highly-anticipated overhead-valve V-8 finally came to fruition. The 352-cu.in. V-8 produced 275hp in the Caribbean and had a dual exhaust. The engine had an 8.5:1 compression ratio and employed four-barrel carburetors--the Caribbean actually had two carburetors.

A new Twin Ultramatic transmission featured a two-stage torque converter and retained direct drive. It was standard in the Caribbean . The electrical system was also upgraded, to 12 volts.

The 127-inch wheelbase was maintained for Packards (the Caribbean had it for the first time)  New Torsion Level Ride was innovative, replacing the coil/leaf springs with torsion bars. Direct-action shocks were retained and anti-roll bars were also employed front and rear to aid in reducing body lean in cornering. A Load Levelizer unit was mounted on the frame to level the car when a load change was detected. .

The Packard Caribbean had 12-inch brakes and 15 x 6 wheels with 8.00 x 15 tires. In 1955 hit 60 mph from rest in 11.5 seconds and almost floated over the worst possible surfaces, including railroad tracks. (Packard delighted in displaying the difference between its Patrician sedan and a Cadillac, filmed tackling a notorious rail crossing in downtown Detroit.) At last, Nance had a styling/engineering package that fit his idea of what a Packard should be.

It certainly suited the Caribbean, which now rode a more competitive 127-inch wheelbase, made possible by a modern miracle called plastic tooling. This not only took half the time and cost out of the tooling process but permitted, as product planner Roger Bremer said, "the production of a complete line of cars that would not have been possible by conventional methods."

Instead of short and chunky Buick rivals, Packard now had long and glitzy Cadillac competitors. For the first time, a Caribbean could look an Cadillac Eldorado in the eye and beat it in a drag race.

Production was limited to 500 Caribbeans, which cost $5,932 – again nearly $2,000 more than a 1955 Cadillac convertible.
 

                                                                                                                                                    Technical specification:

Production 1955

Body style: 2-door convertible

Powertrain:
Engine 352CID Dual 4-bbl. 275 hp V8

Dimensions
Wheelbase 127 in (3,226 mm)
Length 218.5 in (5,550 mm)
Width 78 in (1,981 mm)
 

Old brochures of the car

Video of the real car from YouTube

If you have any question or comment your are free to contact me at: aeronautic@stofanet.dk

Dealers are welcome to get their models reviewed too.

Aeronautic Aug. 2018

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