58 Packard H/T parts car

[kmul221]

There's a 58 Packard H/T on Ebay at present,appears to be a parts car.
Rare & getting rarer----Ebay # 4580239455

[52hawk]

The 'do not open' on both doors tells me it probably is too rusty to restore. One of these in good shape would be a dream car!! This is a sad sight.Power windows too. Maybe someone here can tell us,were the Packards ever referred to as 'Starlights' ???

Home of the Almostahawk

[55s]

Kevin:

Scary, but a TWIN Packard hardtop is now also posted. Different States. The twin seems to be more solid, although called a parts car.

Paul

[Blue 15G]

They both appear to be shot, but I like them both! Is this hobby of ours a sickness, or what?

[Roscomacaw]

I found out about one of these that's currently in probate after it's owner was murdered![:0] In his estate is also a '58 President hardtop as well as the '58 Packard hardtop.[]


About 6 years ago I was given one of these hardtops for FREE along with a '58 Packard 4-door. I was 300 miles from where they set when the guy told me they were mine for the taking. Both were 100% complete and had run when parked some years before. I even have a photo that a Stude friend from that area took of them after I asked him to go see if the cars were really there!
It was TWO days before I could get down there with a truck and trailer (And I told the guy it would take me two days to round up a trailer and come collect them). But in that time, some guy came by and snapped up both of them. Told the property owner, he thought he could make a neat cusstom out of the two!

I was HOT! I asked the property owner why he'd let them go when I SPECIFICALLY asked that they be mine and he'd agreed. His answer was: "I didn't know if you were really gonna show up or not."[xx(]

Miscreant at large.

1957 Transtar 1/2ton
1960 Larkvertible V8
1958 Provincial wagon
1953 Commander coupe
1957 President 2-dr
1955 President State
1951 Champion Biz cpe
1963 Daytona project FS

[studegary]

quote:Originally posted by 52hawk

The 'do not open' on both doors tells me it probably is too rusty to restore. One of these in good shape would be a dream car!! This is a sad sight.Power windows too. Maybe someone here can tell us,were the Packards ever referred to as 'Starlights' ???

Home of the Almostahawk

I do not recall them ever being referred to as Starlights. I think that the 1958 Studebaker hardtops were, but not by Studebaker. In front of me is the large S-P showroom picture of a 1958 Packard hardtop. It does not say Starlight. On the front, the label/caption states; "The Packard Hardtop." It depicts a red and white hardtop, the same as the one that I owned for nine years. I went up a couple of flights of stairs and checked the S-P 1958 "Salesman's Data Book." That book refers to the model as; "The Packard Hardtop."

Power windows were available on 1958 S-P models, except for Scotsman. The strange part is that you could get power windows for the front windows only or for all four windows. This applied to sedans, wagons and hardtops. By hardtops, I mean the hardtop sedan model that we are referring to and not a Hawk. I have seen many '58 Packard hardtops, but I do not recall ever seeing another one with power windows. My '58 Packard hardtop had the optional all-vinyl interior. I never saw another with that interior, but I did see that interior that had been removed from a parts car.

I have seen many cars that were so rusty that the doors didn't work and were later restored. One in particular was a friend's Speedster. When he tried to open the driver's door, the outer door skin just peeled off. I took the 259 apart and the engine looked excellent inside with 200K miles on it. This car was later a show winner, national first - I believe.

[Studedude1961]

I have seen a factory photo of a 1958 Packard Hardtop, shot from the back at a 1958 auto show, with a license plate that says "Starlight" but they were not marketed as Starlights as far as I know.

Studedude1961
--1963 Cruiser

[56H-Y6]

Hi
On Ebay the'58 Packard hardtop in Mass. looks to be an ambitious restoration project, but worth doing. It's listed under Parts Cars, the seller sent photos taken recently, request some if interested. it is serial no. 58L-7141, body no. 425
Hope someone will save it!
Regards
Steve