I believe we are approaching the 60th anniversary of the last Packard (built in July, 1958?). Is there any record of that car; where it went, or if it still exists?
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A member of our Packard Club region told me the car still exist in a private collection, he saw it in person. He related that its quite rundown, in need of restoration. He wouldn't say who has it though, apparently the owner still has intentions to restore it.
If any photos were taken that day, July 25, 1958, of the last one coming off the assembly line, I've yet to see them.
Steve -
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I remember watching the "Today Show" on NBC when they reported the last Packard. It showed what appeared to be a black colored car but those were the days of black & white tv so it could have been the dark blue car. Perhaps the archives of NBC would still have that report?59 Lark wagon, now V-8, H.D. auto!
60 Lark convertible V-8 auto
61 Champ 1/2 ton 4 speed
62 Champ 3/4 ton 5 speed o/drive
62 Champ 3/4 ton auto
62 Daytona convertible V-8 4 speed & 62 Cruiser, auto.
63 G.T. Hawk R-2,4 speed
63 Avanti (2) R-1 auto
64 Zip Van
66 Daytona Sport Sedan(327)V-8 4 speed
66 Cruiser V-8 autoComment
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The last Packard badged vehicle was most likely a truck!Comment
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That could be correct. I don't think anyone has gone through 1958 truck production orders as of yet to see how many were made, but the do exist: http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.c...ight=argentinaOriginally posted by stude dude View Post
CraigComment
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Has anyone contacted the "Today Show" archive to see if that footage is still available?
SteveComment
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"This may be the last Packard badged vehicle.... In 1958 a former Packard distributor in Argentina, unable to import Packards yet franchised to do so obtained a one-time permit from the Peron government to import a quantity of Packard trucks. Of course there had not been any Packard trucks since 1923. An easy solution was to apply the Packard name to a quantity of Transtar trucks. These were 3E12D-122 4WD 3/4 ton trucks with the 259 V8, 4 speed transmission, 2 speed transfer case and winch. It is unknown how many were built but at least one survives, turning up on eBay a couple of years ago." - from an entry in the Studebaker Addicts (International) group on Facebook, earlier today. Coincidence?Comment
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Imagine showing up at all Packard meet in a 1958 Packard pickup!Gary L.
Wappinger, NY
SDC member since 1968
Studebaker enthusiast much longerComment
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I've never seen the T.E. Florez ad before. Interesting! And while it doesn't really depict what was apparently built, truth in advertising wasn't quite as regulated or litigious then as it is today.KURTRUK
(read it backwards)
Nothing is politically right which is morally wrong. -A. LincolnComment
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The Packard pickups are a mixture of real data, intriguing hints, speculation (including by me), incorrect conclusions, and misinformation. Clearly, some number of Packard trucks were built/assembled in one bunch some time in 1956-58 and shipped to Argentina. One is pictured in situ in the link/thread that Craig provided in post #6. However, exactly when they were assembled, how many were really built, and how they were equipped remains a mystery. The front wheel in the picture in the 2015 thread looks like a 3/4-ton Budd wheel, but it must be realized that the wheels and tires on many export trucks were provided locally.Originally posted by JGK 940 View Post
Here are a few relevant excerpts from the Stude truck history on the main SDC web site. “The 1957 production data sheets show an adjustment of minus 48 units ‘reported built in 1956, later cancelled’. The 1958 production data sheets also show a minus 48 entry with the note ‘Argentina cancellation’. These were presumably the Studebaker pickups that were ordered by a Packard dealer in Buenos Aires, but subsequently cancelled because he was not able to obtain a license to import Studebakers. They eventually were produced in 1958 as Packard pickups, perhaps the only ones in the world. Since these were CKD units, the word ‘built’ presumably meant that they had been assembled and crated for shipment in response to a firm order. But when the order was cancelled, they had to be subtracted from the ‘built’ category. Otherwise, why Studebaker would record these as being built if they hadn’t actually been built is a mystery.”
[1959] 4E-series export production . . . “included 144 1958-model 3E7s. [Some or all of] these 3E7s were probably the 1958 Packard pickups discussed above, ordered in 1956, but not actually delivered until 1959. Presumably they were assembled and crated in 1956, set aside or uncrated in 1958 when the order was cancelled, reassembled with new hoods and tailgates marked Packard, and re-crated and shipped in 1959.”
“The 3E-series Packard pickups present an intriguing mystery. First, although Hall and Langworth present a plausible explanation for the existence of such a vehicle, at this late date there is no way to really verify the details of their original production, supposed revisions, and eventual sale. Second is the fact that factory publicity photographs exist of a 1958 ¾-ton, 4WD Packard pickup, model 3E12D-2227, that is equipped with a special front bumper, tow hooks, and winch. However, the aforementioned 144 ½-ton 3E7s were neither 4WD nor were they ¾-ton 3E12s, so it’s possible that they were not the Packard pickups shipped to Argentina. If they weren’t, then their export customer is unknown. In his history of the 3E-series trucks, Fred Fox includes production numbers for 3E-series 4WD trucks that were developed by an analysis of individual production orders by another party. This summary shows that 32 model 3E11D and another 32 model 3E12D pickups were built for export, presumably to Argentina. This was an unusually large number of 4WD trucks to be built for export in a single year, and does lend plausibility to the claim that the 3E pickups shipped to Argentina were ¾-ton, 4WD units like the one pictured in the publicity photo. Unfortunately, there’s no way to verify these numbers, as Studebaker’s 1958 3E-series production records do not separately break out 4WD production in that year, and only show nine model 4E11Ds and 21 model 4E12Ds built in 1959. None of these 4WD trucks are identified as being previous-year 3E-series trucks (which the Packard pickups supposedly were). Given the above, it’s entirely possible that the 3E12D Packard pickup shown in the publicity photo was a one-of-kind, B/U unit produced for publicity and photography purposes – and may be the ‘Truck Pilot Job’ produced in December 1957.”
It is known that Studebaker often used the same single truck for years at a time as a mule on which to hang a variety of proposed or optional hardware so that publicity photos of it could be taken from all angles. The Packard pickup in the publicity photo might have been a real Stude 4WD, ¾-ton pickup, temporarily equipped with all the extras shown – but might not be one of the Packard trucks actually shipped to Argentina. Until one of us goes through all of the 56-58 truck production records, we may never know.Skip LackieComment
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As for the last Packard cars
you will find information and copies of the production orders in my Almanac column for August 2002. See below.
Richard Quinn
Editor emeritus: Antique Studebaker ReviewComment
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I thought it got destroyed in some civil uprising: http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.c...bers&styleid=1Originally posted by 56H-Y6 View Post
CraigComment
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