Orphan of the Day, 05-25, 1954 Packard Caribbean

[8E45E]

Craig

[BobPalma]

'Looks suspiciously like the St. Joseph County [IN] 4H Fairgrounds, Craig!

It would be interesting to know the ownership history of that specific car. They built exactly 400 1954 Caribbeans. My father's oldest brother, Joseph Palma Jr., owned one of them in that exact color combination for 2 or 3 years in the mid-1950s. Both he and his wife are deceased and family records do not include anything to do with the car save one color photograph of his sister Libby's driveway in LaPorte IN with the car in it circa 1955:



Given the low overall production number, lower yet for that specific color combination, and the geography involved (central United States, per Uncle Joe's residence and the car's current Tennessee license plate), odds aren't too bad that the subject Caribbean in your above post may have been the car "Uncle Joe" owned, Craig.

But we'll likely never know unless the car's current owner has an ownership history back to the 1950s. (AFAIK, Uncle Joe bought the car as a one-year-old used car in the Chicago area; he did not buy it from his Packard-dealer brothers, Dad and Milton, although he did buy several cars from them "downstate" while they were in business.)

(BTW: The 1948 (or '47; not sure) Continental Convertible also in the driveway was the mid-1950s "driver" for their youngest brother, Jerry. About nine years after the driveway photo was taken, "Uncle Jerry" was the salesman at Snider Studebaker in Indianapolis who "sold" cousin George D. Krem the to-become-famous Plain Brown Wrapper! BP

[Jeff_H]

Thanks a cool photo Bob. I expect the reason it was taken was those ominous looking storm clouds in background. The low camera angle with the sun on the house and dark clouds behind is rather dramatic. Hopefully that antenna mast (ham radio?) didn't attract any lightning....

[BobPalma]

Thanks a cool photo Bob. I expect the reason it was taken was those ominous looking storm clouds in background. The low camera angle with the sun on the house and dark clouds behind is rather dramatic. Hopefully that antenna mast (ham radio?) didn't attract any lightning....

Actually, Jeff; the reason the photo was taken was that it was the just-completed, brand-new home (typical of 1950s "ranch" homes in the midwest) of Lucian ("Uncle Buster") and Libby Currier, my aunt and uncle. Libby is the younger of the two girls in the Palma family; Louise was the older of the two and is George D. Krem's mother.

Note the lack of landscaping, muddy, unpaved drive, and other hints that the home has just been built.

The other four children in the Palma family were all boys. They were, in order, Joseph Jr. (his Caribbean), my father Lumir (the Packard dealer), Milton (partner in the Packard dealership) and the youngest, Jerry, who was about 20 years old when this picture was taken.

Obviously, Jerry was also visiting the new home, having driven his Continental, and Uncle Joe was there with his Caribbean. You're right about the storm clouds; we are certainly aware of what they might portend as we read the latest news from the far midwest...yipes! BP

[65cruiser]

If those cars are in fact the same, that would be too cool.

[BobPalma]

If those cars are in fact the same, that would be too cool.

All we have to know, Mark, is how many 1954 Caribbeans were painted that combination. If, say, 50 were that combo, that would make the odds 1 in 50...but the odds would actually be better than that, since geography should be a factor.

To wit: A car with that color combination photographed in LaPorte IN in 1955 and currently registered in Tennesee would be more likely the same car than if, say, the restored car was registered in Oregon and the 1955 photograph was taken in rural Virginia. BP

[65cruiser]

Is that a keylock in the center of the hubcap located on the Continental kit?

[BobPalma]

Is that a keylock in the center of the hubcap located on the Continental kit?

Good question. Probably, but I don't know for sure. Others? BP

[paintim613]

Packard Caribbeans and Buick Skylarks for '53 and/or '54 are on my dream car short list.

[Bill Pressler]

To this day, I can't see one of those early Continentals without thinking of Bette Davis, looking drunken and disheveled, driving around in one in "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?"

I'd say the chances are quite good the Caribbean is the same car! I love stories like this.

[klifton1]

Is the Continental Kit an option or after market ? It sure wears it well.
Klif

[56H-Y6]

Is the Continental Kit an option or after market ? It sure wears it well.
Klif

Hi
The Continental kit wasn't optional on the Caribbean, rather it was one of the features that was applied to the body in a unique way. Packard sent the to-be Caribbean convertible bodies to Ionia Body Company. There they had the rear decklid and surrounding metal sectioned shorter to move the rear lid surfaces forward, had the fender ends modified to accept the Senior series taillights, and heavy chrome bronze-casting trim added. The rear bumper holding the Continental kit was mounted and does not project out as much, appears more integrated since part of the space reguired was allowed by the sectioning mentioned. The lock in the center releases not only the tilt mounting for the spare but also the deck lid as well.
All this handwork and full power options came at a significantly higher price: the standard '54 convertible listed at $3,935; the '54 Caribbean at $6,100!

Steve