Packard Clipper buyer's guide

Overview

The Clipper name spans Packard's middle years (1941–57): the revolutionary 1941 Clipper (the car that set Packard's post-war design language), the post-war Clipper line (1946–47), the name's return as Packard's junior series (1953–56), and the final 1957 "Packardbaker" Clippers — Studebaker-based cars built after Packard's Detroit plant closed. This guide covers the post-war span (1946–57) that the site lists: the bathtub-era Clippers, the Henney-bodied professional cars at their edge, the 1955–56 cars with Packard's own V8 and Torsion-Level suspension (shared engineering with the Senior line), and the 1957 Clipper with its supercharged Studebaker 289. The Clipper is the affordable route into real Packard engineering; the 1955–56 cars in particular carry the marque's full technology at half the Senior cars' prices.

Generations and year breaks

1946–1947 — the post-war Clippers

• The resumed 1941 design ("bathtub" styling): the Clipper Six and Eight (the straight-eight engines), the Custom Super Clipper as the range's top, and the long-wheelbase chassis beneath the Henney professional cars.
• These are the last of the pre-war-lineage Packards — traditional, beautifully built and mechanically simple.

1953–1956 — the junior Packards

• The Clipper returned (1953) as the volume series beneath the senior cars: the straight-eight (to 1954) and then Packard's new V8 (the 320/352) for 1955–56, with the full 1955 technology — Torsion-Level ride, Twin Ultramatic, the electric pushbutton control for 1956.
• The Clipper Constellation hardtop and the Panama hardtop are the stylish bodies; the 1956 Clipper Custom carries the senior cars' specification at the junior price.

1957 — the Packardbaker Clipper

• The final Clippers: Studebaker President-based cars built in South Bend with Packard trim and the supercharged 289 — Town Sedan and the Country Sedan wagon. Historically fascinating, mechanically Studebaker, and collected as the marque's epitaph.

Engines and options that matter

• Straight eights (to 1954) — the 245 six and the 288/327 eights; the senior 356 belongs to the top 1946–47 Custom Supers.
• Packard V8 (320/352, 1955–56) — the modern engine with the senior line's technology; the Torsion-Level suspension (load-levelling torsion bars at both ends, an electric leveller motor) is the signature system.
• The supercharged Studebaker 289 (1957) — the Paxton unit again; verify as with the Golden Hawk.
• Twin Ultramatic health (the 1955–56 automatic) is a model-wide inspection point — it is a Packard-only gearbox with a specialist support world.

What to check before buying

• Torsion-Level (1955–56): the leveller motor, the torsion bars' adjusters and the system that keeps the car level — a car sitting level and rising correctly has been maintained; a sagged one needs the specialist.
• Rust: the senior-era patterns (floors, sills, the frame) on the Detroit cars; the 1957 cars follow Studebaker's checks (front wings, sills, floors).
• Pushbutton Ultramatic (1956): the electric actuator is the known trouble spot on the '56 cars — test every selection.
• Numbers: Packard's vehicle number plate (on the cowl, driver's side) decodes year, series and body; the engine number is stamped on the block (the boss at the front-left on the eights and V8s). The build-sheet records survive through the Packard club world (and the famous "theft-proof" number stamped into the body).
• Completeness: the Clipper's trim is senior-grade in cost to replace; buy the complete car.
• Parts: the Packard clubs and specialists support the Detroit cars well; the 1957's Studebaker base eases its mechanicals while its Packard trim is the scarcity.