Call it the CC Effect, call it luck, call it “You never know what the new day will bring.” Just a few weeks after I discovered a black ’58 Packard sedan on eBay, I came across this super-rare blue/green hardtop, of which only 675 were built! It’s another eBay find, located in Boise, Idaho. Granted, it needs a lot of work–but here it is, mostly intact almost 70 years after it came off the South Bend assembly line, defying all expectations. Will someone love it enough to bring it back to some semblance of its former glory?
As most of you know, after the 1956 model year, Packard’s Detroit factories were closed down and all new car models bearing the Packard name were produced in Studebaker’s South Bend facilities. The 1957-58 Packards used Studebaker bodies and engines, but had distinctive Packard trim. For 1958, a new 2-door hardtop was introduced which featured a unique, graceful roofline–a very different look from the familiar Studebaker styling which dated back to 1953.
The new hardtop roofline blends well with the existing styling, giving the car a sleek, almost sporty appearance.
Seen from above, it sort of reminds me of a contemporary DeSoto or Chrysler.
The highly three-dimensional “fin on top of fin” effect. The pointed taillights were originally used on the 1956 (Packard) Clipper.
Up front: A wide grille with a narrow bumper sprouting twin bullets reminds you of the 1955-56 Packards. The hood was fiberglass, a Packard exclusive. It was believed that in order to look truly modern, all 1958 cars should have quad headlights. Hence these unique fender pods were created to house the twin lamps.
This Packard hardtop was marketed as a medium-priced luxury car, and the interior trim reflects that. We have original gold Packard gauges set in a silver panel, and colorful upholstery with a lot of stitching and detailing.
Cockpit close up. I’m thinking it looked quite attractive when new, especially in this color. Not plain, not overwrought, but mildly sumptuous.
Door panel detail.
The interior has not aged well, but we can get some idea of the level of lavishness the designers were trying to achieve.
Seller’s description gives us some details on the history and condition of this car:
So there it is–it’s all ready for you! I think it needs more help than I can give it. But maybe someone who loves this car and has more skills and resources than I do can make it run and drive and shine again. Maybe.
Seeing this rare ’58 Packard on eBay reminded me of a car spotting experience I had many years ago when I first started driving. Back then there were a bunch of old ’50s beaters parked in a lot on Route 10 in Parsippany NJ. There were a couple of Oldsmobiles and Pontiacs, and against the back fence was this strange artifact. Because I had my American Car Spotter’s Guide by Tad Burness, I knew what it was: a 1958 Packard sedan, the last Packard listed in the guide. I had never seen one of these before, and I would not see another for many years to come.
The car intrigued me because I had never seen anything like it. I liked fins, and this car had fins aplenty! It was in poor shape, but seemingly all intact. The original Jewel Beige paint had faded to a chalky pale pink. I lifted up on the partly opened hood; it flexed a little and I could feel that it was fiberglass–very unusual. The tires were flat, and the rear end was pushed in as a result of a fairly strong impact. Because of this, I knew that the chances of it being saved were nil. And then one day this car that I found so interesting–what some would call “a pink nightmare”–was gone.
The great American humorist Jean Shepherd had a similar experience back in the late ’30s when he was a kid. He wrote about it in an essay published in a little book given out by Volkswagen dealers in 1967, Think Small. In his essay entitled “My Dream Car”, he describes how, while delivering newspapers on his paper route, he came across an interesting car in a down-at-the-heels used car lot.
It was small, narrow, and had an interesting grille. Upon closer inspection he could see the name of the car: “ROCKNE”. And yes, there were little bas-relief portrait images in the hubcaps of the great Notre Dame football coach, Knute Rockne himself! Wow!
Shep excitedly hurried home to tell his father (the “Old Man”) about his find. Young Jean was shocked and dismayed that his father totally derided the car. According to his dad, the Rockne was the biggest piece of junk ever built, along with the Essex Super 6. “A Rockne–I’ll be goddamned! How much does Happy Harry (the seller) want for it?” “Eighteen dollars.” “That crook! Well, at least you gotta hand it to Old Harry for trying!”
The next day, the Rockne was gone, and Shepherd never saw another one again. He also, in that pre-internet era, found no one else who had even heard of a make of car called a Rockne. Shepherd dreamed of finding and owning one, but it never happened.
I see certain parallels between the 1932-33 Rockne’s and the 1957-58 Packards. Both were products of Studebaker; both were marketed as separate makes; both were sales flops that lasted only two years; both were (fairly or unfairly) maligned; and both are virtually unknown today aside from a few old car fanatics who (unlike the rest of the general population) actually care about this stuff.
Because I was enamored with cars of the ’50s, I did dream of owning and restoring the ’58 Packard I saw. However, my resources were limited, and I had a long list of other cars from that era that I loved too. A few of them I actually got to own; some of them not yet. As I said in the beginning of this piece, “You never know what the new day will bring.”
Further CC reading:
CC For Sale: 1958 Packard Hardtop–Custom Car With “Jewel Box Beauty” by Stephen Pellegrino
Curbside Classic: 1958 Packard Hardtop–The Last Gasp by Tom Klockau
Well today I learned of a new car I’ve never heard of – the Rockne. Thanks buddy.
As a kid I ignored cars of the 20s and 30s except for Rolls Royces. I felt that those old card looked rickety and disproportionate.
I was much more taken with Lancias, Fiats and Jaguars.
I read once about a car called the Hotchkiss. A very strange looking ultra luxury performance car from the 30s. Never, ever saw one in real life though.
That one was a “who knew?”, for me too.
This car is in incredibly good condition for being an unrestored original! Park Green was what they called that color. The ad says that this is the only known surviving hardtop painted this color, and I believe it – I have never seen a picture of another one.
It s a time machine. It would be worth buying it. Park it in your garage and sit in it every once in awhile, going back to the late 1950s.
The double fins of the 1958 Packard remind me of the way the fins were mounted on the 1958-59 Dodge. Taste is subjective but the Mopar might have come off a bit better in that regard (but not by much).
And I’ll always maintain that the Studebaker stylists really screwed up the front end of the 1958 Packardbaker with those ‘Dagmar’ bullet bumper guards. It’s those bumper guard that give the cars the look of a catfish. Without them, the last Packards look immeasureably better.
When my son was 16, he started shopping for a car. Eventually, he came across a ’74 Dodge Challenger that might be a good buy. We went to look at the Challenger and in addition to it, we wound up seeing the first and only Rockne I’ve ever seen. It was a convertible or roadster, restored and stock looking as far as I can remember (except for the wheels), but powered by a MoPar 360 with a Torqueflite behind it. The guy started it for us so we could hear its cammed up idle.
How I wish I had taken pictures of that Rockne. I didn’t know how rare they were. Gotta say that this one was really a neat looking little car.
I wonder what the thought process was for Studebaker to use a fiberglass hood on the 1958 Packard. Did they anticipate only needing a small number of hoods and calculated that contracting for fiberglass hoods would ultimately be cheaper than creating the stamping dies for steel hoods?
If it was just a weight thing, seems like they could have went with aluminum, instead.
Yes, limited production is cheaper in fiberglass than steel (or aluminum). Tooling stamping dies was expensive, especially back then.
Nice find! That does look very complete and reasonably solid. It would be a great car to revive. The interior and some of the trim would be a challenge but it is super distinctive and interesting.
Many moons ago I saw a wagon version in a private Packard collection (long since disbursed). I often wonder what happened to it. Apparently 1 of 159 wagons made so quite rare but maybe not valuable.
And the photo
Rare to say the least, and the corresponding Studebaker wasn’t much more common. The quad headlights really looked tacked on, but the rest of the car is not to bad though a little busy. Did these still have the supercharged Stude V-8?
No, they used the NA 389 only. The Packard Hawk was the only ’58 Packard that still used supercharged engines. I’m guessing the supercharger proved too unreliable on the ’57s to continue.
I’m 62 years old. By the time I was old enough to grasp the vehicular landscape around me, let’s say 1969 or 1970, Packard cars were almost completely gone from the road. I was (and am) aware of their reputation in the 1950s, but I have no personal association with them.
My point being… how many Packard aficionados are still around who have the time/energy/wherewithal to take on a project such as this? Can’t be many. I suppose that’s sad in a way, This car should be restored and preserved, but I’m not sure who would want to do that.
Agree, that most people where this car rings a bell are either long passed away or are close to it except for Stephen. One thing is for sure one will need deep pockets to restore that interior to original condition. That maybe why I see many of this era having plain driver seats as original fabric can be hard to come by and then the labor. One reason why when I look at a car I assess the interior first and foremost as I can handle mechanical, paint, and body.
Consumers Research Bulletin of April 1932 listed the Rockne 75 second on its list of “recommended” cars, saying: “Only car in this (price) group with shatter-proof glass throughout. The engine is last year’s Studebaker 6 engine and the chassis is quite similar to this year’s Studebaker 6. Not a new car (tho the name is new.) Considered a good buy.”
The Rockne 65 ” looks like a good buy in every way except as to the potential disadvantages inherent in the purchase of an entirely new car just appearing on the market.”
So Jean Shepard’s father wasn’t necessarily right! 🙂
A restoration would be a fools errand. If this car has any future it might come as a hot rod or street rod. Not likely though I fear.
I find these last Packards as interesting, in a tragic way. Packard was once considered the pinnacle of American car manufacturing. That such a lofty product could fall so far, is a bit hard to believe. As late as ’55-’56, Packards still looked impressive and viable. It was competition from other manufacturers, like Lincoln and Imperial, but it was Cadillac especially, that stole the market from Packard. Kind of like the European manufacturers and finally Lexus, stole it away from Cadillac in the ’90’s.
This would be a great car to restore, you’d never see another one at a show or Cars & Coffee. You’d have to really love the car to bring it back to life.
An interesting survivor .
If the engine isn’t stuck it’d be pretty simple to make run again .
The dash reminds me of the ’56 (?) Chrysler a mate used to own .
I certainly hope this gets saved but this price break is absurd .
-Nate
Rockne baby,
Rockne all night long…
There must’ve been thousands of mfr.s back then, hopeless cases of which most of us have never heard.
“This time next year, we’ll all be millionar…straight to Chapter 7, you say?”
Standards of technology were lower in the 1950s and that equally applies to badge engineering:
The crudely glued-on excrescences on that thing are unbelievable – too damn’ po’ to afford lead-loading? I detested the seams on the front wings of an ADO16 1100, which always went tinwormy in about four years,,. Those corner pieces look like a parody.
Honestly, it makes a Rocket Bunny or Vileside body kit look tasteful.
Packard? Cry harder, more like. How the once-mighty are defiled before the final coup de grace.
But part of the Studey charm is the acts of clever desperation carried out towards the end.