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Byline: BROOKS BRIERLEY
BATHTUB-SHAPED Packards have been marked by the unflattering description of their slab-sided design, a reminder of the marque's 1940s emphasis on mid-price models. Even so, the convertible body stylesmixing straight lines and soft curvesillustrate how attractive they can be.
Arthur Stone found this car advertised in a collection of Packards for sale in Ohio. He called the owner for photos and soon bought the entire collection for his Ft. Lauderdale Antique Car Museum, building a new wing to house them.
"This is an exceptional motor car! he exclaims. The list price made it the most expensive production car at that time in the United States.
This convertible includes something not unknown in older cars: conflicting identifications. The 1950 date on the title is challenged by the manual transmission; that year's Custom Eights had automatics. An incomplete serial number does not help. Could this be a special order, or the look-alike year-earlier model?
Whichever, the convertible seems almost new; there are only 55,036 miles on the odo. "Everything works, says museum curator Gary Bennett, smiling, pointing out the electric convertible top, AM radio and the turn signals. A rectangular-shaped steering column includes a gear-shaped windshield-wiper control. The more the gear is turned, the faster the wipers go. ...
Source: HighBeam Research, 1950 PACKARD CUSTOM EIGHT CONVERTIBLE TOP OF THE LINE.(NEWS)