This 1953 Packard Clipper Coupe Is On Air, Still Powered By A Straight 8, And Daring To Be Different


This 1953 Packard Clipper Coupe Is On Air, Still Powered By A Straight 8, And Daring To Be Different

Ok, THIS is cool. If you are in the market for a “dare to be different” cruiser we think we have just the answer you’re looking for. This 1953 Packard Clipper is an interesting body style that is not heinous looking like some of the Packards of this era, it sits perfectly on air suspension so you can have the functional ride height you want and then lay it out at a show, and the best of all? The engine is still the original straight eight that came in it from the factory! No, you will not be going fast in this car with the straight eight engine but you can dual pipe the thing so you can get some good sound out of it and the motor is as stone simple as they come so it’ll run until the end of time.

Packard was in a death spiral by the time 1953 came around. The company was bleeding money and they were never really to get back on their feet after WWII. It would be a short time after this that the company would hook up with Studebaker, another dying entity and ride their dueling fortunes right to the bottom of the sea. We have not seen many Packard Clipper coupes in our time. Mostly we have seen these as sedans and while the rear doors are nicely integrated into the body on those cars, there’s no comparison to the clean lines of this coupe.

The car is in great shape and we dig its white roof and blue paint along with all of the factory chrome that’s on the car. The interior is minty fresh and this looks all the world to us like a car you’d hit the key and hit the road in upon delivery. Hell, driving it home would be the best thing, right?

Picture how fun it would be at a cruise night to listen to the “experts” try and discern what this car actually is. You’d hear every name in the book BUT Packard!

Click here for the eBay ad featuring this 1953 Packard Clipper coupe 


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6 thoughts on “This 1953 Packard Clipper Coupe Is On Air, Still Powered By A Straight 8, And Daring To Be Different

  1. Chevy Hatin' Mad Geordie

    What – no Chevy transplant?

    Amazing! – a car builder with imagination who is keen to preserve his car’s heritage and refuses to run with the Chevy-loving pack. Just fit a turbo and EFI to that glorious Packard mill and then you’ll have the go to go with the show.

  2. DanStokes

    Love this old Packard. Those engines were hot rodded in the day and were pretty quick when compared to the other engines of that time. Remember that the Hudson straight eight dominated NASCAR for a decade or so and this engine is similar in design. I don’t know why Packard never went to an OHV straight eight like Buick did but it might have been a $$ thing – the first OHV was the ’55 and up V8.

    It would be pretty simple to up the CR, add a big Holley 2 bbl, and get a better cam profile from Delta Cams or similar and I’ll bet the ol’ girl would wake up pretty well.

    I’d for sure make room in the shop for this one!

    Dan

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