Get ready to bid on a collector vehicle that could be considered to be Packard's greatest milestone car of the Post World War II era. It is a 1956 Packard Four Hundred. I am reluctantly offering this magnificent automobile at a reserve price that is much less than the cost of restoration.

The car was delivered new in California after it was assembled on June 11, 1956 at Packard's newly refurbished Conner Avenue assembly plant in Detroit, MI, just two weeks before the plant closed forever. It remained a California car until I purchased the straight as an arrow, rust-free car in 1997. I drove and toured this car for almost nine years until the fading original paint and many other areas of the car reached a point requiring serious attention. In September of 2005, almost 50 years after this car was built,  I began what was to become a two and a half year restoration that has returned this car back to rigid Packard factory specifications. Hardly a detail has been overlooked. The car has been driven less than 200 miles since completion.

The body was completly stripped and soda blasted removing every atom of old paint and primer. The front clip was removed so that the firewall, fenders and front sheet metal could be addressed. Hundreds of hours of painstaking blocking produced a surface that resulted in magnificent paint in the original two-toned colors of Jamacian Yellow and Dover White. Almost every piece of chrome and stainless has been restored. The only pieces re-used in the center section of the grille were too nice to restore. The original number match 374 cu.in. 290 horsepower engine did not require rebuilding as it is strong, powerful and solid, however, it was removed, nearly completly dis-assembled, professionally detailed, painted and re-installed inside a newly restored engine compartment. All attachments to the engine were removed, restored, rebuilt or replaced with  NOS parts. Every clip, fastener, hose clamp, connector and wiring is dead-on correct.

The interior and trunk compartments were subject to a  restoration of the highest level of perfection that could be achieved. The yellow leather seating hyde was perfectly dye-matched by Townsend Leather in New York and the black pinwheel matelasse cloth was manufactured to order by SMS Auto Fabrics in Canby, Oregon. The seats, underlayment pad, firewall, carpets, door panels, dash, door sills, arm rests and trunk compartment are fitted like works of professional perfection.

The frame was lifted at each body mounting point and every body-mounting bushing was replaced by the correct mounts purchased from Kantor Auto Products or directly from Steele Rubber Products. The underside of the car was thoroughly cleaned and painted, but not over-restored.

The car is, in itself, a work of art. It is close to perfect, if not perfect. It also could be the finest restored 56 Four Hundred in North America. It runs, performs and handles like a Senior Packard should. The torsion-level suspension works like a charm and the ride is absolutely sensational.

As stated previously, the reserve may be high, but it is substantially less than the cost of the restoration of this car.

All I can say is, if you want probably what could be the best 56 Four Hundred that can be found anywhere, you've found it here. The rest is up to you as a bidder. It will not be sold for less than the reserve, so put your bidding gloves on and have at it. No one could possibly be disappointed in the quality of this car. Good Luck Bidding and please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or comments, but, please do not ask me to reveal my reserve, because I will not reveal it to anyone. Thanks a bunch!