1954 henney packard JuniorAmbulance

[@winstonelston5743]

9:10 A quick mention, I have seen several of these '54 Junior ambulances over the years, and in addition to the senior car details at the rear, the fin detail over the headlights was also a Cavalier-Patrician-Caribbean touch. The Junior ambulances I've seen had the five-main 327 straight eight, but I have only seen three-on-the-tree transmissions in them.

[@What.its.like.]

Thank you so much for sharing that information and insight

[@alanwann9318]

Compliment; you have a good narrative voice ,

[@What.its.like.]

Thank you I don’t think I have a good voice hopefully getting a microphone soon then I won’t have to yell lol

[@martentrudeau6948]

It's unique, and very nice.

[@What.its.like.]

I never saw one before or since I plan on going back there real soon =)

[@martentrudeau6948]

@@What.its.like. ~ R.I.P. Packard and Henney, they built some very nice vehicles.

[@winstonelston5743]

Packard Management came to dislike the senior model taillights to the point that in early '54, James Nance called one of the designers in with the suggestion, "Damn it, Teague! Do something about those bull's nuts taillights!" With limited funds, Dick Teague was inspired while sitting in church on Easter Sunday morning to come up with one of the most iconic details of the period: the cathedral taillight. He was immediately promoted to head of design with a fifty percent pay raise. For '56 he retired the '54-'55 "sore thumb" taillights with the "slipper" lights that fit in the same rear quarter stampings as the cathedrals, the slippers remaining in production through the end of the Packardbaker days. The "Black Bess" development mule for the intended senior '57 models was a casualty of the "last days in the bunker" but descriptions and photos have been published in various periodicals over the years, might be worth a "What It Could Have Been like" video, along with some of the styling studies that also made it to print. Packard division of Studebaker-Packard had grand designs and intentions for its future, but the money just wasn't there. Have you profiled Richard Teague in your channel?

[@What.its.like.]

I haven't profiled any individuals from automotive history, except for one episode was three individuals and it took me forever to put it together so I didn't do it again it's one of the best episodes on this channel, but it wasn't received so I figured I would just wait until they got bigger. Definitely something I definitely want to cover later on. Preston Tucker John DeLorean, Elon Musk Thank you so much for taking the time to share all that insight and information

[@danielulz1640]

Studebaker introduced thier V8 engine for the 1951 model year.

[@What.its.like.]

Thank you so much for that correction =)

[@MonsterHobbiesModelCarGarage]

Studebaker V8 was the first V8 in a non-big 3 car "GM, FORD, Chrysler"...came out in 1951.

[@What.its.like.]

Thank you so much for that correction =) ford had a v8 since 1932 but flathead

[@MonsterHobbiesModelCarGarage]

@@What.its.like. There are earlier V8's like the 1917 Chevrolet V8, but a lot of these engines didn't last into the 1920's. Straight engines like the "flat head" 4's, 6's, and 8's seemed to dominate the industry through the 1920's until deep into the 1950's. Few of those engines had overhead valves like the Buick 8's and Chevy 6's. ...but the more "Modern" V8's with overhead valves that we saw in the 1950's started in 1948 with Oldsmobile and Cadillac, then Chevy got theirs in 1955, Ford in 1954, etc. Studebaker was unique because it had an overhead valve V8 in 1951 and Studebaker was an independent auto maker at that time.

[@montymatilda]

How cool is this piece of history. Unique and special in every way.

[@What.its.like.]

Yeah it was, henney lost $300 per jr series (was $3,000 in today’s money) it never said how many henney build before realizing that he wasn’t making any money if they went the whole 500 car run henney would have lost 1.5 million

[@mohabriad6918]

This Packard is a masterpiece real piece of art work

[@What.its.like.]

It was, it’s for sale link in description =) my friend growing up had a 52 Packard patrician I believe I was never a huge fan of the 50s Packards they’re growing on me though I definitely like the 55 Caribbean that was probably the last great Packard but if given the choice or chance to buy one of these and if I had the money I think I probably would

[@MonsterHobbiesModelCarGarage]

The interior in that Packard is a double Abe Lincoln hat height! :D

[@What.its.like.]

I loved that packard hearse =)

[@MonsterHobbiesModelCarGarage]

@@What.its.like. Ambulance. LOL!

[@neildickson5394]

Studebaker had a V8 in 1951.

[@billolsen4360]

Michael Corleone's 1954 Packard limousine in the first Godfather movie was likely built with a Henney-produced unit.

[@treywest268]

I would love to see you with a 1928 Ford Model A Phaeton and your review on it.

[@What.its.like.]

One day =)

[@scottmeeker9971]

Looks like a common oil pressure gauge.

[@What.its.like.]

It could be oil pressure wasn’t sure why they would put it over there

[@glennso47]

I was born and raised in Mount Carroll Illinois which is about 30 miles from Freeport Illinois. I never heard of Henney. Thanks.

[@What.its.like.]

That’s crazy I guess they were the big name in packard Specialty cars

[@glennso47]

@@What.its.like. Who makes the bodies now of limousines, hearses, ambulances and such? Seems like Cadillac makes most of the chassis or Ford makes chassis for ambulances and small school busses.

[@glennso47]

@@What.its.like. But then in the 1950s when Henney was in business, I was just a little kid. So maybe that is why I never heard of them.

[@mypugsdad5366]

Great video keep up the good work.

[@What.its.like.]

Thank you =)

[@gene978]

WOW I am 59 and I never knew of Henny. Thank you.

[@BronzeGiant]

If you read the Henney book, they lost money on every Junior they sold. The "Super-wagon" was destroyed by vandals setting it on fire, such a sad loss.

[@What.its.like.]

It was super sad ending to both companies

[@Sedan57Chevy]

Cool piece of history. So many of these old ambulances and hearses were used hard for years, before ending up hauling music equipment for bands or being thrown into a demo derby. It's a shame that many of these conversions aren't around anymore. There's some beautiful craftsmanship that went into them.

[@What.its.like.]

Yeah when I saw this at motor car portfolio I was like I have to do this car didn’t realize after I shot it hey there might not be any information on this company but luckily there was enough to do an episode I honestly couldn’t find any information on how many are left there is a lot of pictures of different ones out there.. But they are rare all things considered they only made 500 of them Junior ambulances in 1953 1954 . I was born way too late if I had access to one of these I would use it to haul stuff in

[@georgemckenna462]

1:09 Holy Grail of station wagons!!! If they ever do a Hollywood reboot of National Lampoon's Family Vacation or 1968's Yours Mine & Ours this IS THEE family truckster.

[@What.its.like.]

I know right I’d buy one =)

[@christopherkraft1327]

What a treat to come across this rare Henney Packard ambulance!!! It's certainly a unique vehicle. It's so sad that the once mighty & prestigious Packard ended up going out of business!!! Thanks for sharing this fun video!!! 👍👍

[@What.its.like.]

No problem thanks for watching it =)

[@glennso47]

It’s a good thing there’s no body in the back of the vehicle. 🫣

[@What.its.like.]

That would be super creepy if there was

[@fatotis6273]

Pressure gauge is likely oil pressure. Appears to be a 3 speed manual trans, not an ultramatic. notice the clutch pedal. Anyway it is beautiful. Thanks for showing it.

[@hanky0958]

I have been watching this channel since 50 subs and i am proud to say that this is the best car review channel on youtube!

[@What.its.like.]

Thank you that really means a lot =)

[@saurabhsharma4200]

I love your channel and the different types of cars you show.

[@What.its.like.]

Thank you that really means a lot =)

[@leightonfarms4962]

beautiful

[@What.its.like.]

It was =)

[@johnlavender242]

I see that there is a chair for Rigor Mortise to set in.

[@hughwolfe1176]

My brother in law used to have one of these, had to build an extension on his trailer to haul it to shows as it’s so big.

[@What.its.like.]

It was big but it looked awesome , every in super wagon form =)

[@hughwolfe1176]

@@What.its.like. it would make an awesome camper.

[@What.its.like.]

It would have

[@charlesacker8552]

While there is clearly an oil "idiot light," I believe that the pressure gauge noted is for the oil. The range displayed on the gauge appears appropriate for oil pressure. As for Studebaker, their first V8 appeared in 1951 as a 232ci putting out 120 horsepower. That too was after a long line of straight eights.

[@What.its.like.]

Awesome information thank you so much for sharing =)

[@MonsterHobbiesModelCarGarage]

This is one of the cars i would like to own : The 1951-1954 Packard...and painted black.

[@What.its.like.]

I have a friend who has a 52 packard I’m not the biggest fan of That era they are cool don’t get me wrong just kinda plain and mundane to me. 1936-1942 they didn’t make a bad packed during those years. I like the 55 Caribbean as well

[@MonsterHobbiesModelCarGarage]

@@What.its.like. The 1951-54 Packard won an award for design. It is one of the better designed cars of that era and the most produced Packard ever...but yes, the 1930 is great as well.

[@MonsterHobbiesModelCarGarage]

@@What.its.like. My Dad owned a 1948. I was suppose to inherit it, but he sold it on me.

[@calbob750]

In Warren, Ohio at the Packard Museum there is a 1953 Henney-Packard junior ambulance that was from an Air Force Base.

[@What.its.like.]

I want to check that place out it’s only an hour or so up the road

[@DavidHall-ge6nn]

This is very cool, but I would love to see one of those amazing wagons. I saw a '49 (I think) restomod woody wagon on another channel years ago that was a rolling dream machine. Love Packards!

[@What.its.like.]

I’ll have to look for one of those I’ve seen some Packard Woody’s some Packard flower car/trucks i’m a huge Packerd fan, I want to start extensively going through Packards it’s just finding them hopefully soon there will be a really nice late 50s Packard on the channel 1958 I’m begging the guy to let me video it because I don’t think I’ll ever see another one it’s not a hawk it’s the other Packard model that was available in 1958 of which they only made about 500 of them like I said I’ve never seen another one hopefully soon on the channel =)

[@jonspence6782]

There is a henney packard ambulance for sale in Canaan NH, it’s rough

[@jayh1947]

FYI Studebaker had a V8 in 1954 for sure {I removed it} and 1953 I think...........Jay

[@What.its.like.]

Thank you for that added information for some reason that slipped my mind, I wonder why they used packard 352 v8 in the 1956 golden hawk?

[@jayh1947]

@@What.its.like. More cubes and probably cheaper to build.................Jay

[@5610winston]

I've seen a few of these over the years. One was parked in Fairburn, Georgia painted over (even the windows) and used as a billboard for a locksmith shop. Another was quietly returning to the earth from which it came in northeast Alabama its "Civil Defense" call-outs present only as discolored paint patches. All of the ones I have seen were equipped with three-on-the-tree transmissions, hailing back to the days when you actually had to know how to drive instead of just steer like a toddler in a car seat. 7:40 Look at that art deco trim in those compound-curved rear quarter windows. Not necessary just a styling touch for the quality vehicles coach-built Packards are. 7:50 Those taillights tell a story. The style was introduced in 1951 and Packard management never really liked it. By 1953 it was hopelessly out of date (the vertical taillights on the ends of the '51-'53 Packard 200-250-Clipper series were even worse, resembling huge red cockroaches. Richard A. Teague came on-board with Packard in the early fifties and was tasked with coming up with something better ("Damn it, Teague, Do something about those bulls' nuts taillights") over the Easter weekend. Given the financial straights Packard was in, the fender stampings could not be significantly modified and Teague was sort of stuck until he went to church for the Easter Sunday service. On Monday morning he showed the president of Studebaker-Packard an all-new taillight design shaped like a gothic arch stained-glass window and that required only minimal sheet-metal changes, but that made the car look like a brand-new design from the rear. For '56, he came up with a really cool "slipper" style taillight that fit into the cathedral-style cutouts that were used in the '56 Clipper and 'Executive' models. The slipper lights could be easily fit into the rear quarters of the Studebaker President to allow styling continuity when S-P divested itself of the Packard production facilities and centered almost all manufacturing in South Bend. Sad to think of what has been lost due to neglect and ignorance of the significance of these cars. By the way, Packard was the last straight-eight in the American market. Buick had replaced the valve-in-head inline eights in its senior cars with the nail-head V8 in 1953 and a smaller version of the nail-head replaced the OHV inline eight the Specials in 1954, leaving only Pontiac and Packard as the last straight eights. Pontiac ceased production of its '54 models a couple of weeks earlier than Packard did, leaving Packard alone with the 288, 327, and 359 eights. Studebaker ceased production of its 250 cubic inch flat-head straight eight President when civilian automobile production ceased after the Pearl Harbor attack, production ending early in '42 to allow all production facilities to be used for defense projects. Studebaker's next eight-cylinder engine was the 232.6 cubic inch overhead-valve V8 used in the 1951 Commander and Land Cruiser models. By the way, you might want to look up the story about how Packard came to build more and better Rolls Royce Merlin V12 aircraft engines than Rolls Royce did during WW II, and the Packard Marine engines used in the PT boats is an interesting story as well.

[@What.its.like.]

Awesome information thank you so much for sharing =) packard V12 is one of wwii unsung hero’s of the war, used it many applications. Such a sad demise of a great company.

[@5610winston]

@@What.its.like. These were unrelated to the Packard passenger car twelves. The story on the Merlin aircraft engine was that Rolls Royce lacked sufficient production capacity to meet the demand and the US government steered them toward Ford. Now, Henry Ford hated Franklin Roosevelt with the same zeal as he hated labor unions and certain religious minorities, and when a US government official expressed Roosevelt's appreciation, Ford had his bouncers show the delegation the door. This is said to have been orchestrated to get the contract for these monster (27-liter supercharged) Rolls-Royce engines into Packard hands because Packard had the production capacity and the skills to build them. Through the war production period, Packard came up with a two-stage supercharger, a system to cool the intake charge with an alcohol-water solution, and increased horsepower by about half over the Rolls Royce originals. The exhaust ports were angled so that the exhaust added thrust almost like a jet. These engines dominated the skies in fighters and bombers, and the original test pilots, dubious about the capabilities of the newly designed DeHavilland Mosquito, a small fighter, those pilots couldn't stop grinning when they pushed the limits past what other fighters could do.

[@What.its.like.]

Thank you so much for sharing that awesome information =)

[@jeffaulik3980]

I live about 35 miles east of where Henney was located. Any idea if that one-off "super-wagon" exists today? I just remembered that a friend's dad worked there. There is also a good website about Henney if anybody wants more info.

[@What.its.like.]

I’m not sure probably lost to time but found this article vintagenewsdaily.com/1954-henney-packard-super-station-wagon-which-seats-12-persons/

[@markw208]

I’m guessing Henney was essentially a “coach builder” modifying Packard Clippers. Very interesting video. Maybe Henney was trying to establish the company in the ambulance/hearse market so he took a small, possibly poorly calculated loss, on the low end cars hoping to make up for it in service and higher end models. That philosophy still happens today. Packard was equivalent to a Cadillac for some years. It’s hard to imagine they stuck with a low compression, low power straight 8 for so long, but a straight 8 had inherently less vibration. But that’s what caused their demise.

[@What.its.like.]

The history was spotty but apparently started it in late 80s but the hearse body company lasted from 1927 to 1954 henney did packards Sad the way packard went out Packard was the rolls Royce of America Lincoln/Cadillac wishes they could’ve been what Packard was in the 30s but packard didn’t change when everyone else was changing straight 8 was smooth and powerful but buying public wanted v8 packard made a v8 55 but wasn’t enough to save company.. I think the crazier part of the story is Studebaker wasn’t making any money and they didn’t have a V-8, They actually used packards v8 in 1956 under the hood of the golden hawk, it’s sad to think that only one company could survive and they thought that Studebaker would be the better contender, hard move no matter which side your on.

[@markw208]

@@What.its.like. , WOW! You are really getting into the cars and history. You said in a previous video that your dad would say, “What do you think?”. I don’t think your dad was giving you a hard time, just trying to get you to use your brain, and it’s clear that you are. Keep up the good work. Regarding the Studebaker V8, look up the article on Hemmings about Best V8. Studebaker had a V8 in 1951. Depending on which article you believe it was either overbuilt or very sturdily designed.

[@What.its.like.]

Awesome information I’ll look it that =)