Hooniverse “What the Truck” Thursday – A 1992 Packard Bayliff Custom Sedan
Welcome to Hooniverse Truck WTF Thursday. Yes, I was going to do a truck piece for Thusday, but after looking through the Hemmings Classifieds, there was this peculiar monstrosity that caught my eye, and then I had to reach for the eye bleach. So, let’s all discover this 1992 Packard Bayliff Custom Sedan, and suffer permanent blindness together…
According to the website Coachbuilt.com, the Bayliff Coach Corporation in Lima Ohio, introduced a line of Packard Custom Sedan and Coupe replicars based on late-model GM passenger cars after acquiring the rights to the Packard name and trademarks in 1978. These replicars ranged from simple cosmetic changes to elaborate body modifications such as new front and rear body structures with early-1930s style clamshell front fenders with side-mounts and a separate trunk. In 1992 C. Bud Bayliff sold the Packard name and trademark to Canadian millionaire Roy Gullickson for an estimated $50,000. By 1996 Gullickson had developed his own full-size model for a modern Packard, inspired by the 1941 Packard Clipper sedan.
So, how could a Packard Bayliff go from being inspired by a 1941 Packard Clipper Sedan to what looks like a Ford Crown Victoria with what looks like glued on accessories? One can only imagine, and the one I found for sale is truly heinous. According to the listing:
Beautiful custom built Packard. Low miles, two-tone maroon & black paint, custom maroon/ black interior Packard styled grille and trunk rack. Custom vinyl top with oval side and rear windows. Custom fender skirts with new wheels and tires.
This car is so deliciously perverse, from the tacked on headlamps, to the bolted on fender skirts, to the ill fitting vinyl roof. I thankfully have a waste basket next to my desk because every time I look at this thing, I hurl. I have included all the images from the listing just for your hurling pleasure as well.
This car is being sold by Bud Bayliff himself, so this must have been one of the last models his firm converted before selling off the Packard Name. Oh, and he wants $19,500 for it as well. If you dare, see the listing here.
Oh, and look at what else I found. Thanks to That Hartford Guy Flickr Page, here is a 1996 Mercury Cougar that was treated to the full Packard Bayliff treatment. And I thought the Crown Victoria was bad….
Related posts:
- Hooniverse Wagon Wednesday: A 1946 Ford Woody and A 1948 Packard Station Sedan
- Hooniverse Truck Thursday – A 1969 Ford Brush Fire Truck
- Hooniverse Truck Thursday – Two Corvair Greenbriar Vans… So which one would you choose?
- So That’s Where They Got the Blackwood: 1950s Custom Ford SUVs From Brazil
- Hooniverse Fabulous Fins Weekend Showdown – A 1956 Packard Caribbean Convertible or A 1958 Ford Thunderbird Convertible
Right down below there on the commentary rules, it says:
"Keep it civil and safe for work".
Way go go violating your own rules by posting this…thing.
Yes indeed. I believe that is the rudest thing that I have yet seen on this blog, and that's saying something. Now excuse me, I have to go find the Bromoseltzer.
Looks like the JCWhitney catalog exploded.
OK, these cars are absolutely hideous. They deserve all the scorn that can be heaped upon them. But conceptually, are they really any worse than what Studebaker-Packard inflicted upon itself in 1957-1958?
<img src="http://www.badgoat.net/CRH_homepage/Penquis/Penquis_03_05.jpg">
Yes, yes they are. Much worse.
Conceptually, no, perhaps not. Execution wise? They make the Packardbakers look like supermodels having a naked pillow fight.
I just threw up in my mouth a little.
a little?
WOOF! Both of these, so gross. Although, I do like the looks of the engine bay.
This raises an interesting question – who should you call when the Bayliff is in contempt?
That's as terrible as the cars.
+1
They're called Bayliff because they need to be brought before a judge and charged with a crime.
Proof that things can always be worse
I have always imagined that a modern Packard (if the original had survived) would be American made competition for the best that BMW and Mercedes had to offer, not some bad cartoon tacked on a Crown Vic.
The Packard "tombstone" grill could be done in a modern way and be as iconic as BMW's double kidneys.
I just googled ocular herpes to try and get that image out of my head.
Didn't work… the Packard Bayliff is worse.
<img src="http://fellowshipofminds.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/eyebleach1.png">
Try some Eye Bleach. It's always worked for me. If all else fails, there's always the Emergency Spork, but that option is kinda painful.
These Bayliffs are the epitome of ugliness! And to think that people were dying to ride in them.
<img src="http://www.northlandpcs.com/images/museum/Bayliff_Combination_570.jpg"width="500"/>
The eye bleach is preventing me from seeing what you did there.
Many Bayliffs are extermely awful, but the "1949" is actually one of the better-looking neoclassics.
<img src="http://www.madle.org/bayliff49c.jpg" width=500>
I actually really like that! It sure is long.
Size doesn't matter if you know how to really use it.
Oh, Lord.
Do you honestly believe that?
<img src="http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/attachments/f23/119774d1241631348-larrys-lotus-photoblog-2-lotus-seven-s1.jpg" width="500">
In many cases, less is more.
I just had a heart attack.
…hung like a tuna can…
There he goes again.
Crap you can't pluralize hoar to hoars, there goes a bad joke, sigh.
Since when does bad grammar get in the way of humor around here?
I am impressed; that's actually not completely horrible. I mean, neoclassics are inherently ridiculous, but that one isn't bad.
That one works because of the amount of effort that went in to making it look reasonably period correct. It's more than just a Crown Vic with some bolt-on baubles. Sure, some of the interior trim still gives it away, but overall it's a good-looking car.
Wow . . . I kinda like it. Maybe I've used too much eye bleach.
Hmmm, I think I've seen that car before…
<img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3173/2545758917_1f005d53cf.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="2008 Orphan Car Show009">
Did you see it in real life?
>poof< Yup, took this picture myself outside of the 2008 Orphan Car Show in Ypsilanti.
I like my cars the way I like my women: without hideous bolt-ons.
It wouldn't even help if the horrible things hung on those cars weren't fitted by meth-addled monkeys on rollerskates.
that poor poor cougar
Stutz Blackhawk likes this. :thumbup:
Crush both of them.
Bud Bayliff and Roy Gullickson?
Nah, just force them to watch.
Is there a lesson to be learned here? What is the opposite of this, a car that is basically a very lightly-modified stock car that solves the styling problem of the original car and improves on it? More than a body kit, but not so much as a truly different vehicle? Trim and performance options from the original manufacturer don't count.
How could somebody drive one of these with a straight face?
No sir, I don't like it.
Also: http://www.packardmotorcar.com/
It looks like Studebaker might have been playing around with some Packard ideas even in the 1960s. It's probably a good thing they weren't produced.
<img src="http://www.sagebrushstudebaker.com/packard.jpg">
<img src="http://www.sagebrushstudebaker.com/packard1.jpg">
I don't think those are so bad, aside from the comically-long front wheel to front door distances.
From the windshield back, that last picture reminds me of something GM might have produced in the 90's.
<img src="http://www.analogstereo.com/images/om/cadillac_fleetwood.jpg" width=500>
The Burgandy Sedan is a Buick Roadmaster. I own a '93. Check the a-piller, dashboard, steering wheel, and front parking lights.
Sorry, it's just not.
Roadmaster Dash
<img src="http://images.gtcarlot.com/pictures/45619547.jpg" width="500/">
From GTcarlot.com
"Packard" dash
<img src="http://assets.hemmings.com/uimage/7931333-700-0.jpg?rev=1" width="500/">
From Hemmings
Crown Vic Dash
<img src="http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/1792/dsc00655f.jpg"width=500>
From taurusclub.com – who knew there was such a place?
You think a Taurus club is weird? I give you this:
http://www.tempotopaz.com/
Though I actually have fond memories of driving around at the lake in an acquaintance's Topaz shouting "TOOOOPAAAAAZZZZ!!!" at passers by.
Better still is the Ford Escort Owners Association.
As a former Ford Escort owner ('98 ZX2, baby) I should feel offended that this is remarkable.
As a man who just spent 2 hours driving a late '80s Escort home because a friend bought a Mazda 3, I have to ask what's wrong with these people.
Well, Ford Tempo Fanatic (active on "the other site") needs a place, too, ya know..
I have never seen anyone else anywhere who had such an encyclopedic knowledge of the Tempo/Topaz, and who was so willing to share it with all and sundry.
Think of it as an extended work of performance art.
Definitely a cloth interior version of a 92 Crown Vic, stare at an identical one every day.
Here's what bothers me, apart from it being covered by a vomiting Wal Mart autoparts department: If you're going to make a big silly luxury car out of a Ford, wouldn't you start with a Lincoln rather than a pedestrian Crown Vic?
Though I'm happy someone found a misguided luxury car that I don't have an inexplicable fondness for.
@ GTcarlot.com, Good call, I think the hubcaps put me off the scent. I thought it was a 94 or 95 Roadmaster, slightly different from mine.
Heh, with the lengths these "coachbuilders" go to "improve" their source material, it can take a lot of googling to determine where they started. I came very close to buying a Roadmaster wagon, but "looks, runs, and drives like new" meant "torn seats, fading paint, and no power at all."
These are super hilarious, thanks Jim!
I was mildly disturbed to find that on first glance, the engine looks sort of good. To my relief, on closer inspection, it's nearly as fakey and stupid as the rest of the car.
"The air filter in the fake air cleaner of your Packard Bayliff Custom Sedan should be replaced at the intervals shown on Schedule "A". If, however, you drive the vehicle frequently under dusty or severe conditions, the filter element should be inspected periodically and replaced if necessary at the intervals shown on Schedule "B"."
Great. These "Packards" turn up for sale left and right, but where are all the Eshelman Golden Eagles?
I wanted to see what you were talking about, but Google Image Search lead me to a big house, an attractive lady, polio, and a man getting molested by a mini-golf mascot. Which one of those things is an Eshelman Golden Eagle?
See? I told you they're hard to find. Just picture a Corvair, then, um, well, you're done. They're rebadged Corvairs (which led to some difficulties with GM). The later Golden Eagle Safety Cars are a bit more involved, as Eshelman added large, protruding bumpers to such things as full-sized '67 Chevrolets and offered kits which could be affixed to many different vehicles. I've seen photos but nothing online aside from a very low resolution scan of an ad from one of the dealers, Kislack Kar Sales, which also comes up under the image search.
Dude, I totally want that engine cover!
Yup that's the only cool thing about this car and the first time I've seen photos of it. I'd take one for my 92 CV.
my eyes!!!!!! who knows at this rate Mitsuoka might pickup the rights and make ugly cars…oh wait
Someone spent a lot of money to create something that looks like something created in a redneck's back yard after a couple too many sips of the 'shine, only with better paint.
The was another Gullickson Packard, from 1995. A four-door sedan, with V-12 power.
Here it is, featured on AutoBlog, three years ago this Saturday:
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/08/06/wanna-buy-a-pa…
Bayliff made a version of the 1992 with what I consider to be a much more appropriate face.
<img src="http://www.madle.org/bayliff92a.jpg"width=500>
His "1934" roadsters and one coupe were much better renditions.
<img src="http://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/uploads/newbb/thumbs/105_4b9c30dd07f96.jpg"width=500>
I can't believe that they used a base cloth interior CV for the base to build that car, you'd think they would have stepped up to an LX leather model for its' greater amount of sound deadening.
I wouldnt mind being a fly on the wall when the owner of these cars strolls into his local auto parts store and starts asking about parts for his 1992 Packard.
These two cars are nothing compaired to the ones he was building in 1978.
The hoods were just huge pieces of fiber glass and when the motor got good and warm the hood would droop down on the motor.
He asked my father what to do about that problem my father sugjested he use metal braces in the fiberglass and what did he use?
WOOD instead.
He speant a lot of money building these cars he just went the cheap route doing it which cost him more to fix the problems
Email me for photos of the custom cadillacs we use to build
magnumman1978@embarqmail.com