60 Henney’s First Salvo into Packard Show Cars Looking backward in time, we know of Henney’s success with Arbib at the design helm. He designed and Henney built six 1952 Packard show cars – the Pan American. We also know that Arbib designed and Henney built two Packard Monte Carlo show cars in 1953 – both which exist today. Later on, Arbib designed and built other show cars beyond Packard as well. But where did this track record of success begin? We know that it started with Henney and Arbib in 1949 and with their first joint effort – Packard’s First Monte Carlo. The 1949 Packard Monte Carlo was going to be a “spec” car for Henney. That is, it was a proposal that showcased Richard Arbib’s talents and displayed the readiness of Henney to begin creating these cars with Packard’s approval. Sketches of his idea exist to this day showing the design concept. In a Collectible Automobile Article penned by George Hamlin in October 1992, he shared the following about the Monte Carlo concept: “The most memorable effort by Arbib on the ’49 Packard was the hardtop-style “Monte Carlo Coupe.” It enclosed both the front and rear wheels and ran Packard-style grille bars all around the car, except between the rear bumper guards. Note huge bumper guards, fins and gold trim that made this a three-tone car. The most unique feature, however, was the unusual greenhouse.” Going from a design concept to building a car to show what it looks like in three dimensions is a big step – especially for a car that wasn’t directly ordered by a manufacturer. That’s what Henney wanted to do – and it wasn’t unusual for the time either.
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