Seen this in on Craigslist. It's for 2500. I could see it in my imagination finished but they were going for a el Camino Packard Kustom Build. Check it out.
Me too, the torsion bar setup is one of the cool aspects of my car. I don't plan on bypassing or even swapping frames on the 55. Everyone who has had the torsion self leveling system tells me nothing but good things and has urged me to dive in and use it. I've read where guys have been able to manipulate the system to thier liking with a switch inside the car. I'm curious to how it will react during some donuts.
I wanted a Packard project and bought this 49 for cheap. Had stuck valves and I was not able to get legal paperwork so I sold it to a buddy. Too bad. I still have the tailights..
My buddy as a 56 Packard parts car with the torsion level system. We've talked about a body swap of some kind. It might make a cool car hauler with a COE cab of some sort Bobby
Dammit man!!! There’s a ‘49 4 door bone stock, hibernating under a quansit hut, in Orlando (Navy Base long gone) Dreamed of a Jonathan Ward/Derelict/ICON build, with 100% stock appearance, but modern chassis and driveline Remember the one in the Porky’s movies ??? Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
If I’m not mistaken I believe an updated version of the Liberty 12s were used in WWII PT boats. Three engines per boat. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
Saxman, the 12s in the PT boats were a bit of a different design. After WWI a new aero engine was designed and there were a number of updates throughout the 20s but one had to keep in mind that Colonel Vincent who was Packard's Chief engineer had a passion for racing boats such as Gold Cup. He was a successful racer and adapted the early 20s redesign and raced in the 20s Sweepstakes races on the Detroit River and elsewhere with adapted aero engines. In the late 30s when a bunch of government money was set aside to come up with new experimental boats. The new boats would become known as PT (patrol torpedo) boats and Packard was given a contract to come up with an experimental engine. The new engines were to be based on the Harmsworth marine engines (1M-2500 and 2M-2500-which had been based on the 3A-2500 aero engine). Just so you know without getting too off track on this thread, Harmsworth was the British Trophy for Gold Cur racing boats, that of course England had held pretty exclusively until Gar Wood a Detroiter took the trophy on a few occasions. The engines were quite impressive. Harold Mistele a Detroit coal dealer and good friend of my grand father later acquired two of Gar Wood's Gold cup boats (the family still owns at least one) and Harold also owned a PT boat with the Packard engines which I saw back in the 70s. It was a lot of this Packard engine hype and the fact that my grandfather worked in the experimental department at Packard in the teens and specifically on the Liberty that put me on the quest to track down and buy the #1 Liberty pictured above (in my earlier post). Here is a picture of one of the PT boat engines, although I do not believe this is one of the very earliest designs but very similar of course. Hope the OP does not mind this diversion from his original purpose of the thread.
You Sir, are a wealth of knowledge! Thank you for sharing, Jim. Apologies to the OP if we got too far off track. Back to the Packard customs!!
Hey @Jive-Bomber, I was a bubble head in the same boat as you, figuratively. After years of spending lots of my free time at the base hobby shop, my last duty station provided all I and friend needed to build a custom Packard from a derelict hippy wagon. The big straight 8 would haul us and 10 of our closest friends up and down the hills of Seattle with ease, and with the 3spd/OD would cruise at 75. Just follow the swan to good times!
Could be a numbers thing 1950 largest Packard production a little over 100,000 Ford 1.2 million just more raw material.
Link won't last forever. (Not mine) https://cleveland.craigslist.org/cto/d/1956-packard-400-custom-lead/6571759142.html
Gene Meek's Olds powered '52 Packard four-door, built in 1954. Featured in Motor Trend in Mar., 1955, and still with us!
That's a fork in the road, of sorts. One branch leads to Sam Barris; the other leads to Spohn of Ravensburg ...
Well noted. Interestingly, I remember reading long ago that the Fitzpatrick was one car in the Bortz collection that he would not consider parting with!
In one of the threads , it has Packard fast back dream car, I was never into that body style. In junior high my friends dad , a truck driver , always talked about putting the Packard motor in his semi, said it acted as if it had more torque. Any how one of the 53ish , is for sale by me , since seeing the factory show car , I feel like grabbing it.
The Jalopy Journal
