Technical 1935 Packard Question(s)

I recently picked up a 35 Packard project car. I bought it as a roller, with the stock front end and rear end. The rear is something I have never seen before. From the back, it looks like a Ford 9" flipped so the back is facing the bottom of the car, but the pinion is facing the front of the car. I hope I am explaining this correctly. Does anyone have any familiarity with this rear end? Is it usable for a driver, or should I pull it and use a more modern rear like a Ford 9"? I am just putting a plan together for the car, so I haven't dug into it yet.

 

pictures might help?

 

beautiful car. . . are you really returning it to stock running gear and suspension? It seems like you would be better off finding a ford 8 or 9 if you are going to re-hang the rear for a better stance anyway.

 

weird rear end- but the frame looks super clean in the background.

 

I am familiar with late 40's Packards, so I may not be that much help with a mid 30's car, but I would look at it this way. With new bearings, seals, and gaskets that Packard rear end will be as good as any and probably better than most. Packards were always designed and advertised for 100+ mph, in a big heavy touring car.

That being said, parts may be difficult to impossible to find and expensive, where as a 9 inch will be much cheaper and easier to re-build.

If I was building a Hot Rod / Custom, I wouldn't even think twice about the 9 inch. If It was a resto-mod or stock restoration, then it would be awful tough to replace the original driveline components.

Good Luck

 

Thanks. My intention is to build a taildragger out of it. The car will not remain stock. The rear is beefy as hell, which is why the question came up about using it.

 

This is the stock front end.

 

wow- steering THROUGH the locator bar? My 35 olds had a front frame that was very cool and complicated IFS setup with spring pockets built-into the frame like that. I scratched my head for months trying to figure out how to use it but ultimately just built new from the firewall forward. But it would be cool to use the existing suspension .

 

I know what you mean about the diff,when mine arrived I thought the spring shackles were loose and the diff flipped down,i think the 6cy,v8 and v12 had ratios to suit HP,i'm running a 9''with a series3 Jag f/end,i also replaced the rear leaf springs as the orig's IMO,don't appear strong enough,good luck,Gaz!

 

Thats stock Packard. Check this out
http://www.packardclub.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=2126&start=0

 

Gear ratio is very low. All the restorers are looking for overdrive or a different gear ratio (there aren't any).

Combine that with obsolete brakes, seals, etc etc and you would be better off just to swap in a later rear axle.

Unless of course you are restoring the car but if you were, you would be asking at AACA not here.

 

Nothing cheap about the front end setup. Impressive parts.

 

The rear end was built like that for more ground clearance. I had a 32 Hupmobile that had a rear end like that, and it was advertised as being built that way for more ground clearance.

 

Front suspension is excellent, ahead of its time design. Similar to what Ford came out with as a new innovation in the late 60s.

 

I appreciate the responses. The Packard is new to me, so you can imagine my surprise when I first saw that rear set up, let alone the front end.

 

I have not owned a 35 Packard, however have had a 37 and a 38 6. their ride and handling were great much better than a lot from that era. That front suspension was copied by Rolls Royce for some of their post war cars.

 

Love the Packard grille... one of my favorites!

 

I put a 1981 Cadillac coupe di vile rear end in my 1939 Packard. I believe it has 2.78 gears, same bolt pattern as Packard. The width is within a half inch. All stock springs, Two inch lowering blocks, new perches for the spring .