Projects Parckard Performance help!!

Well if you have read my Packard Valve post you know i just picked up an all orginal 37 2 door. I have been tossing around some ideas for it and have already found a GMC 302 for it but don't know if i can bring myself to chop it up even though the guy I got it from already cut the front and rear spring to lower it. And then gave me the complete air ride system for it F-in Dumb Ass.

I know what I'm proposing is sacrilege to some so i dont need to be told that i should burn in hell for what i'm think of doing.

First: how much longer is the GMC302 vs the packard 6?

Second and more importanty: Has anyboby ever hot roded a packard 6. if so what did you do? or what can be done to these motors?? I've been thinking of possibly fitting a turbo to it. any ideas?

 

put in a ford 300 6

 

...and what, exactly, would be the problem with using a Packard v-8?

.

 

finding one?

 

I just sold 3 of them. One was a new engine from the Reno collection. Never installed. One had Hilborn injection. Except for the one from Reno the other two were given to me. One 352 and one 374. Packards are out there. Just not in the Summit catalog

 

I'm trying to not do a swap. if i'm going to go though the hassel of swapping the drive train its getting the GMC 302. nice vitage look would fit the car and all the power i'll need.

But I would really like to know if hopping up the 6 has been done before? I have not been able to find anybody that has done it.

 

302 gmc would be shweeet in there , is the packard a real dog with the original mill ? i mean do you want a driver or a tire smoker ? make a split exhaust manifold , and a dual carb intake , if you want a smoker go the cookie cutter route , and sbc and transmission and modern rear axle in it and go keep the original parts to return it to stock if you want to later on

 

Check out Hotrodpackard here on the hamb. He has a blown Packard six, and its a thing of beauty.
Cant help with the 302 question, but i will say dont feel bad for cutting up a Packard on here. This is a hot rod site, and thats what we do.
My names Jeff, and ive cut up a 1929 Packard Limosene. Lol.

 

Don't forget, its an easy make to fit the Packard trans to the jimmy.

just a 1/2" plate, and some clever machining.

get your favorite machine shop to machine one side of the plate to make a lip to go into the jimmy bellhousng., then get 'em to cut a hole the size of the locating ring on the bearing cover of the Packard trans. 8 holes, 4 of which are counter-sunk, the other 4 tapped to allow the packard trans to the plate, a little trimming, and your done. The final plate thickness is 10mm. Then turn down the thrust bearing race to Chev/Jimmy size,, and you're done.

See it was easy.

 

No doubt the Packard six can be warmed up enough to suit your cruising needs and also get brownie points from most everyone.

Lets see...hmmm...A split exhaust (or custom header), dual carb intake, perhaps an electronic ignition, and a bit of compression... tried and true hot rod tricks to wake up an inliner.
Will there be some unforseen problems with the recipe? Probably, but you are a hot-rodder, aren't you?

Watching this one

.

 

Packard engines = Bullitt Proof

 

I'm not sure on the 6, I'd have to look it up or someone here knows, but some of those Packard inlines had angled valves. That makes it a little more challenging to get compression. If you do decide to hop it up, DO NOT DO NOT DO NOT put hardened seats in the block. The blocks are cast steel. They do not require hardened seats and you'll hit water if you try. Keep your eyes and your wallet open, and every now and then a finned aluminum head and dual carb Edmunds stuff pops up. Lighten the flywheel and add some bitchin exhaust like was said, it could be a lot of low RPM fun.

 

Hey, 1twisted1;

Neat project. I'd keep the Packard mill. Yes, a turbo will fit nicely. You'll probably have to set it above the head, as there isn't much room alongside, IIRC. A fellow in a newsgroup I was in, had a really nice '40, I think, that he put a small turbo on. Probably from a Dodge 2.2 stick, or Ford 2.3. Car was a nicely restored stocker. Can't remember if it was a blowthru, or drawthru, but said it really woke up the mill, & made it rather fun to drive. Not for burning rubber, great for the road.

Hope you go w/the turbo.

Although a supercharger from a late model Buick, or Chrysler, or even a Mercedes, would do.

Marcus...

 

Thanks for all the great feedback guys.

What I'm looking for is a nice driver with some get up & go!! It sound like I can get what i'm looking for out of a custom turbo set-up and a rear axle swap.

Now questions for people who know these motors.

What is the max rpm for these motors?
What can the trans handle?
What can the block be boarded too?
What can the head be milled too?
Are there any easy rod swaps to stroke it?

 

Well this one is a Packard 8 but you get the idea. Stuff is out there you have to search for it but the Packard would have even more class that the GMC and I'm GMC guy.

This one was living in Salt Lake City in 2008.

 

Where is the best place to buy packard parts?? I seen a couple but would like to deal with someone i have some info on.

 

I agree- it's a thing of beauty! I met Brian, and looked at it on the salt last year.

...but it's an eight, not a six.

edit: six ball posted the pic above!

 

Changing rods will NOT change the stroke.
However, if you were to stroke it then you might need a shorter rod, depending on how much is added and where the wrist pin sits now.

Although not often done, you might gain some compression by using a slightly longer rod so as to move the piston up a bit...all depends on where it sits now and whether or not there is anything in the way.

.

 

One of our Inliners members is also the president of the local Packard club. I'll ask him. Lester Harris from Minden, Nevada has lots of NOS parts. Kanter has parts. Most cam grinders can do a regrind. Go to http://www.inliners.org/ There is help there. We need new blood. I am sure that Eddie Edmunds made heads and intakes for Packards. Don't give up you have a really cool ride.

 

It is possible to hot rod a Packard six just like any flathead six. They are a strong well built motor. Last six cylinder Packard was made in 1947, except they produced some six cylinders for taxicabs, export, and industrial engines until the early fifties. The White truck company bought Packard sixes and used them in their smallest models until the early fifties.

Transmissions are very strong, some used them instead of the Cad/LaSalle box in hot rods in the fifties.

No speed equipment has been made for them except for Edmunds heads and intakes which have been out of production since the fifties and scarce as hen's teeth.

Max RPM about 4500. You could build a real cool motor with dual carbs, milled head, cam, and a few other tricks and keep up with traffic with no problems. A small V8 would be easier, and more power.

Do not go too large of an engine. Unless you also want to do major chassis mods. The steering suspension etc was very good for its day and will still work OK if you do not overwhelm it with too much motor.

Check out this site for Packard knowledge. They even have a modification section and a few old time hot rodders who know these motors inside and out.
Packard Motor Car Information - Packard Forums

 

Thanks Sixball and Rusty. Rusty I followed the link and see your a very knowledgable fixture over there!!! thanx for the link and I'll be joining same go for you Sixball thanx for the link a this will be a site i also join and use to gather all the info i will need to make the project work.

 

I got to thinkin that there's something else you can do. Look for a 282 8 as used in the 120s. They hop up pretty good, and if can clear a few cobwebs from my head, may drop right into your chassis. You can take your time on the build and keep driving it around as is. With a good tune, everything else in order like brakes and alignment, that 6 in stock form should cruise 60ish with very little effort. If you're fortunate enough to find one, an OD would make it even better. Just throwin it out there...

 

First of all. Sweet car!
Next, if you look on the Studebaker Drivers Club website, in the classified section, at the bottom of the page, you will find this ad:
STUDEBAKER/Packard, 1900-1956, Inline 6,8s/V-8/12s H/C Finned Alum. Cylinder Heads, Studebaker 1921-23 Light 6, President 1929-32 H/C 7.5 Hds., Dictator 1934-35 H/C Aluminum Hds. Other Cast items mfg'ed on request. EMI, 13451 Montana Ave., El Paso TX 79938 USA. Ph. 915-856-9607, Fax 915-856-9637. Email: [email protected]. (12/11 -11 /12)

Last, if you want to adjust your ride height, Eaton Spring in Detroit has new replacement and drop springs for you Packard.

 

I really like the idea of keeping in Packard under the hood and the six is a cool little motor. If you need more power you could find yourself a big 327 straight eight. These are pretty plentiful and there were some aftermarket parts for them as well. Keeping it Packard will also earn you some points with the restoration crowd and they can be very handy when it comes time to hunt down down that elusive trim piece. Nice ride, good luck.

 

on later inline 8's there might be a four barrell intake and you could make a header for it go dual's my dad had a cam ground for his 41. you can mix and match and maybe do a later crank and rods for a kind of stroker. also port the block shave the head etc....

 

I vote to keep the Packard 6.

Do you know the c to c length of the rods, the rod journal sizes?

Here is some info I found

Engine type
inline L-head six-cylinder
Material
cast-iron block, aluminum head
Bore stroke (in.)
3.44X4.25
Displacement (cid)
237
Horsepower @ rpm
100 @ 3,600
Torque (lb-ft) @ rpm
200 @ 2,000
Compression ratio
6.3:1*
Crankshaft
drop-forged steel
Main bearings 5
Carburetor
1-bbl Chandler-Groves downdraft
Valve lifters
mechanical
Lubrication
full-pressure
Electrical system
6-volt
Ignition
single-breaker distributor

Forged crank

Stock aluminum head

Thoughts;

Stock crank

Stock lifters

Stock rods ( or see if there are some off the shelf rods that might work, Summit lets you search for rods by length, you need to know the rod journal size and pin size ).

Take a look at the pistons, they may be very odd, you can measure them and call Ross or Arias and see what a custom set of pistons will cost, you may be able to move the pin up towards the rings quite a bit. That will allow you to maybe use a longer rod and compensate for the compression at the same time

Here is a pic of Rich Fox's 1926 Dodge that is going to run a 1920's Morton and Brett head. He had Arias make him these crazy looking pistons, they stick out of the deck almost 3/4" to make 9-1 comp ratio



Does it have dippers? Full pressure oil?

Build it

Nice looking car

 

I just bit off on the inline 8, picked up a donor four door '54 with a 327 Thunderbolt in it. Drug it home today, pulled the plugs and squirted some Seafom in each cylinder and can't hardly wait to get back to it. I am looking for options for a different trans, it came with an automatic and I would really like a three speed with overdrive.

I can't wait to hear what this will sound like with headers.

 

Cool Beans Work4it!
However,... it's okay to start your own thread...on your build.
Know what I'm sayin'?
...

 

Kinda off topic but not really,, A buddy of mine put a straight eight in one of his hot rod pickups, said he was gonna build a split header for it. He calls me up and says he's getting ready to fire it with the new header on it so I drop everything and beat feet over there expecting to hear something like we'd never heard before......


Well I get over there and help him set the timing and such, fill the carb and he hits the starter and vroooooooooom it fires right up,,,,, and it sounded like a small block chevy with headers and dual exhaust.

 

Ya Rocky I am excited about it! I would not have much of a thread, I have an idea and have started collecting tha parts as I come across the good deals. So far I have the motor, 17" ford wires, a front axle, a banjo rear end missing the pinion, and some misc small parts. Thanks for the interest though, can't wait to have something to post, that really means I will be building something.