PACKARD V8 LAND SPEED RECORD

Has anynone ever set a record at Bonnievile salt flats in a V8 55-56 Packard?? This would a great place for Eric to test out that blown 374!! Is there a class for this type of car?? ,great place for a Packard V8 club meet!!! I went out to Bonnievile in 93 want to go again!!!!

The fastest posted speed for a Packard V8 I have ever seen was in a 1957 issue of Hot Rod Magazine. A 1956 Studebaker Golden Hawk, with a hot rod stroked 352" engine and the Caribbean 2-4bbls was clocked at 140 mph at Bonneville. This was its first shake-down run and it had carb and ignition problems. Should have been good for 150-160.

There is a class for everything at Bonneville. The challenge is finding the one where your car fits best and has the best chance at an open record. Because of its high altitude, Bonneville loves superchargers. I have often fantasized about running my own supercharged Packard-powered Hawk there.

However, Eric and I are fifty years too late. Back in the day, the Hawk mentioned above signed up, drove up, ran the long course and drove back home. The difficulty is, like the rest of the US, they have gotten so safety-nanny-conscious. Today, a full roll cage, fire suit, fire suppression system, on and on with the regulations.

At the Nurburgring in Germany, you pay your $15, go as fast as you want in your street car and if you crash and kill yourself, they charge your estate for the tow truck and any guardrail damage - that is the way it ought to be run.

thnx, jv

Jack, that was a Feb 57 issue of Hot Rod. A Texan named Jack Lankert had his 56J Golden Hawk engine bored and stroked by C-T Automotive in N. Hollywood, Ca. They came out with 414 cubic inches <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> and installed a dual four-barrel setup. I never heard what happened to that car - it may be still sitting in a garage in Texas. <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

My guess is the Lankert engine didn't live very long. C-T stroked his stock cast steel crank by welding it and offset grinding. As you know, the stock cast crank has hollow throws. Welding on the top side adds stresses. Grinding it thinner on the bottom side weakens it by the amount of metal removed. Wouldn't recommend it, myself.

I spent some time with the original Hank the Crank himself and he said back in the bad old days, Crankshaft Company made a bunch of Packard stroker cranks. In those days, the very rare factory forged steel crankshafts were still available from Studebaker. They welding up the throws and offset ground them. These worked pretty well because the forged crank had solid crankpins, thus plenty of strength left after grinding. Most were 1/4" strokers and one was a 3/8".

I have seen one of these Packard strokers which was set up to use old flathead Ford full-floating rod bearings. This required making the big-end bore of the Packard rod larger. Wouldn't recommend that, either.

thnx, jv.

Joe,

This is a great idea! Sounds like no one has done it with a Packard V8 engine IN a Packard. As for the regs, just show up and talk fast, like "The World's Fastest Indian" did! <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Seriously, some research into what is required might prevent disappointments. But I think Eric has at least one parts car sitting around that could be modified to suit, then drop in the 374 and away you go. (I know, it's not that easy, and I'm not talking about my money) <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

Poked and stroked Packard engines were used at least into the the early 1960s in rails running on alcohol and nitro too.....

There is a fellow running a Vega with an injected Packard V8 on the salt. He's still getting the bugs worked out, but it should be a 200MPH car eventually.

The trouble is that the class break at Bonneville is at 372 cubic inches. That puts a 374 against engines of up to 440 inches. My engine is a 352 + .060 to make a 363. It is still being worked out. If you only run once a year it takes a while.