Packard8

Mr. Burgess, I've been wondering the same thing. This person has been banned many, many times for the same reasons...rude, condescending, pedantic and insulting posts. Yet...like a bad penny or an adolescent pimple, he just keeps coming back. He just signs up again as a "new" member and persists with the same rude behavior. This person is the reason I, and many others have quit coming to this site as often as we used to. He seems to be spitting in the face of the moderators here. If someone is banned multiple times, why is he allowed back under a new name?.... we all know who this troll is, and Peter G well knows his ISP...why not just cut the snake's head off?

Re "bigger is better", I am reminded that Ettore Bugatti reportedly once sneered, "Mister Bentley builds the fastest trucks in Europe." Not that anyone has offered, but if given the choice of a Su 8 Darrin Convertible or a 12 formal sedan, I'd opt for the ragtop over the bus.

You just don't get it Rusty....... having a bigger or more expensive car makes YOU a better person.

As a general rule (and there are always exceptions) It is not wise to go beyond the largest overbore pistons offered by the factory. In the case of such a rare and pricey block as a V12 it would be wise to ultrasound it to see how much meat is actually there. This is one instance when "striking oil" (or water) is not a good thing.

Priceless!

Fascinating Rusty, That beats the 1955 Packard feat of 24 hrs @ 104 MPH, and accomplished 30 some years earlier!

I often wonder why people strive to be the t**d in the punch bowl or why they eschew recent experience and current knowledge for foggy faded recollections. :confused:

Again, thanks for the info. I'll go with bronze as you suggest. In looking at the 1956 photo archives on Kev's site, photos #93, 97 and 109 show what appear to be black oil filler tubes and photo #61 looks like a black fan pulley. I have the 1956 sales brochure and the artist's rendition of the engine has everything bronze including the exhaust manifolds. I realize that brochure renditions are just that...renditions and are sent to the printer prior to the cars appearing in the showrooms. As you say, it is hard to determine who did what in the fifty some years since these cars left the factory. Thanks for the info!

Thanks PB, in looking at photos on Kev's site the main variables I see are the fan pulley and the oil filler tube....some are bronze, some are black. Kev & Randy suggested obtaining the PI judging book, I'll call them today re ordering one. Meanwhile I'll go with bronze on the items in question as they are both quite easy to remove and repaint if required. Thanks again.

Hi Folks, I'm detailing and painting a 1956 374 engine and am looking for any photos or details of the correct component colors. I have the bronze paint from Hirsch, and as far as I know, pretty much everything is bronze except the fan, fan pulley "cone", and oil filter housing (all black). I'm not sure about the oil filler tube, dipstick tube, road draft tube and main crankshaft pulley. Any links to a correctly painted engine woud be helpful. TIA

Aside from the horrible build quality of post war Packards, ("I know, they were all JUNK! I was there to see fenders, doors and twunk lids falling off of new cars as they left the showrooms") the REAL reason they went under was the lack of a cobbled up Olds rear axle installed by backyard "Agro American" mechanics. That and the lack of the Troll-a-Matic transmission.

I'm not aware of anyone offering it "off the shelf". I'll second an earlier suggestion to find a shipwright or someone local who restores/repairs wood boats. They should have the skills and tools to do the job, and during the winter they might looking for some work to tide them over until the boating season fires up again. There are several forums dedicated to classic wood speedboats, I'd start asking there. Sounds like you'll be busy for a while!

Thanks for the info, looks like I'll need to cc the mystery head and compare it to other known ones I can measure.

John...I looked again and found the specs. Thanks for the info!

Hi John, I looked on the packardinfo.com site and did not find the table you mentioned. Could you possibly post a link? thanks

Thanks John, I'll check out that article. There are dozens of heads listed in the 1948-54 parts list with the model application and C/R, (even a few oddballs for export use) but not the one I mentioned. If necessary, I will cc the volume and compare it to others I have with a known C/R.

Peter, there has been a "restored" 48 or 49 woody off and on ebay for the past 6 months. If I recall, it had a buy it now price around $48K, but has not sold AFAIK. The 48 custom is a nice car (nicer in a 2 dr or conv) but expensive to restore, especially the interior. The 53 & 56 would be nice tour cars but not very hot in today's market.

Hi Folks, I am trying to identify the application and compression ratio of a straight 8 cylinder head P/N 455139. It is not listed in my 1951-54 parts catalog nor does it have any ID (such as 288, 327, AT, STD etc) cast into the head, any ideas? Thanks

Looks to be very nice workmanship, but I suspect for $350K one could find a "real deal" V12 roadster plus buy a replicar Cobra or two with the change (if you want to spin some tires). Are the six pipe headers ornaments only with the real manifold hidden below? ....hard to tell from the photos.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Speedster</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> man, this is aggravating! </div></div> Wishing you a quick recovery but be patient and don't push it too hard. You know what they say.... "You can't keep a good man down!!"

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: tbirdman</div><div class="ubbcode-body">

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Steve_Mack_CT</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> no other takers on a caption to the Hemi Packard?? </div></div> How about "Ask the man who raped one".....?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Jay Faubion '49</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> Is there a save place under the engine to use a jack? Or do I need to use some sort of hoist the raise the engine a few inches? </div></div> I'd suggest a hoist as there is very little clearance between the pan and the rod throw. Any inward deformation of the pan can cause the rod cap to contact it (ask me how I know) . If you use the front pulley you won't be able to rotate the crank as needed to install the seal. A piece of angle iron attached beneath two or the head nuts works well. Have fun!

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: LINC400</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> No, a topic like "Rod vs. Stock" has no consequences. </div></div> I believe what you are saying is that the topic had no interest or consequence to <span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="font-style: italic">YOU</span></span> at the time and you got pi$$ed that the forum didn't collectively drop what they were doing to answer your post....at least that's the impression you convey to me. I believe the issue of Rod v Stock has <span style="font-style: italic">major</span> consequences for the future of the hobby. Consequences far beyond soliciting opinions on a single car listed on eBay. I am reminded of the old adage: "When you find yourself in a hole, the first order of business is to stop digging" .

I've read that the canted valve technology was derived from Packard's aircraft engine experience in WWII. Even though the HP, TQ and performance were competitive with contemporaries, the perception and image were not. I have a review of the 1954 359 powered Pacific HT and the author sums it up quite well...."When a new car buyer in 1954 opened the hood saw a flat head and 8 spark plugs in a row he was looking at an old man's car, not a modern OHV V8." .