PackardKid352

Ok, you guys are great. I was at Levines the other day, and they didnt have them but I havent checked Auto Zone yet, I just assumed they wouldnt have them. Ill have to look when I stop there this weekend.

Sorry if this question sounds stupid, but where can I buy a new 6 volt battery? And how about an alternator too, its for a '54 Customline.

Can anyone tell me why the 239 Y block parts dont interchange with the latter parts? Is there a way to fix this, like a head change or something? BTW, im mainly interested in picking up a new intake and cam for this thing. Also, what kind of pistons does it run? (flat top, dished, domed, and what are the CC if a dish or dome?) The 7.2:1 CR is anemic IMO, can I have the heads flat milled to get it closer to 9:1 without having to worry about valve clearance. I think this engine can really be a beast with some propper classic hot rodding technique. Thanks guys and gals.

Actually, im torn between the V8 power and the '51 to '54 styling. Turbopacman has two '53 Clippers that he said he would sell cheaply that I could be interested in, although he is in Kansas according to his profile and I am in CT. Im new to Packards and my basic idea of owning one is to have something old that I can drive and work on, almost sort of a learning experience and Packards are notoriously well built cars and are selling for good prices, just what I need. I also dont know what you guys are paying for insurance, but compared to what it would cost for me to insure a musclecar at age 16, well, im sure it makes the Packard premium look like nothing.

Yeah, I heard that the frames were actually the same too. How much power can you get from the straight 8s? I didnt realize the compression was 8.7 to 1, I figured it was something really low. They must make alot of torque though with those long strokes. BTW, I never seen that Belvedere thing before, although I have heard of it once I wasnt sure if it was true. It will certainly be interesting to see what comes up when they go to take it out.

Well where do you get parts from? I assume Egge has some kind of problem or is expensive or something by the way you said "Most of us know about Egge parts..we leave it at that..", am I correct?

http://www.egge.com/about.shtml They supply Packard engine rebuild parts. I hope this can help some of you. <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Your post seems to co-incide with what very little I know and what ive heard, so I assume its right. If not, it certainly sounds right lol. I am basically shopping for my first car. Whatever I have has to be older, as I stated, but it doesnt have to look great. I really just want it to be solid or something that could be solid with little body work and have a good interior. A Clipper would be fine for me. Its too bad that the V8s didnt come before '55, I really like the '54 styling and the years before that looked the same. I might get an earlier one, but like I said I kind of want the V8. I would actually rather have a straight 8 because its cool if it wasnt for the fact that its a flathead. I think I will try to find a 2 door Clipper. The 4 doors do look very nice for 4 doors though, it doesnt really look like a 4 door at first glance because its styled so well. I want to become an engineer and apreciate good engineering. Thats why I wandered to Mopars around age 12 after being raised a hard core Chevy fan all of my life lol. I notice that almost all of the Packards for sale that need work are running well and have the original engines. About how many miles can you expect before needing to rebuild one? I think I actually found a place that might have parts for Packard engines, ill let you guys know if they do once I check it out.

Thanks for the welcome. I noticed that the bodys seemed very strong and rust free other than surface rust. The interiors seem to have held up well too. Were all of the 3 speeds column shifted?

Those prices seem so low lol. Maybe ill have to go to VA and come back with a tanker full of gas.

Oh. Nice pics. The frame looks solid.

Ok. I heard the straight 8 is a flat head, so I assume thats why you said its like an oversized lawn mower. Thats good, lawn mowers are my specialty for hot rodding so far in my short hot rodding career lol.

Hey guys. My name is Matt and I am 15, going on 16 in December. Im into old cars. Generally, im an all around musclecar enthusiast and like pretty much everything, particularly Mopars and Chevys. I also like classic cars. Lately, ive been trying to find something old, not crap, I mean classic old. I want something with an 8 cylinder from the 50s, 60s, or early 70s that I can sort of hot rod. I would of course love to get a musclecar, but theyre so darn expensive. I just posted in the Packard forums about maybe a Packard, and now im posting here. Im also thinking about maybe a '59-'61 Fury that originally had a 361 and maybe swapping it for an RB 383 and then dishing out the cash for a ram induction setup for it. It would obviously be a torque monster, exactly what I want. I would like to make the 13 second bracket, which I fully beleive I can do because I would set it up with a 727 and then either a 3.54 Dana or a 3.91 8 3/4, although I would prefer a Dana since its going to be a torque monster. I really want something with good sheetmetal and relatively complete. I am good with mechanics, I would rate my mechanics skills at exceptional for my age because I have quite a bit of experience working with my dad doing stuff like engine swapping, rear end rebuilds, and such. My dad is a very experienced and knowledgeable mechanic and would help me with most things, just because two people always make it easier. Like I said, I really want something old because I love to wrench on stuff and I know how carbs work. I dont know much about how fuel injection computer systems work and I dont want to have all of the relays and crap, plus I just love old cars. I actually just finished the wiring on converting my lawn tractor I got two year ago to wrench on from a 1 banger to a V Twin. It has such low hours (not miles lol) on it and runs like a top, very different from the oil leaking Tecumseh it had. Im looking for possibly a project to buy in a few months and also want to know if you guys know of any good parts suppliers for the old Furys or maybe another Mopar like the Furys, like the Dart. Thanks, Matt.

Weve had to pump here in my area of CT, South Eastern (im actually 5 minutes away from Brewster NY), for as long as I can remember. There were some prepay station before gas prices went up, but now with they are all prepay around here. How much do you other guys pay for gas? I think the closest gas station to me (theres two right next to each other) is 3.27 for the cheapest today, and that is one of those gas stations thats really cheap gas, I think its a newer one, I just seen a second one like it a few towns over, and its called EXTRA. Anyway, ive heard that the gas prices in CT are about 30 cents to a dollar more than other states because were one of the richest states, we actually might be the richest, I dont know. The whole state doesnt seem rich, thats for sure.

Hey guys. My name is Matt and I am 15, going on 16 in December. Im into old cars. Generally, im an all around musclecar enthusiast and like pretty much everything, particularly Mopars and Chevys. I also like classic cars. Lately, ive been trying to find something old, not crap, I mean classic old. I want something with an 8 cylinder from the 50s, 60s, or early 70s that I can sort of hot rod. I would of course love to get a musclecar, but theyre so darn expensive. Anyway, I dont know much about Packards but today, when I went with my dad to pick up a Pizza for dinner, there was a Packard in the plazza (I think about a '54, my dad seen Ultramatic on it and we both figured it was the transmission). It didnt surprise me, since there is a big Saturday night cruise about a half mile away from there, but I looked at it and thought, "Hey, I dont really think Packards bring high prices." I took a look on the net, and concluded that they are pretty cheap. However, im here to learn. I am a mechanics person and so is my dad, and hes not a "burnout." Hes actually an ultrasonic machinest and has alot of hours compiled working on his Chevelles and I have a very mechanical mind, so I would actually love to get something that needs a few quirks and kinks worked out mechanically with a good body. Back to the learning part, it doesnt seem like they had many models in the '50s, and I really want to know about the engines. I know there was the 327 Thunderbolt and the 352 V8, thats about all I know. How hard is it to find parts for Packards? Are there any websites to visit for parts? How about the transmissions and such, were there any 4 speed manuals? And can anyone tell me how easy it would be to find a 352 equipped car? How much power can you pull out of either of those engines, im pretty sure by looking at the 327 that its not a very big bore so it must have a long stroke and can probably be a torque monster. Ill have even more questions given time, I hope you guys can help me. BTW, whatever I have will be driven basically everyday except when there is snow and or salt on the road. And you dont have to know much about Packards to know of their reliability. I also figured that the insurance for a Packard wouldnt be nearly as much as for a musclecar. Like I said, I really want something old because I love to wrench on stuff, I actually just finished the wiring on converting my lawn tractor I got two year ago to wrench on from a 1 banger to a V Twin. It has such low time on it and runs like a top, very different from the oil leaking Tecumseh it had. Thanks, Matt. <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />