Hot Rod Packard Eight

[Aaron HG]

Greetings, I am new here.

What kind of potential is there in hot rodding a Packard straight eight. I am aware that in the past there have been some SCTA Bonneville cars running this engine. My interest is in dropping this into my 53 Studebaker (with much work, including engine set back), it's crazy I know, but I'm not normal.

Do the block and crank have much of a reputation? Induction and accessories would be fabricated.

If the bottom end is strong I would consider a blower.

What do you think?

[Guest imported_Speedster]

If you have several engines to play with and have access to a machine shop that can build preformance parts, then you could give it a try, but since there is no aftermarket performance parts available, everything would have to be hand Built, if you are after large improvments in power and torque. The L-head engine has many design limitations tho. It is small bore, long stroke, and was not designed for high RPM or high compression. A lot would have to changed before adding a blower or turbo and still have a reliable engine. I think the bottom end could handle an increase tho.

[Custom8coupe]

Edmunds offered aluminum heads that were said, by Hop Up Magazine, to provide a 14% power increase. Edmunds also offered 2 carb manifolds that ran dual throat Carter carbs, as well as split exhaust manifolds with larger diameter exhaust ports. Mallory offered hot ignitions, featuring dual points and hot coils, as well as magneto systems.

Several manufacturers offered modified cams. One provider of hot cams was Howards of L.A., who hotted up Jean Treveau's Packard Special which won several laps of the Mexican Road Race in 1954.

As a simple expedient, one could add McCullough Supercharger, as Packard itself did. They set a class record with the Panther Daytona in 1954, at 131.?? in the flying mile.

[Guest imported_PackardV8]

ALLOT can be done with flat head engines.

By and large nearly all flat head engines (4-stroke) are slow turning engines especialy inline 8's due to the crankshaft length. SO, that means u will have to get pressure on the piston and or stroke it to get the piston speed up or BOTH in order to get H'Power at the lower rpm so as not to stress the crank too much.

H'power is function of 2 things, exactly 2 things and only 2 things:

1. pressure on the piston crown and

2. piston speed.

Note that as stroke increases then piston speed increases and so does HorsePower.

So anyway u can increase the 2 elements while not overstressing the LONG crank will yield more power.

[Packard8]

IMHO, the best choice would either a 327 or 359 nine main bearing motor from 1951-54 Senior. They have forged steel crankshafts, forged rods and 32 sq in of main brg area (compared to 19? for an early Chrysler hemi). I?m building a 359 for forced induction and have had a custom solid lifter cam ground by Schneider ($150) and will order forged pistons from Ross (around $500). Other than that, a quality machine job including align honing the block, dynamic balance, and maybe some porting & relieving should yield a good strong motor.

BTW, the 3 liter straight 8 that Mercedes ran in the 1955 300 SLR was routinely run to 7500+ RPM at Le Mans, so I?m guessing that the Packards could safely be run to 4500+ if everything is balanced right.

[Guest]

CUSTOM8coupe:The Packard Panthers using the McCulloch centrifugal supercharges boosted the engines up to 275 hp from the stock 212. It was the second Panther that was used for the Daytona run. The only modification made was replacement of the stock windscreen with smaller racing version. The Panther obtained a top speed of 131.1 mph, this was an UNOFFICAL CLASS RECORD NEVER TO BE A RECOGNIZED RECORD

PS; Hey I guess not to bad coming from an illiterate juvenile having limited knowlegde like me. You have a good day. <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

[Twitch]

What I love about the Packard guys Aaron is that they're not bone stock originality snobs! <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" /> When I start hearing that goofy stuff from some that are looking for original key blanks and NOS fan belts for a 1937 Wazoomoblie I get crazy. <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" /> You ain't crazy.

Do watcha wanna do!

[Aaron HG]

I do have access to a full machine and fab shop so I can almost produce any part. That being said I was figuring on buying serious rods like Carrillos and some custom pistons and rings. I do not have a Packard engine yet (the original project 392 hemi motor sits in the corner, but these days thats like a red camaro) and I was maybe going to do a radical build on the Stude champion six. I'd love to find an Edmunds 8 cyl head, I have seen some state of the art flatheads made for the Fords(see www.flatfire.com) I could see milling a 2 part head with a water jacket sealed with o-rings. I have not found any engine bore/stroke specs which would help greatly. The length of the 8 crank does come into question though because my preference is to build a long rod/short stroke for higher rpm. For sure the highest quality harmonic balancer would have to be used.

[Custom8coupe]

Don Sears of Omaha, Nebraska, has recast the Edmunds heads and twin carb intake manifolds. They are expensive but very well done. The heads, unlike stock planks, take 14mm plugs.

[Aaron HG]

Where can I find the bore & stroke/year combinations?

[Guest Randy Berger]

What kinds of changes are you planning for the front suspension? The

Packard straight eight is a very heavy engine. You will need to beef

up the front end to handle it.

YFAM, Randy Berger

[Joe Block]

A simple modifification is to put a 288 head on the 356 engine, the exta compression make luginh the engine in overdrive and high gear smotth as glass.

I got a edmonds head and the twin carb set for one of 180 some day when time permits.

[Aaron HG]

The project ('53 stude) requires much frame work. The extreme version is a full frame/cage, however I do not want it ending up as a pro-street. My vision is more of a dry lakes car with as much safety and handling (the weight matters here). The mild version is using the original boxed rails, with added cross members and front sructure tying into the cage. I am not so hot on the steering arangement either (what am I not changing?). The front end would have twin a-arms, coil overs and maybe nascar spindles. In the back maybe a quick change. Again, no pro street. Wouldn't this be cool with a blown Packard eight?

[55PackardGuy]

Aaron,

You can find bore/stroke combinations, compression ratios and other general specs at Carnut:

http://www.carnut.com/

Click on "Car Specs" on the main page, then choose Packard "1950", which will give you the straight 8 engines from 1950-54 (caution--you'll also get the V8 starting in '55). Their information is fairly reliable, but once you get to final decisions, I'd double-check to be sure.

[Bridgeview1]

I am looking for straight eight engine parts, does anyone have any ideas of who I might contact for some direction? My Packard is a 1930, 726 straight eight.

Mike

 

Edited May 25, 2021 by Bridgeview1 (see edit history)

[Ken_P]

You'll have the best luck with your own post, and a bit more detail. What year? What series?

That said:

 

Max Merrit - Packard parts vendor

Kanter - Packard parts vendor

Terrill Machine - gaskets, bearings, pistons, etc.

Advanced electrical rebuilders - distributor work

Fort Wayne Clutch

John Ulrich Packard parts

 

Check out the Packard Club and packardinfo.com as well.