Packard V8s in boats, too.

[Pontiac59]

I ran into a guy on another board who has a Packard V8 he picked up that came out of a boat - a factory install with special exhaust manifolds and things. He was looking for performance parts for it, I guess it was destined for a hot rod. I thought I'd share here, I've suggested 2 or 3 times he come over here since the best tech info on improving the oiling in these is available here. Apparently there was only a run of like 300 or so made with this motor?

While I was at it, any truth to the rumor that the big-block Chevy V8 (396-427-454) owes a lot of it's original head design to the Packard V8? I read one rumor that suggested it was possible GM even bought the copyrights to the head design from Studebaker-Packard Corp. in the early '60's.

[Guest imported_PackardV8]

The IHC rumor mite merit some research. It would be interesting to know when IHC came out with their first V8. I believe it was a 67 or 68 IHC Pickup i worked on about 20 years ago with a big V8.

[R W Burgess]

My Dad had a 1961 International 2 ton truck with a 304 V8 engine. He added a "dead" axle to it to make a 10 wheeler for grain and fertilizer hauling in the old days. I think the 361 cu in. V8 came out a couple years later.

Wayne

[Jack_Vines]

Because Studebaker had a warehouse full of complete Packard V8s, they sold them out the door of SASCO for $495 retail, complete and ready to run. They reportedly sold a couple of hundred to a marine conversion outfit for $200 each. These were just the regular 1956 Studebaker Golden Hawk 352" Carter 4-bbl, 275hp engine - absolutely nothing different. The marine converter added water heated exhaust manifolds and a marine transmission and sold them for $1250. I have seen photocopies of the ads the marine conversion company ran. They also had a Hudson 6-cyl version.

The Packard V8 head design has nothing whatsoever in common with the big-block Chevy V8. The two are very different concepts.

I have checked every dimension I can find of the IHC V8 versus the Packard V8 and other than being big lumps of 1950s iron, I can find no interchangability. Would love to find a interchange source of Packard parts, but this ain't it.

thnx, jv.

[Guest imported_Speedster]

Someone on this Forun had 1 or more of those converted engines, about a year ago, but I can't remember who? There are pictures of one somewhere in the forum archives.

[Rusty_OToole]

If anything the big block chev head design was copied off the Chrysler polysphere. Chev introduced it (1965) just as Chrysler was getting rid of it.

Actually the 348 and 409 had staggered valves, the new head design leaned them at an angle. This was the Polysphere design Chrysler had been using since 1954.