For anyone interested I'm cleaning out the barn and have a few items listed:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/322061355438?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1586.l2649

http://tulsa.craigslist.org/cto/5527804452.html

Both are in Tulsa, OK

Cheers,

John

Great article, thanks!

As mentioned, my Granddad sold these cars at his dealership in Wichita, KS in the late 50's. During summer vacation from school I accompanied him by train from Wichita to the docks at Long Beach CA to pick up his first car. We drove it back to Kansas across the desert on Hwys 66 & 54. Every time we stopped at a gas station, diner or motel the car would draw a crowd, and many asked if it was the "new Packard sportscar", certainly thinking of the just released 1958 Packard Hawk. Well both names were "PAxxARD", right?

I recall Granddad lifting the hood for the crowd and putting his hand on the cylinder head and saying "We just drove for four hours across the desert at seventy miles per hour", demonstrating the remarkable air cooling system. I also remember a guy in a Jag roadster (XK120 or XK140) pulling along side us cruising down the highway, looking the little car over and then gunning the Jag and leaving us in a cloud of dust. About an hour later we passed him parked at a gas station with steam pouring out from under the hood. We honked, waved and drove on by.

After selling only a handful of Panhards in a year, Granddad gave up on them "Too radical and cost too much". He picked up Renault and did quite well with them (five state distributor) until they self-imploded after 20 or 30K miles of midwest flatlands highway speeds.

Neat little cars, my Granddad sold them in the late 50's. Looks like an early 60's Dyna. FWD, 2 Cyl opposed air cooled engine with torsion spring valves. They would get around 50 MPG and cruise at 80 MPH all day. I think they weighed only 1500 lbs. or so.

True....timing by ear works for me. Using a timing light assumes that all components are at factory spec...no worn timing chain, slipped balancer, low octane fuel etc.. Using a vacuum gauge works well too, as it sets max vacuum for that particular engine at that point in time.

When you find TDC on #1 cyl (via the "thumb on the spark-plug hole" and the rotor pointing to #1 plug wire on the dizzy cap) do the scribe marks align with the indicator in it's former position?

Perhaps someone used a balancer from another application and improvised the timing marks?

The term "shift on the fly" usually applies to the four wheel drive system on Jeeps and pickup trucks. It is the ability to engage the 4X4 system while in motion. Some of the older designs required the vehicle to come to a complete stop before engaging 4WD by manually locking the hubs on the front axle.

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Thanks for the info. I've yet to figure out where the "SP 087" comes from or if the company doing the conversion bought the engines direct from Studebaker-Packard. Maybe that is the "SP" in the serial number?

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Just curious...what engine numbers are stamped on the block next to the oil filler tube on the Hash/Packard V8's? I have a 1955 Packard 320 long block that was originally used in a marine conversion and the stamped number is "SP 087", and it has the AMC style oil pump.

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Good point, might have been a few "leftover" Packard V8's in the early 1956 models but I've never seen one.

Re the wet clutch on the 6's, it is easily converted to a conventional dry clutch. I had a 1949 Super Six that was converted....no more hassles finding Hudsonite Clutch Fluid.

Does it have "Twin H-Power" script on the trunk? Might have the 308 cid big 6 with 2 carbs. That and the OD trans is worth good money to the Hudson folks.