Re: Crankshaft Bearings for 34 Standard 8 Engine

Posted by Peter Hartmann On 2008/8/5 16:48:27

I happen to be one of those "older" guys, was actually BORN in a Packard, and have just a little bit of hands-on as well as technical background on bearing issues as they relate to pre-war Packards.

I also have an extremely SHORT fuse and NO patience with those who put their mouths in gear before letting out the clutch on their brain - for the simple reason is I really LOVE Packards, and truly HATE it when a Packard owner is mis-led into turning what SHOULD be an incredibly reliable, capable, well-engineered product into unpleasant-to-drive unreliable junk.

There is NO debate on the absurdity of using "poured babbit" for connecting rod bearings, especially in pre-war Packards. It is a DIS CREDITED proceedure, ABANDONED as being WHOLLY UNSATISFACTORY in ANY automotive engine today.

With this qualification. If you have NO use for your Packard other than as costume jewelery, to be displayed at car shows, and trailored back and forth, AND YOU WILL BE HONEST and WARN A PURCHASER your car is not fit to actually drive, THEN and ONLY then can I see the point in using poured babbit for engine rod bearing material.

If any of you have a serious interest in how fragile poured babbit is, how unsuccessful it became as the highways of the 1930's permitted higher speeds, see what you can research about "Opening Day" of the Penn. Turnpike in the late 1930's. To summarize, a lot of people thought it was a LOT of fun on opening day, to go tearing over the new expressway, and as a result, a lot of tow trucks had a lot to do !