Re: 1934 Packard bearings

Posted by Owen_Dyneto On 2014/3/23 13:38:22

I've also read that in Turnquists book; I've wondered about it; as wonderful as the book was at the time, it has MANY statements later found to be incorrect. In my own experience with 1934 Packards the only ones I've ever seen that appeared to be unaltered since built that had insert rod bearings were very late-numbered Twelves. I'm familiar with several VERY LATE Eights that had babbitt rods. In the 60s and perhaps before, while the insert rod bearings were still to be found (though never plentiful), some owners of earlier cars bought later rods built for inserts and installed them in 34 and earlier engines. But then the supply of insert bearings dried up (by the early 70s and we saw the opposite often happen, folks with the 35 and later engines were seeking earlier rods from the babbitt era to bring an engine back into service.

After the switch-over, factory-rebuilt engines from the babbitt era were probably done with insert bearings and corresponding rods, though babbitted service connecting rods remained as service parts for some time after the changeover.

I doubt any engines were upgraded by dealers just because the owner wanted a change (and if so, certainly not for free); more likely it occurred when there was an engine bearing failure.