Re: 1939 Super Eight engine and transmission for sale

Posted by boosquat On 2014/9/27 22:05:19

Thanks Jim.

My mechanic will install the new engine without cutting the frame or doing damage to the sheet metal of the firewall, floorboard, or the splash panels. He intends to leave the Packard in a condition that would permit a future owner to convert it back to its original configuration if they desired to do so. I have no desire to create a rat rod, custom, or true street rod with fancy interior, digital gauges, etc. I like the stock Packard interior and dash panel and the basic lines of the car. My goal is to have a car that people would consider to be a restored stock automobile unless they opened the hood.

I checked out a range of possibilities for substituting another Packard straight eight, either a 327 or a 356, but faced the same issue of the cost of rebuilding an old straight eight versus the cost of a newer engine.

One issue with the car that I have not mentioned is that it survived a fire in the storage building it was stored in. The fire toasted the wiring under the hood and on the engine, and blistered the paint off the grill, front fenders, hood, and roof of the car. All the glass shattered into spider-web cracks due to the heat and the water used to control the fire. I am not starting out with a pristine example of a 1939 Super Eight. I want to save it and use and enjoy it on a daily basis.