Re: Which one to buy: 110 Six or 120 Eight?
Posted by Ozstatman On 2011/6/11 23:07:07
It's a toss up.
Buying my first Packard I had the choice of a '38 Eight(120) Touring Sedan with dual sidemounts and a '40 110 Touring Sedan without sidemounts, both owned by the same guy. Both restored, the '38 was an older restoration with a great motor, while the '40 was a newer restoration but had "piston slap". Driving and handling characteristics were similar although the '38 with much more weight up front with the bigger engine and sidemounts required much greater effort at low and parking speeds. Despite the '40 being $5K cheaper I bought the '38, I must admit the sidemounts were a very attractive feature at the time. Very happy with it but had always wanted a coupe and found a '41 120 Club Coupe on eBay in Idaho and bought that too. The '41 needed a complete mechanical overhaul, which was done except for the engine and trans, and was finished about 18 months after buying it. Sold the '38 and plowed a substantial part of the proceeds into completely rebuilding the engine clutch and trans of the '41 to finish the job. Although the '41 still ran, it burned a lot of oil and ran very quietly but it just wasn't as powerful as it should be. Also during the course of the '41 engine rebuild, at my mate Wade's workshop, he swapped a rebuilt engine into a '39 Six Touring Sedan which also had a reasonably running but very tired engine for another Packard club member. Since the rebuilds I've been impressed by the power the '39 Six has, having had the chance to drive it on a number of occasions. While not as powerful as the 120, it's more than adequate, being fairly torquey and with good acceleration, and that could be improved too because the accelerator linkage was very sloppy. Accordingly if presented with the same initial buying decision now between the '38 and '40, in light of what I now know, I would probably choose the '40. Another factor to consider would be maintenance and repair costs. More Six/110's built than Eight/120's should mean more parts available so lower costs, plus there was some commonality in parts between the cars, excluding the engines. Saying that, I actually used a harmonic balancer off the tired engine that came out of the '39 Six on my '41 120 engine when I found the 120's balancer was cracked. Engine rebuild cost would be lower just because there are less parts to repair or replace in a 6 versus an 8.
I've based my response on my own experiences in the last few years and not that of a new car buyer from 70 odd years ago. Although, back then, I'd imagine that test driving would be one factor in a selection process, the initial cost with the Eight being 25% dearer than the Six would be a significant difference for the times. Plus maintenance and repair costs would be another factor for the times with regular valve grinds(top end overhauls) and oil changes being cheaper as well.
My
for what its worth.
Buying my first Packard I had the choice of a '38 Eight(120) Touring Sedan with dual sidemounts and a '40 110 Touring Sedan without sidemounts, both owned by the same guy. Both restored, the '38 was an older restoration with a great motor, while the '40 was a newer restoration but had "piston slap". Driving and handling characteristics were similar although the '38 with much more weight up front with the bigger engine and sidemounts required much greater effort at low and parking speeds. Despite the '40 being $5K cheaper I bought the '38, I must admit the sidemounts were a very attractive feature at the time. Very happy with it but had always wanted a coupe and found a '41 120 Club Coupe on eBay in Idaho and bought that too. The '41 needed a complete mechanical overhaul, which was done except for the engine and trans, and was finished about 18 months after buying it. Sold the '38 and plowed a substantial part of the proceeds into completely rebuilding the engine clutch and trans of the '41 to finish the job. Although the '41 still ran, it burned a lot of oil and ran very quietly but it just wasn't as powerful as it should be. Also during the course of the '41 engine rebuild, at my mate Wade's workshop, he swapped a rebuilt engine into a '39 Six Touring Sedan which also had a reasonably running but very tired engine for another Packard club member. Since the rebuilds I've been impressed by the power the '39 Six has, having had the chance to drive it on a number of occasions. While not as powerful as the 120, it's more than adequate, being fairly torquey and with good acceleration, and that could be improved too because the accelerator linkage was very sloppy. Accordingly if presented with the same initial buying decision now between the '38 and '40, in light of what I now know, I would probably choose the '40. Another factor to consider would be maintenance and repair costs. More Six/110's built than Eight/120's should mean more parts available so lower costs, plus there was some commonality in parts between the cars, excluding the engines. Saying that, I actually used a harmonic balancer off the tired engine that came out of the '39 Six on my '41 120 engine when I found the 120's balancer was cracked. Engine rebuild cost would be lower just because there are less parts to repair or replace in a 6 versus an 8.
I've based my response on my own experiences in the last few years and not that of a new car buyer from 70 odd years ago. Although, back then, I'd imagine that test driving would be one factor in a selection process, the initial cost with the Eight being 25% dearer than the Six would be a significant difference for the times. Plus maintenance and repair costs would be another factor for the times with regular valve grinds(top end overhauls) and oil changes being cheaper as well.
My
for what its worth.This Post was from: https://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?post_id=79012