Re: Straight 8 Head Modifications

Posted by Ross On 2009/7/3 22:31:28

Quick and easy, just find a head from a 53 or 54. Give it a light cut to clean it up and then polish up the chambers a bit with a roloc wheel. That will give you a hair over 8:1 so you can still run regular no sweat with Packard's latest and best effort at combustion chamber design. Try to get a 53 or 54 327 distributor to use with it as they give more advance. (The 359 distributor only works with the aluminum head.)

If you are taking the engine all apart, by all means get a cheap die grinder and clean up all the bumps and stalagtites in the ports. Round off the edges of the angled pockets that the valves sit in--no need to cut a channel all the way over to the cylinder in my opinion. But be sure to stay away from the area the head gasket touches! I do this on all my rebuilds and the owners are thrilled with the change it makes for an hour's labor.

Keep in mind that almost all Packards with high mileage are in need of rings and this will do far more for a tired engine than any cylinder head. Very often the top rings are broken.

Consumer Reports described a 53 Clipper with 327 and overdrive as "excessively powered" Yes Please.