Re: Drove my first 55-56 Packard recently

Posted by Tim Cole On 2014/8/3 6:47:27

The biggest problem with the Ultramatic is what the old timers called "good ones and bad ones". The good ones ran for years and went to the junk yard. A lot of the bad ones never got used so a car might be low mileage because it caused a lot of trouble.

The two big problems with the Ultramatic is no soft parts and the lack of proper timing for the Drive-High shift due to a lack of an accumulator. If the turbine shaft were modified to accept soft parts many of the problems would go away. The second problem has been largely sorted out via different shift valve springs. A lesser problem is the two stage torque converter which compromises mid-range efficiency for breakway thus creating the "slushamatic" sensation.

The Packard V-8 has better mid-range torque thanks to the intake design so running the trans in high is acceptable for normal driving. The car does outperform the 56 Imperial from 0-60 so it is not a slouch, although I'm sure with TorqueFlite it will out perform the 56 300B.

Packard just didn't have the money to fix this stuff. However, they blew it back in the 30's when, rather than develop a manual planetary shift that allowed for silent shifting, they simply paid Cadillac royalties for using synchronizers. The planetary gearbox could then have been used as a platform for an automatic.

I know somebody whose father worked for Packard and they say it was a good place to work but they didn't have much money.