Re: Did Chevy consider Packard V8 BB Design?

Posted by Owen_Dyneto On 2009/2/16 10:29:02

I think Jack sums it up quite eloquently. As to the statement about licensing technology from Packard, I've spent a bit of time reviewing Packards patents but haven't seen any that deal with the V8 engines, if in fact there were any. I rather doubt there was anything significant in the V8 that was patentable - to be so it would have to have been something new, novel and useful and not obvious to one skilled in the art, and there is certainly nothing like that in the Packard V8 that is apparent to me.

Even if their early (starting in 1954) toying around with fuel injection for the V8 had come to fruition (which apparently was pretty much a disaster, as were Chrysler's early attempts as well), they were using the technology of others, primarily American Bosch but also Lucas, Simmonds and Bendix. But it wasn't "their" technology. Who knows, maybe this was the reason for the high performance build sheet code, assigned prematurely and aborted. Along the line of that other thread, that Packard built special "pursuit" cars? Come on now, you'd think something would have surfaced in the past 50+ years. They could barely build what the already had on their plate.

As an aside, I'm only aware of the one photo many of us have probably seen of the FI installation on a v8 (the one published in Hemmings "Packard" book of past drive-reports). Does anyone have others? Or other bona fide Packard references to the system they tried to develop? it would make interesting reading.