Re: straight 8 in a '56

Posted by Eric Boyle On 2009/12/15 21:18:25

A Packard straight eight measures 41.5" from rear of head to end of fan, add at least 1" in the rear for clearance and 2" in the front for fan to radiator clearance and you end up with 44.5", make it a round 45" for safety's sake. I don't think it'll fit very well. The firewall appears further forward in the V8 cars than the straight eight cars, but this may be an optical illusion because of the wraparound windshield. I agree, straight eight's are cool, and I love 'em completely, but I don't think it'll be an easy task to do. I CAN be done, by putting an indentation in the firewall to clear the rear of the engine, but this causes a host of other problems with stuff under the dash. If I were doing engine swaps with Packard engines into other models of Packards, I'd be putting V8's in '54 and back cars.

A '42 and back Packard Six with a dual quad V8 and a 4 speed would be the cat's meow! Put it on a '56 Clipper T/L chassis and it would be the coolest thing out there.