Re: Fuel supply

Posted by Loyd Smith On 2008/12/22 8:06:16

Your car was never one of the swiftest off of the starting line in accepted drag racing practise but, since I've had mine back on the road with the engine tuned, shifting points set correctly, etc. I have noticed that people who have never driven one of these cars without all of the emission controls, electronic wizardry and extemporaneous accessories that are habitually glommed onto modern vehicles seem to be amazed at its acceleration to desired driving speed and the ease with which one can exceed the posted speed limit without realising it. The most frequently asked question that I get from those who have never driven a full-sized 1950s/1960s passenger vehicle before is, "Did all of these cars have this much power?"

To me it seems a bit slow as compared to some of the other cars that I drove at the time, particularly with regard to the T/U transmission. If, however, you're used to driving modern, high performance automobiles the experience may be a bit different to you. A lot probably depends upon whether it has a two barrel or four barrel carb, how it's tuned, etc. Packards were generally designed as comfortable, "cruisers," but, in the standards of their day, they generally had more than adequate and, in some cases rather spectacular, power for the general driving purposes of their day.