Re: Should I Make the Trade?

Posted by JeromeSolberg On 2022/5/9 14:20:59

The 1953 Packards have the flathead straight-8 and either the overdrive or the standard Ultramatic, which are all relatively troublefree and work well, but it is all pre- mid-1950's tech, e.g. not a V-8 and not a 3-speed automatic, so not fast (though faster than you might think) and not something many mechanics know how to deal with (other than recommending an LS swap). 6-volt electrics though easy to swap over if you really want to. My 1953 actually handles very well for it's size and is a fun car to have, can drive it on the freeway fine, can keep up with modern traffic if I need to, and is no trouble to drive around town or even trips to San Francisco. Most people are not that enamored with the styling, but I think it looks pretty good. The 1951-52's have somewhat plainer styling than the 1953's and didn't have an available 4-barrel carb, so a bit slower, but otherwise the same comments apply.

The 1954 Packards often have the Gear-Start Ultramatic, which can be more troublesome, same comments otherwise as with the 1953's.

The 1955-56's came with the V-8 and 12-volt electrics, a more powerful if a rare engine, and various versions of the Twin-Ultramatic, which was an evolution of the Gear-Start, more sophisticated than the original Ultramatic but also troublesome and even more unusual, and still not as advanced as say, a 3-speed Torqueflite or (even better) a 700R4. It's somewhat common for folks to adapt a 700R4 or 4l60E transmission to one of these via the available Berendtsen adapter kit. Most people think the 1955-56 styling is very good.

Interiors as well as paint can be re-done with various levels of authenticity. Any local upholstery shop could re-do the seats and the carpet, but the only source for authentic or near-authentic upholstery that I know of is SMS in Oregon, who are kinda hard to deal with and have long lead times. I got my fabric from Lebaron-Bonney (now out of business), which was not quite authentic but of similar character. But if you don't require authenticity there is a lot of fabric out there that will do.

Note - from what I understand, if you have the Twin-Ultramatic rebuilt by someone who knows what they are doing, e.g. Ross or a few others, it works well, or even if someone just takes the time to go through the service bulletins and pay attention, it is not that complicated, but not easy to find someone.