Re: How come Packard didn't make an OHV straight 8?

Posted by Tomsriv On 2008/6/22 1:05:43

Great replies, everyone. I learned something new from reading this thread! I think Rusty O\'Toole explained it the best. Also, I didn't mean Buick was a lesser car in general, only compared to a Packard. I am a Buick man, but Packards are on the level of Cadillac. I knew the straight 8 Buicks were pretty gutless by 60's muscle car standards, but I didn't know the Packards were equally as, er, made similar power as OHV engines.

I would assume of the many reasons given that Packard chose to stay with it mainly because it was quieter and tried and true. Also, similar hp meant it was not worth the investment for a struggling company. I saw a guy with a 55 Packard at a crusie in recently. I stared at his V8 for a long time, although it wasn't sexy, it is probably the rarest of any V8 made in the 50s. I bet chevy made more 348's than Packard made V8s. And if I am wrong on that I would love to pick your brain on which is the rarest.