Re: How to tell the difference between a 352 and a 374

Posted by HH56 On 2022/12/3 16:35:02

Quote:
Other than the advertised HP and color difference there is nothing else with the engine itself. Bolt on items may or may not be different. If it still has everything original the 352 would have been painted a shade of greenish-blue and would have had a Carter WCFB carb. The 374 would have been bronze with a Rochester 4GC. CID and carb accounts for the HP difference but I do not remember if the senior Rochester carb was one of the changes added to the 352 when it became an Executive engine or if it kept the Carter. I believe the rocker covers did change to the senior silver with an embossed Packard name though.

Air cleaners and accessories may be different so that would be visible The Clippers (and Executive) with a 352 typically had Autolite electrics and the 374 had Delco. For the most part all that stuff is interchangeable and could have been swapped around in the years since Packard went away. Junkyard cars were sometimes a quicker and cheaper option if parts were needed.

As far as performance goes, there is very little difference. After Packard was gone Studebaker found 352 service engines stored in a warehouse. To get rid of them they sold them to dealers at a very low price and even suggested dealers offer the 352 to customers with larger engines that needed a rebuild. Also told them to mention there would be a negligible change in performance in order to close the sale.