Drake--there are hot rod Packards, and not the sort of engineering mods that Eric does, which are bolt-on mods but the whole "order me up a #1 hot rod special"-- the ubiquitious small block Chevy (at which point it is no longer a Packard), TH350 trans,Ford 9" rear end, Rustang II clone front end, somebody's alloy rims (the ghetto roller skate wheels/tires are in vogue right now) thumpa-thumpa stereo, GM tilt column, classic air, a bunch of other chrome brackets and crap form the Summit catalogue and Voila! you have a custom, just like everyone else.
We've been having quite a row over this very subject at the AACA forums, in the
hot rod Packard thread.
I've been kind of an A-hole on there about the subject, mainly due to the presence of some folks who can't wait to get a 30's Packard and LCD it with the above "custom, just like everyone else" package. There's been lots of "it's my damn car and I can do whatever I want with it" talk, and that is true, I know that such vehicles are treated like lepers at Packard club events.
With every passing year, the median age of current Packard owners goes higher, we have some new, younger blood coming into the fold, but I worry that we aren't attracting enough to take over all of the cars that could potentially hit the market at once, making a perfect storm for seeing fewer original Packards every year and more rolling bastards.
Your particular car doesn't incite me like the late 20s-early 30s models I have seen rodded.
I guess I'd like to ask you to consider keeping the original engine and doing what you will to get the most out of it. If you want a
FAST car, that was rarely an attribute that one applied to a Packard. You will stand out at your local cruise night, but you won't be the only Packard street rod/hot rod in exsistance.
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