Re: Why did Packard never offer a marine version of the 120 engine?

Posted by Owen_Dyneto On 2012/3/10 9:01:13

The 282 engine derived from the 257 in what, 1937? In that year Packard had their hands full building the most cars they would ever build in a year, and at that time I don't recall that Packard had a active program in commercial marine engines. By 1939 they were already involved in planning for war production for aviation and marine engines. The availability of the IM-245 and 356 was announced in February 1947 at which time the 282 was already slated for discontinuation in a few months, with the 356 to follow by 1950 and even then with very low production volume. With a long, prior presence in the marine engine business I suspect Packard saw an opportunity to utilize space and manpower no longer needed for war production, revive their presence in marine activities, and also saw an opportunity to further amortize the cost of the tooling for these soon to be discontinued engines. Just my own speculation.