I had read that the R-R V-8 was "inspired" by the Packard V-8 and the small block Chevy, but i think that was some pretty loose Monday morning quaterbacking. I think John Shireman is right, It's probably closer to a GM offering in some ways. I worked on a couple of later 70s R-Rs with that V-8, never any mechanical problems inside, but you would open the hood and look at this big, brawny V-8 that looked very familiar, almost "felt" American, then you looked at the intake manafold where you would expect to see a Rochester Q-jet (one of my personal fave carbs) and instead see two S-U carbs DOH!

Then there was the issue of all of mr. Lucas' work in the car--DOH!

These two cars were one-owner cars (I worked for that owner, who bought them new in '78-'79) and I drove many of them. At the same time he had some Cadillacs that he bought new and kept, all low mile cars, one '76 Eldorado Bicentennial convertible that had only 800 miles since new, he bought new in '76.
I thought the Rolls drove very much like the Cadillac of that same era, the Caddys were as quiet, as smooth,rode as nice and were more reliable.
We had an '85 Silver Spur limo that the Bagwaneesh in Oregon had in his fleet, the only one that wasn't painted like a party van, that car had Bosch electronic F-I and was much, much better for it.

the caps you bought make really good water bowls for the dog

Well I finally got back in the garage this evening to get a little bit of work done. Taking that autobody class on Saturday's really cuts into my free time. But the class itself is pretty good. I MIG welded up all the holes in the hood of the project truck (emblem and hood ornament holes). Then I bumped out a few dents. Also a Uni-Spotter rocks! So it was good practice for some of the stuff I need to do on the Packard.

So on the Packard I bent up a new pump to carb fuel line, and also a new vacuum line between the carb and the distro. I also did a little website development work for a tool distribtion company in trade for a small oxy-acet. gas welding kit. I will use this to assist with the body work on the Packard. I am also going to try to source a MIG welder that I will use to put in the new floor pans.

Current pics of the new hardlines and the new torch:

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I'd say that it's a auto judging by the throttle linkage kickdown.

OK, the side trim is consistent with a Clipper Constellation, I went back and looked at the Clipper models more closely. Those are not Clipper front fenders. I think that your front end clip is from an Executive based on the trim clip rust holes that align with the top of the white color band. The Executive is the only '56 Senior front fenders to have that trim strip mounted high like that. The Patrician, 400 and Carribbeans all have a diecast/plated piece as their top where your bottom strip is located and another trim strip (stainless) 6" below that, corregated stainless steel black/polished trim panel inbetween on the Patrician and 400, body accent color on the Carribbean (ending with special "upsweep" moulding at the rear). The trunk on your car has the circle-V emblem from a senior car too.

Am not sure if the nag screen is a good idea but 100% on having an opt out if there is one. Some people for whatever reason maybe aren't ready or just don't want to advertise or add themselves to lists. I'd encourage them to visit, participate in forums with their opinions, questions or expertise and maybe possibly someday donate material than get PO'd and leave.

Mal -

When looking at the numbers, keep in mind that the Owner Registry was not in place when this site first opened its doors. When that feature made its debut, several months later, I believe there was close to two hundred members already on board. Yet, just prior to that debut, it was the reopening of the Forum that began to bring members out from under the woodwork. Some of us then went back and added our car(s) to the Registry to help get the ball rolling with that.

Since then, you have done a great job carrying the torch on this quest!

Meanwhile, is there anything more that BigKev could add to the registration process to invite new members to register their cars? Could he flag their profile such that if they don't have even one car entered in the registry after 90 days, a message appears when they sign-in, as a reminder? Lest that become an annoyance, such message would need the ubiquitous "Remind me later" or "Don't remind me again" check box so members don't feel hounded.

Mind you, I'm just brainstorming, here.

Matt, here's the ones you need, might need a little cleaning though: eBay Hubcaps

Six, Eight, Super Eight, or Twelve? I don't know if they were all the same but it would help to know which chassis is in question. I've not taken note of these on late prewar cars, but later the lower flexible sections were simple rubber sheeting which you can buy from any industrial supply house in any one of dozens of compositions, finishes and thicknesses. In the few I've taken note of, the rubber was stapled to the steel panel, though I can't guarantee that is how they left Detroit.

Others may dissagree but I've always considered the Packard V8, though large and powerful, to be a very conservative design without any particular innovations beyond what others had already done, so I'd not think there was any "prowess" for others to take advantage of.

There weren't many engines that went on to careers with subsequent manufacturers or in other appliations; the three that come to mind are the Pierce-Arrow 8 & V12 and the Lycoming V12 that went on to very long careers powering fire engines of Seagrave and American LaFrance (?), and though not the same engine, some of the design elements of the Franklin engines that were modified for a small number of Tuckers, and for a very large number of Korean war helicopters.

Surplus Packard V8s were sold for years after Packard ceased by J. C. Whitney; one frequent application was for conversion to marine applications and quite a few of these still exist. And the selling prices back then were CHEAP.