Thank you. I have posted a question in the Modified forum and will continue on within that group.

Has anyone done this type of conversion? My understanding is that the 1939 Super Eight shares the chassis and body with the 120. Is the front end the same, and will conversion kits intended for use with the 120 work for the Super Eight?

First of all, I did not post on this forum seeking anyone's approval or disapproval, all I wanted to do was advertise the availability of an engine and transmission to those who desire to restore their Packard using genuine Packard parts. I posted on this forum to provide access to a very scarce Packard engine for someone who needed it to complete their restoration.

I could have junked the engine if I did not give a damn about keeping Packards on the road or understand the value of originality.

YOU started this whole thread with your nasty suppositions about the car in the background of the photo of the engine. You have followed that up with a series of insulting and presumptuous statements about my intentions, personal integrity, and motives.

If you are so concerned with originality, I imagine you are using oil from the 1930s in your Packard, genuine rayon cord Fisk tires, etc.

How many restorers cannibalize sedans to restore coupes and convertibles? How many coupes or sedans had their floor pans cut out to "restore" the rusted out floor of a convertible or convertible sedan? What about those who change the body style by fitting another factory body to an existing chassis because they wanted a touring car or a convertible sedan instead of a touring sedan?

A great many car owners make some concessions to safety and practicality if they wish to operate their cars on a regular basis. What is acceptable and what is too much? Swapping an alternator for the generator, converting to 12 volts, upgrading front brakes to discs, replacing bulb and reflector headlights with sealed beans or conversion kits permitting the use of halogen bulbs, replacing crumbling wiring with modern wire hidden within a period correct cloth covering, swapping in a more modern Packard straight eight, using Coker wide whites that happen to be the more modern radials rather than bias tires, substituting polished stainless steel louvers for hood sides or a stainless steel version of the Cormorant because it is lower maintenance, etc. etc.

I did not expect a positive reaction to my proposed modifications, and I realized that many purists would be critical of any modification deviating from factory correct.
This is one of a number of places I posted the engine for sale. The Packard owner who noticed my ad on Ebay was polite, very knowledgeable about Packards, desired to restore his Packard and was very pleased to find someone who had what he needed to complete his restoration. He did not badger me about my intentions and wished me well with my Packard and my efforts to get it back on the road.

I will go over and join the folks in the modified forum and leave you to the pristine world of uncompromising originality. If I come up with any additional parts that someone might need or could use, would it be OK for me to post the ad for those, or will you start all over again about how horrible it is that I am not using them myself?

Does everyone who tries to offer parts for those who are restoring their cars get this much negative input?

No where did I indicate using a truck front end or differential, nor am I "cutting up" this Packard. As for resale value, that might apply if I ever intended to sell it, which I do not.

Thanks Jim.

My mechanic will install the new engine without cutting the frame or doing damage to the sheet metal of the firewall, floorboard, or the splash panels. He intends to leave the Packard in a condition that would permit a future owner to convert it back to its original configuration if they desired to do so. I have no desire to create a rat rod, custom, or true street rod with fancy interior, digital gauges, etc. I like the stock Packard interior and dash panel and the basic lines of the car. My goal is to have a car that people would consider to be a restored stock automobile unless they opened the hood.

I checked out a range of possibilities for substituting another Packard straight eight, either a 327 or a 356, but faced the same issue of the cost of rebuilding an old straight eight versus the cost of a newer engine.

One issue with the car that I have not mentioned is that it survived a fire in the storage building it was stored in. The fire toasted the wiring under the hood and on the engine, and blistered the paint off the grill, front fenders, hood, and roof of the car. All the glass shattered into spider-web cracks due to the heat and the water used to control the fire. I am not starting out with a pristine example of a 1939 Super Eight. I want to save it and use and enjoy it on a daily basis.

Once the "piece of junk" is finished, I will post a picture of it. What you will see is a 1939 Packard that will appear stock on the outside with a stock interior, painted a factory correct color. I have seen too many old cars rotting away in barns or back yards owned by people who intend to do a "complete restoration one day". This Packard will end up on the road again after spending the past 60 years moldering away in a warehouse.

The original engine and transmission will live on in another Packard Super Eight giving it new life permitting it to be on the road again.

Two Packards saved from the crusher and on the road again, one with a heart transplant and one with a non-original but correct for the year replacement engine. The hobby is stronger for having both approaches.

Is this what your forum is about, telling people their car will end up junk or a piece of shit just because it doesn't meet your personal approval? I would never presume to tell anyone that they lack the motivation or drive to finish their car, or that no matter what they do, it won't be worth a damn.

I was searching for a junior Packard, and would have been happy with a 120. The Super Eight came on the market at a very low price and I bid on it, never thinking I would get it. As it turns out, I was the highest bidder. This is the Packard I have to work with, hence the use of a senior Packard.

Thanks for the input. I am sympathetic toward those who are disappointed in having another Packard turned into what one of you called a "mongrel". I seriously considered restoring the old drivetrain until I started receiving feedback from more than one Packard restorer on how expensive the 320 was to restore, how prone it was to cracked blocks around the valves, how scare these engines are and how hard (and expensive) parts are to find.

My reluctant conclusion was that if I wanted to enjoy and drive the car before I died, I needed to resort to a more modern driveline.

I an trying to make peace with the purists by at least offering the engine and transmission to someone who is dedicated to keeping their Packard original.

As for value at resale, I have no intention of ever selling it, and my two sons will probably squabble over who will inherit it when I'm gone.

I do appreciate the encouragement from some of you--we all have differing opinions on what should be done with a given make and model of automobile.

I bought the car to use and enjoy on a daily basis, not to sit in a garage and go to car shows on occasion. And yes, I intend to drive it on the highway. What the new engine gives me is reliability, ease of finding parts if repairs are needed, lower maintenance costs, and technology that is an improvement over an engine designed in the late 1920s that was in its last year of production.

You may not like what I am doing to my car, but at least I am making it possible for someone else to restore their car.