Looks to be a '56--aluminum case, right? it may have also been a pushbutton car, it appears as though the tread reducer is still in place for the adjustment strap bolt.

Leedy--all good, salient points. In the photos I have of the plant taken in 1953, after Chrysler took ownership of the plant there is nothing but Packard work being performed there, and the operation is very luxuriously spread out, with huge aisles between lines. There isn't a whiff of any work for any other customer visible in the photos.
I could be 100% wrong in this memory, but wasn't there something in the AQ book (AKA "Kimes" book-erroneously) about Packard sending all of their body making equipment to Briggs at one point just after the war, on a handshake--with no paper trail, then having no body making equipment, and faced with the possibility of having to buy all new presses and equipment the lease and operation of the former Briggs Conner facility (full of the right equipment) was their only card to play to obtain bodies? I guess the auctions that would have taken place after the fall of the house of Packard would be an important piece of evidence that way. If there were no auctions of body stamping presses, etc. it could be that Chrysler just took them and moved them to other facilities like Mound road. When I worked at the Chrysler museum one of our stalwart volunteers was a retired production supervisor at Mound Road stamping. He told me that Chrysler had a standing order with Fisher Body/GM to buy any used presses that they were done with, so basically Chrysler's new presses were the ones GM didn't consider good enough any more to turn out quality work. I think they would have jumped to have Packard's presses and machinery.

You should have been the buyer for my 400 in 2011. At least I'd still be conversant with the buyer.

One guy I would definitely involve in this project is Ed Baker at Baker Engines in Fort Wayne. He knows these engines (any engine, really) but he has done a lot of these. We drove a Lycoming 8 from the Detroit area to Fort Wayne to have Ed do all of the machining.

I posted answers on the original page.

Can you get modern bearings for the mains and rods?

This is a Babbit bearing engine. Some Packard engines have been retro-fitted for modern insert bearing, using off-the-shelf Big 3 insert bearings, but I am not aware of anyone doing this for the 7th series engines.

Can you get modern seals, rings, pistons?

You can get pistons from Egge, some have had good experiences with these, others--not so much. I know restorers who use pistons by other known custom (racing) piston suppliers, made to order. Nothing is cheap in these engines. Rings are available, Olsen's has

I'm sure that hardened exhaust valve seats can be installed in this motor... what about valve guides?

yes and yes.

How about using a thermostat for the cooling system (vs. shutters)?

Don't. Nothing in your engine was designed for a block thermostat, and expansion rates and machine fits are designed around this.

Anyone have an insight into converting the points ignition to electronic?

Don't do this. Get the retrofit plate that is sold through the Classic Car Club of America, it is a new distributor plate that takes commonly available ignition point sets (around $10/set) from NAPA. Your car will run forever, just fine on the first two sets you buy (dual points)

Can my existing transmission get syncros added?

Not easily or cheaply.

Are the original style driveshaft u-joints reliable?

Yes! it is a Packard.


Having said all of the above, I will have to say this, again: This engine is nothing like anything you might have worked on before. This doesn't make it wrong, it is just different. I have seen these engines and cars boojed up by people who "are small block Chevy experts, built hundreds of them" (or any other common engine that parts are readily available for) You have to come to this engine the way it is, the way it was built, you can't ask it to conform to what you already know and try to adapt it into something that you know. You have to approach it for what it is, the way it is. A big part of this is reading: Look up the owner's manual on this website, and read the section on the engine completely. Back then an owner's manual was a mini shop manual, and there is much wisdom in its pages. You have to take all of your accumulated knowledge and hang it on a hook, like a hat, and start over as though you know nothing, and learn how this engine is built and meant to work.

Levine Restorations bought the product line from Jerry.

These switches are now as much as 60 years old, there might have been a run of service replacements a short while later, so they are all at least 50 years old. Are you running silicone fluid? (Dot 5) that is known to eat the old stock switches in short order.
You can use a brand new regular two-prong switch available from NAPA in conjunction with a simple relay to do what the OE three-prong switch does. All of that is buired under the battery tray, so someone would have to look hard to find it .

Not at all. Good work.

That same site today, at almost the same angle as the 1954 aerial above.

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