Ford looked at discontinuing EN114 platform a while ago and decided to keep it on even though it was lower volume because it could be profitable so long as investment was minimized. You know the demographics on these cars. There were some suspension upgrades a while back but no big changes.

That may be why the construction was used initially, but it's used now because Ford sees no reason to spend serious money on redesigning these cash cow vehicles.

I think you can count the 40's too. The fantastic, amazing, revolutionary 1949 Cadillac OHV V8 had the same horsepower as the 1940 Packard 356

there are a '41 LeBaron sedan and a '46-7 Super Clipper fastback around, both silver over dark blue (darker blue than John's '41 160 mentioned above), and the combination is very attractive in my opinion, as well as factory option on those cars. Not sure if we've a shot of either here. There is a dark blue for '48, it's called Packard Blue and was a popular color - I'm sure there will be some shots of it here.

It's of course up to you, but if they are not already there I would consider not cutting the extra holes in the bumper.

A good read - I think the only real advantage for a V8 over a straight 8 might be that it's easier to get more equal intake breathing between cylinders. big difference between the distance from the carburetor to cylinders 1 and 8 vs 4 and 5.

great info on the temp control approaches.

note my original point was that 12V is not a magic requirement in choosing a modern retrofit - I didn't expect you to use a prewar unit. But if you find one, i'm sure several people here, self included , are interested.

The cost/convenience argument really doesn't hold too much water if we're talking about restoring Packards, does it? Rods, tri-chevy's, etc cater to that much better. We're all a bit nuts to do what we do (in the good sense)

the Packard AC unit is very hard to find. What I'm suggesting is that a modern unit could work with only a fan motor swap to 6V if you are willing to use the concept of the original - no drive clutch on the compressor.

I'm missing components (West has a complete sytem), but there is no clutch - the compressor is belt driven at all times. The air inlet is in the package shelf under the rear window. Admittedly the system is cruder, but it does make cold air. (and if you had the bar option, cooled the refrigerator - not a joke)

at the risk of hijacking the thread, on the comment of needing to go to 12V to install AC - remember than Packard offered AC as a factory option on 6V cars. The only electical part in the system was the fan motor.