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Excuse the newbie question.

What is the going rate (ballpark range OK) today for a rebuild of a 1932 Packard Motor?

Any comments or feedback from the forum members will be most appreciated. Thank you.

I've got some recent experience with a 1934 Eight.

If you do absolutely nothing yourself except deliver the car and drive it home when finished, and you get a "total" meaning such niceties as all nickel plated engine trim redone, radiator recored, starter, generator, water pump and distributor rebuilt, both manifolds reporcelainized, hardened exhaust valve seats installed, flywheel surfaced, rebuilt clutch and pressure plate, plus all the internal work to the highest standard, a top-notch shop with a national reputation would get about $24,000.

If you remove some of the flourishes, remove and reinstall the engine yourself, skip rebuilding the accessories, don't recore the radiator (which is highly recommended to do), and do some of the diassembly, cleaning, painting, running around for parts etc yourself, you should be in the $8,000- $12,000 range.

If you decide to do it yourself and just farm out the machine shop work and the rebabbitting/line boring and the like, you'd probably be down to about $5500-$7500.

If the crank doesn't need turning, you could subtract about $1000.

A good job should include
-block and head tanked, pressure tested, & magnafluxed
-block decked to parallel
-cylinder head surfaced
-probably a new water distribution side plate
-bored or sleeved as needed
-new valve guides
-new cylinder head & manifold studs
-hardened exhaust valve seats, new valves
-new pistons and wrist pins and rings
-crank counter weights removed, turned & polished
-connecting rods straightened, rebabbitted
-main shells rebabbitted and line bored
-new cam bearings
-cam polished at a miniumum
-new timing chain, and possibly sprockets
-all new rocker arm rollers
-lifter bores sleeved if necessary
-lifter pads and lifters resurfaced as needed
-oil pump rebuilt
-flywheel refaced, clutch rebuilt
-all rotating and reciprocating assemblies balanced
-manifolds resurfaced
-and probably a few details I've missed.

In addition it wouldn't be uncommon to find some repair of the aluminum crankcase or oil pan needed.

PS - should have added, babbitt work should be left to someone with a good reputation for that kind of work, it's nothing for the novice or near-novice.

But... one would also need to know if he's talking about a Twin Six (Twelve) or an Eight. A Twin Six could range anywhere between $10,000 and $50,000.

Thank you for the information. I want to know about the Packard Eight.

G'day pchdrive,
to PackardInfo. Sorry can't contribute to your query although I'm in the midst of rebuilding my '41 120 eight, a somewhat different creature. But I'd like to invite you to include your '32 Eight in the Packard Owner's Registry, together with a pic, any known history and how you acquired it?

I'm getting my 1932 8 rebuilt now. I figure it will be around $7-8K. The clutch rebuild was $400. I've got a guy who assisted in taking out and will help put it back in ($45/hr). He will take the machine engine and assemble it. As I understand, this work is a lot more expensive in CA than in OR.

Stuff like the manifold, accessories where already done before. The radiator was checked out two years ago.

G'day Mate
Great to hear from Oz. How I do love Sydney. Spent a week there on holiday, it is magnificent!

I do not own a Packard. I would love to own such a piece of automotive history someday. The reason I asked about the rebuild of a Packard 8 motor is this. I am conducting a market survey for a good friend who owns a machine shop/performance motor building business. He is a top notch individual who wants to offer his services to Packard enthusiasts. He is busy and has asked me to assist in reaching out to your community.

He recently did build a 32 Packard 8. I saw the work that he performed and also the finished motor. It looked great.

The feedback provided here about pricing helps a great deal. It has confirmed that he is right in line with the marketplace, perhaps even a bit lower, despite being located in California.

I'm not sure about forum rules or ettique concerning posting a business name so I will not mention it now. But if anyone is interested in working with a top notch engine builder in the SF bay area please feel free to send me a PM.

Respectfully,

pchdrive

Quote:G'day again,

Pity you don't own a Packard. Sydney's not been at it's magnificent best this week, it's been stormy, wet and windy interspersed with sunshine and humidity.

As a small addendum to Owen Dyneto's excellent list above, I would add that the block and head should not just be "hot tanked" at the local auto parts store, but taken to a "Chem-strip" type place that does full rust removal using an akline solution through which electrical current is passed. This is especially vital on pre-war engines, where past owners may have run them on plain water for months at a time, and then used substances like alcohol or the older antifreeze mixtures that didn't prevent rust very well. You need to start with a surgically clean block, inside and out, and this is the only process that will get it, 100%, inside cooling passenges, where you can't see, rust free.