Packard Forum Index » Modification Discussion

I have a 2 door sedan with the six cylinder. I'd like to hop it up a little, nothing crazy. Maybe just increase compression a little with a head shave, a three angle valve job and some minor porting.
I'd like it to look stock but have a little more potential. Right now it runs o.k. but uses oil. I got it slowed down but it's still not great. I get some smoke on acceleration or pulling a hill but the odd part is that none of my plugs are fouled or show any sign of oil. All are light to medium tan. Any suggestions on any of the above???

I've wondered the same things.... John

The one single modification one can do to increase engine power is to supercharge (either engine driven or exhaust driven). A low pressure supercharger can be expected to increase power by over 30%. Torque is increased too. Not inexpensive, but effective.

(o{}o)

probably bad valve guides and a generally worn engine.

The number one performance modification, if you don't already have it, would be to add overdrive. After that, I would concentrate on improving the handling, so you feel confident zipping down the highway at 70mph...

I figured when I originally looked at the specs on the 245 engine, was that they were sacrificing horsepower for low end torque. But it really doesn't make much of that either, something like 195 lb/ft @ 2000 rpm. I don't know what the torque curve looks like, maybe it is fairly flat over a range of rpm?

John

Smoking under acceleration occurs from worn rings.

I'm not much of a hot rodder and find this talk of porting these worrisome because they are old eroded blocks and subject to cracking. Usually this hot rod stuff is done to throw away motors. Without dyno verification all this talk of performance improvement is just smoke.

I don't think it is possible to restore like new performance in any antique car because of age. You can give a ninety year old woman an injection of speed, but that isn't going to make her young again.

Do a compression test and check oil pressure. This will give you an idea of the condition of rings, valves, and bearings.

Oil pressure 45 PSI @ 45 MPH

Compression 90 PSI with all cylinders within 10%.

This will tell you if you need a tuneup or engine overhaul or rebuild.

There is no point in hopping up a worn engine, it will only blow up within a month or 2.

If you rebuild the engine, chances are it will take away all desire to hop up the motor, change gear ratios, or install overdrive. Especially if you have the moving parts dynamically balanced.

I know people who have had their old flathead sixes rebuilt and were surprised at the new found power and performance. Their engine was so well behaved, it seemed to be running ok with no raps or knocks even though badly worn and down on power.