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Came across a newspaper article talking to a Packard collector who claimed all v8s could do 118 mph.

Can I assume that that was an alheimers moment or something similar?

I was in a 1956 Carribbean convertible on the Packard Proving Grounds test track in 1982 going 125 mph. on the straight-away.

Should that have said all PACKARD v8's???? A ford flat head 60 hp V8 won;t hardly do 80 mph. If he limits to PACKARD V8's then yes (except maybe the 320).

On the other hand, what does it mean to do 118 mph anyway??? What axle ratio??? 118 mph for HOW FAR SUSTAINED????

It's about a 3800 - 4000 rpm engine (SUSTAINED Rpm) so depending on rear axle ratio the 118 mph is not unrealistice at all. I've ran my 56 Exec with 352 V8 and 4bbl at 105 mph for about 5 miles SUSTAINED and it felt and sounded as easy as 70 mph. But even my little test of just 5 miles doesn't prove much.

Someone that just wants to prove a point could try winding one up to about 5K rpm FOR JUST 1 or 2 seconds and probably get away with it just fine for several trys. But what kind of a point would that be to prove???

Get out there and run 150 miles miles at 120 mph SUSTAINED for the entire 120 miles. Do it many many times. Then something has been proven.

What does anyone want??? A 1/4 mile sling shot and spot of shit in their pants after less than a minute or an engine that delivers well beyond normal expectaions on a continuous basis and on demand.

I'm fully confident that any of the 352 or 374 Packard V8 engines will sustaine at least 120 mph ALL DAY LONG for at the very least 50K miles of such operation. ESPECIALY true wit h the very long axle ratio of something like 2.97:1.

Edit: 2.87:1 Not 2.97:1.

The "long" axle ratio, at least in 1956, was 2.87/1

Thanks Owen for the axle ratio correction. I edited my previous post to reflect it.