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The idea behind my packard project comes from my love for oldschool style hotrods. I plan on lowering it considerably, and airbagging the rearend. I'm going to paint flames on the front, and leave the rest black. I'm not going crazy with this car though. I'm not planning on cutting anywhere on the body, "shaving" the handles, or de-chroming the whole thing. I like the way it looks now, with some slight modifications. Perhaps at a later date (very later, because its expensive), I will do a motor-swap to something I can get a little more power out of.

I am sick of seeing the billions of chevys, fords, and mercs crowding all the shows. Thats why I am starting something different. I haven't seen ONE hotrod packard. I'm not saying there isn't any, I just haven't seen one.

I've been considering a faux-taxi look. I can have a toplight custom made with a magnetic bottom for $100 or less, and the checker decals are only $30 a roll.

What do you guys think? I expect some "omg! dont ruin that car!" replies, but I assure you, I'm not doing anything to it that cant be un-done. Have any suggestions?

Hey, it's your car. Everybody's got their own opinions but the only one that matters is yours when it comes to your car. I like the idea of a Packrod! Right now mine's looking more like a Packrat but not by design.

What style of flames were you thinking of? Classic, realistic, tribal. A nice traditional set of white/yellow/red fade would be cool.

Good luck, you'll find a ton of help here just as I have!

yeah, i read your project thread, and i see a lot of parallels between our vehicles.

this is a picture of a '51 desoto that has a flame-style that is closest to my idea.

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You'd be surprised on the amount of power you can get out of a straight eight, but just don't expect miracles. A 350+ hp straight eight is cooler than ANY 1000+ hp V8 any day of the week in my book. Stick around, and follow me on my "9 Main Saga" thread in the Project Blogs. In about two months, I'm going to be tearing into that 327. Right now, I'm busy gathering the required parts to make my project go smoothly. So far, so good!

And, BTW, if anyone gets on your case about modifying a Packard, flip them the bird and tell 'em I sent ya!

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i wouldn't do a motor swap if i could get 350+ hp outta the motor i have. If making my 327 straight eight THAT powerful costs =/> the price of a new motor.. well.. i'll do the swap.

Drake--there are hot rod Packards, and not the sort of engineering mods that Eric does, which are bolt-on mods but the whole "order me up a #1 hot rod special"-- the ubiquitious small block Chevy (at which point it is no longer a Packard), TH350 trans,Ford 9" rear end, Rustang II clone front end, somebody's alloy rims (the ghetto roller skate wheels/tires are in vogue right now) thumpa-thumpa stereo, GM tilt column, classic air, a bunch of other chrome brackets and crap form the Summit catalogue and Voila! you have a custom, just like everyone else.
We've been having quite a row over this very subject at the AACA forums, in the
hot rod Packard thread.
I've been kind of an A-hole on there about the subject, mainly due to the presence of some folks who can't wait to get a 30's Packard and LCD it with the above "custom, just like everyone else" package. There's been lots of "it's my damn car and I can do whatever I want with it" talk, and that is true, I know that such vehicles are treated like lepers at Packard club events.
With every passing year, the median age of current Packard owners goes higher, we have some new, younger blood coming into the fold, but I worry that we aren't attracting enough to take over all of the cars that could potentially hit the market at once, making a perfect storm for seeing fewer original Packards every year and more rolling bastards.
Your particular car doesn't incite me like the late 20s-early 30s models I have seen rodded.
I guess I'd like to ask you to consider keeping the original engine and doing what you will to get the most out of it. If you want a FAST car, that was rarely an attribute that one applied to a Packard. You will stand out at your local cruise night, but you won't be the only Packard street rod/hot rod in exsistance.

in my first post at the top of this thread i mentioned some things similar to what you're saying. mostly about the cookie-cutter ford/chev/merc.

i had a long talk with my clipper when i first got it. i promised it that as long as the motor ran well, and didn't strand me, i'd keep it. i always keep my promises. (yeah.. i talk to my car.. get over it)

this is a quote from my "project blog" thread.

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some things are just a matter of safety. i have a child, and i want her to be safe in the car with me. so, everything i do to this vehicle, i have to take her into consideration. (thats why i went with a 4door vehic in the first place.) i'm going to add seatbelts (omg!) and some sort of restraint sytem for a childseat. also, i plan on putting a lot of time and effort into the break-system. if i feel that the breaks that are on it aren't enough to make my family and me feel safe in the car, you can bet that i'll modern-ize all 4 wheels (with a rustang II front and a 9" rear).

please keep in mind that my cars are ment to be driven. this car had been sitting for ages, and not taken care of. why? because it didn't run, and no one could drive it. i have no intention of "ruining" this car but, i do plan on having fun with it. will it be "show" quality? pfft.. not right now. will it EVER be show quality? give me 20 years, and we'll see.

i'm not touching the dash (other than to get all the lights working).

i'm not putting "rims" on it. (i have 2 full sets (5) of hubcaps. some rusty possibly-original ones, and the shiney most-likey-reproduction ones).

i'm not doing any "cutting" or "shaving" to the body. (heh, yeah.. i'll get the dents out, but that doesn't count)

i think i've decided to take the side chrome off. i'll put it back on later. i'm not gonig to throw it away. there are a lot of dented pieces, and it will look bad if i'm missing parts and pieces. so it's come'n off until they're done.

i'm painting fames on it. it's going to happen. i've been painting flames on things my whole life. good paint is going to be one of the LAST things i do to this vehic.

it's getting lowered. i'd like to add airshocks at least to the rear so i can raise and lower it depending on circumstance.

and now, at last, i've forgotten the point of my post. but, i do hope this clears the air.

Safety is always a good thing. Just remember that you won't be driving 100mph when you daughter is in the car! Or, for that matter, on a hwy.

I say, go crazy, as long as it is relatively easy to get back to original. On the other hand, if you want to cut/remove/modify the frame, body, or engine, I would recommend thinking very very carefully about what you are doing. You seem to have already done that, so those words are meant more for future readers than to you.

Have fun, and spread joy.

Cheers,

Tom

One thing to remember is, that modern V8's are a dime a dozen at any car show, but when was the last time you seen a Packard straight eight, or V8 for that matter? Keep the straight eight, drop a manual trans behind it if it doesn't have one already, and hop up the engine a little. A simple four 1bbl or 2 bbl carb setup is a cinch to make if you have basic welding skills, and will be totally different from anything else out there. Oh, and BTW, SBC block hugger headers will fit with minor modifications, so you can run dual exhaust. There's a lot to learn about post-war Packard straight eights!

Drake- good luck with your car. Most of all have fun! You'll hear all sorts of rhetoric about how blasphemous it is to change anything on any original car from a minority of people. You can take that with a grain of salt or not. After all you have a relatively common Packard, like mine. There's a zillion of them out there and plenty of parts cars too.

I got mine because it had a unique engine- a straight 8. I have a DOHC Northstar V-8, a Corvette 350 V-8 in my Z-28 so why have the same thing every other mofo that stumbled into town has?

I mean your car puts out like 150 HP compared to a Ford flathead with 85.

Realistically it won't make much sense if you did spend lots of $$ and go with a V-8. While it would be less ubiquitous than the same era Ford or Chevy, most people are not into Packards as a basis for modifying heavily. The same 51-54 Ford or Chevy will have a greater value than an added-on V-8 Packard simply due to general popularity. And unless it is a 2 door it will never be on par with other era cars in popularity = value.

Every car dicipline is a minority- rodders, rat rodders, low riders, mild customs, stock originals, 1/4 midgets, go carts, pick-up trucks, individual marque clubs- Mustang, BMW, Saturn etc., radical customs, Jap tuner cars, repro kit cars, Euro cars, land speed record cars and whatever else there is.

Whenever one gets on their high horse and begins dictating how all the others should fall into line of their tunnel-vision philosophy because othes' ways are wrong, well, you can see how silly it is relative to their minor standing in the world of cars.

I vote for keeping the unique straight 8 but it's your car. Have fun with it!