Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

Thank you very much for going to all this effort, Blackbeerd. My friend who will be working on this project works at Wilcap, they make reproduction Ford flathead v8 heads and transmission adapters for other combos. Our adaptor plate will be drilled for a GM starter and flex plate, so I'm not sure if we need to locate the factory starter holes. I'll forward this to my guy. Again, thanks very much! I'll add to this thread as we do the swap.

There is not much room for a starter except for the stock location. So keep that in mind.

The bolt circle on the crank shaft is (6) 7/16 bolts on a 4.00" diameter, equally spaced.

Did you check out Bendtsen's kit for Chevy trans to see how they handled the starter.

That kit looks good.

But, the question is, why do you want to replace your Ultramatic?

well a few reasons, it needs to be rebuilt because it still has all the original linings in it and it builds low pressure in reverse and high gear. But mostly, I live in a remote area and most car shows / fun stuff to do is at least 30 miles away. My first plan to get the increased speed and economy of an overdrive was to install a divorced unit, but everybody wants an arm, leg, kidney, and your first born for one of those.

I suppose I can see that.

Mine was working fine when I pulled it with the engine. After seeing the oil that I drained out of it, I getting a kit and going through it.

I also live out of town. Once you are on the road and the converter clutch locks up, it isn't too bad. I was getting 17mpg before the engine broke.

And seriously, when I'm driving that car, I'm never in a hurry to get anywhere.

I live in Central California where getting on the freeway at less than 60 will get you killed ;) I am also getting about 16 or 17, but I'd much rather get 20 or 21 at over $4/gallon. Doing 2200 RPM at 65 is probably better for the engine than over 3000 too, right?

There is a certain cool factor to the unwashed masses when you explain to them that it's a one speed transmission. And it has a lock up torque converter like GM "invented" 30 years later.

Combine that with the flathead straight eight and so many people end up standing there with their pie hole agape.

:)

Well like Johnny Cash said, I've got the only one there is around. The cool factor is pretty intact ;) People love it because it's so rare. In fact most passersby ask me who makes Packards.

Apologies to anyone who's been watching the thread waiting for something to happen, my machinist friend also teaches powertrains classes at the community college and he's been ramping up the semester. He's still working on the solid model of the adapter and waiting for me to pull my bellhousing. I've decided that while I wait, I'm going to build a split voltage electrical system that supplies 12v to starting/charging system, ignition, and running gear and 6v to the gauges and radio via a converter. I'm also going to install new valve guides and springs, install oil filtration and pcv systems, port the block and re-shape the combustion chambers and add a dual header while the engine is removed. I'll post trials and errors here as I get around to it. If anyone has installed a remote spin-on filter system, please weigh in. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Attach file:

---

  (45.35 KB)