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3600. makes me glad i rebuilt mine myself. whew.

See what Jack Vines wants for a turn-key or long block engine. IIRC he had one or two such engines for sale about a year ago. Probably cheaper and better in the long run to go with JV's engine. He's up in Washington state somewhere.

His email is: packardv8@comcast.net

Well unfortunatley I have neither the time nor the expertise to do it myself. As far as JV is concerned by the time I pay for the shipping, I would have the same bill, plus I would have an engine of which I know nothing about. Should anything go wrong, then I get into the inevitible pi$$ing contest of who is at fault and then try to get it all sorted out. This way the shop is local, and the work is warrentied for 12 months.

ALK

Yeah, shipping costs on an engine as heavy as a Packard V-8 can be a b*tch. IIRC, several years ago I paid $550 to ship a Pontiac V-8 from mid-Texas to Las Vegas and they wouldn't deliver to Pahrump, so I had to drive over in a Pickup and have it loaded.

Also, a couple of years ago, I paid around $2200 for a standard overhaul machining and parts (cast pistons, stock cam, etc) on a Pontiac V-8 and assembled it myself.

So, $3600 may sound high to some, but I think it is reasonable, especially with a warranty. Just remind the machine shop that it is NOT an SBC! Provide them with and assure yourself that have read the 55-56 Packard Service Manual. If you have any problems, that's where it will be.

Craig

Craig writes:
"Just remind the machine shop that it is NOT an SBC!"

Heed Craigs warning!!!!

I will not attempt to bore anyone with gory details. But in a few cases the SM specs may have to be circumvented by replacement parts manufacturer specs. e.g. replacement pistons. Set the clearences to the VENDORS specs for the pistons. NOT the SM spec. There may be other variations from standard engine machine shop building procedures/equipment use and factory specs that need to be considered too in the case of re-pop parts. That's why i recommended a JV engine.

Let me put it another way:

I don't care how good any shops reputation is or isn't. No general, run of the mill, open for bussiness, automotive machine shop is going to make any attempt to make a life long career out of rebuilding ANY brand of engine that they will only see one of once every 10 years.

That's real world. Think about it. Best wishes.

BTW It has been advised that I use this Olds based oil pump conversion kit. Where do I get one.

The Olds pump conversion is available from Jack Vines, his contact details are in Post#352 above.

Gentlemen one and all:

Please let's not get this off in flame land. I have made an executive decision. I have have looked at all of the posts and all of the advice that has been offered. At this point with everything I have to do to get my engine rebuilt, I have decided not to go with the olds oil pump conversion and either have the one that is in there reconditioned and slap it back in there, or get a good one from Mike Dulinski if mine is too far gone. I cannot at this point afford another $350. The key considerations that I took into account is my own 55. It has about 89K miles on it and the oil pump is working fine. That's not to say it will not give up the ghost the next time I crank it over. The second thing was a comment made by someone who put in a new Packard oil pump and it let loose at 25K miles. With the amount of driving miles that I will be doing 25K miles will last me until I drive off into the great Packard proving grounds in the sky. If I were to drive those kinds of miles then yes I would go with the Olds pump. However as it stands this is what I have decided to do. I have paid the shop their up front money and I told them to take their time as I am in no hurry for the car before the middle of next year, so treat this as a back burner project because at this point I do not have the remainder of the money and I will be at the end of my contract and out of work by year-end.

Thanks again for all the advice and help. As soon as I get some I will post pictures.

ALK

Don't feel bad. I put in a factory pump and it will work fine for the miles I will drive. It'll be fine bro!

Quote:
" I have decided not to go with the olds oil pump conversion ... I cannot at this point afford another $350"

Not really another $350. IT would be $350 MINUS the cost of haveing Packard pump rebuilt. PRobably about $100 to $150 difference. Not $350 difference????? No???