Packard Forum Index » General

Was there ever a Packard V12 engine prototype and/or car prototpye developed under John Reinhart? When I look at the Lincoln Continental Mark II and the too long engine compartment, its obvious John Reinhart brougth it over to Ford, when Packard did not build it.

Does anybody know more?

The Continental Mark II had a 368ci V8 engine. I don't think Lincoln did V12's after the 40's.

PS. The Continental Mark II was built by the newly formed Continental division of Ford and wasn't technically a 'Lincoln'.

Somewhere in the Packard lore there is reference to discussion, probably no more than a whimsical wish, of a V-12 companion to the new V8, but nothing even remotely serious evolved from it. What few efforts they had the time and $ to focus on engines were being focused on fuel injection, originally hope for introduction in 1956 or 1957. Management's attention was so focused on matters of simple survival I doubt the concept of a V12 ever got beyond a pipe dream, and a fleeting one at that.

Hi V8fan

No, the idea of a Packard V-12 return was a blue sky concept in '56, when just staying in business was in doubt.

The Continental Mark II design is all about a modern intrepretation of the long hood/short deck proportions of the original 1940-48 Lincoln Continental. No twelve cylinder was ever considered as power for that car.

The flathead V-12 used in the '36-'48 Lincoln Zephyrs and Continentals was an underdeveloped, underpowered, frankly lousy, engine. It wasn't much more than a flathead Ford V-8 with four more cylinders inserted in the middle. As such, it had all the engineering drawback of that engine in magnified form i.e. exhaust ported between the tiny cylinder bores and resulting overheating, short stroke in an era of low compression-long stroke torque monsters, poor crankcase venting. Commonly, the engine was replaced after a few years in service with a Mercury V8 service engine to keep the cars useful.

The Mark II was totally a vanity vehicle for the young Ford brother (no pun intended) then in charge of the company. It was never intended by them to be profitable, only to show the automotive world that Ford Motor Company could produce a world-class luxury car.

Steve

The V-12 return legend is mostly due to Turnquist's assertion in his book. GM engineering had concluded that more cylinders was not necessary with Hydramatic which, if you ever get behind the wheel of a Cadillac with a good carburetor, I totally agree with because their V-8 could run seemingly as well as a modern computer controlled engine.

Let me add though that both the Packard 8 and V-8 with new carburetion and even compression are can be very impressive as well and the straight noticeably smoother than a V-8. However, new parts are not available.

GM engineering had concluded that more cylinders was not necessary

Tim, even if the idea existing at Packard for more than a few hours, I don't think "necessary" from a engineering viewpoint was ever the justification, it would have been more to add prestige and something to differentiate the brand from it's peers. Certainly a V12 wasn't "necessary" in the Lincoln continentals thru '47.

I'm simply referring to why GM dropped the V-16 concurrent with introduction of Hydramatic.

Thank you very much for the explanation.

Is there a good source (Book) or where can I get digital press articles about Packard Research & Development? Maybe old magazines like Packard Cormorant, which I do not know.

Hi

From a memo written by Roger Bremer to James Nance, May 24, 1955,
Subject: Report and Recommendations on New Model Programs - Studebaker-Packard,
page 11 under the subject: Immediate Action Required To Accomplish Proposed Program, Item 8:

"Reactiveate a program on the V-12 engine and related prestige car lines for the 1958 models vis-?-vis the Continental and Cadillac Brougham Eldorado. (Strong rumors indicate that Lincoln is currently working on a V-12 engine)."

So, a V-12 engine was in discussion during 1955, likely the idea was sidetracked by more urgent issues......like how to stay in business.

Steve