Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

OK - lets stick with cast iron 320 heads. Original aluminum castings very low quality, usually suspect. I don't know if the repro heads are still in production, I know someone was posting a successor to Ernie Foster, but I haven't seen any ads or chatter to confirm, so...

a) 338712 = late production style, std. compression about 6.5
b) 338713HC = late production style, High compression, near 7.0
wow, feel the power...
c) 242511, 1939, std. compression, adaptation required, but commonly done.

So, shall I go ahead and crate a head? I have a.) & b.) to choose from.

I also have an IGT 4006 distributor if you have interest, depending on your goals/situation. Northeast stuff is getting kinda thin on the ground...

Is it a Pierce Arrow head?

Is this the part that fits on the cast iron head?

Need this to make oil changes easier?

Attach file:

---

  (234.73 KB)


  (252.22 KB)


  (672.79 KB)


  (702.61 KB)

The oil cooler to filter setup was an early engineering prototype designed by Rubin Goldberg, with assembly assistance from his neighbor, Ernie the Plumber. Appears the goal was to save engine room space and weight of the L6/L8 filter setups. Thankfully, the patent was denied in favor of Burr Ripley's better solution.

The cylinder head belongs in another forum.

David, Ernie Foster never made a 320 Eight head, He did make the Super Eight heads.

Gentlemen, can you help me out with one more set of questions regarding the '33-'34 Packard 8 cylinder head ?

In the 1933-1936 Packard Parts Service Manual, 3 different cylinder heads are listed for the '34 1100, 1101 & 1102 series engines, as follows:

Head # 215432 (Not used with High or Low Compression)
Head # 215433 (Low Compression), and
Head # 215434 (High compression)

I cannot find a Part # on my Packard 8 1101 cylinder head, nor can I recall seeing one in any pictures I've seen so far of the '33 & '34 heads. Did Packard or someone else produce unmarked cylinder heads ?

If many of the '33 & '34 Packard cylinder heads still existing are unmarked, how do you know which head you are getting ?

And, how do you know what specific cylinder head goes with which specific engine ?

Isn't it safe to say that putting one of these heads on an engine they weren't originally designed for could cause serious damage to both the head and/or the engine ?

There must be a way of solving this dilemma, aside from holding off from buying anything but the correctly numbered cylinder head identified specifically for your engine...if that is even possible.

Thanks for your input.
TomB
............

Just FYI
1933 Cylinder heads are as follows and with the same Notes as indicated above:

Head # 207922
Head # 270923
Head # 207924

You are overthinking this unless you are OCD or have some Pebble Beach judging standard you are striving for, or performance specification being held to.

Low compression heads were most often used on export cars (educated speculation - e.g. places with poor fuel quality), and high compression heads optioned for slightly better performance objectives. The difference in compression is fairly minor, given the quality of fuel today, and performance expectations.

The only "dilemma" to be resolved is to understand the evolution of the heads from 33-39, some of which is presented here (e.g. Packard's switch to aluminum heads in '35, nor have we have not discussed spark plug size, nor the modification to use the 39 head, heater and temperature gauge ports, etc), and make a choice what you want to obtain to get your car back on the road.

Typically, if they have a number of any type, the L-8 motor heads will have a casting number and not a finished part number. Depending on the factory machining operations after casting, a single casting can produce the low, standard, and high compression parts. The same can occur in subsequent service life, the simple act of resurfacing a head a low compression head can create a standard or high compression head, and that's why casting numbers were more useful than part numbers.

In any case, assuming they were not later altered, if you really wanted to, you could differentiate the low, standard, and high versions by the volume of the combustion chamber, IIRC the specs are given in the Motor Assembly Notes blueprint. In practice it's rare that there is a need to do so.

Other than the slight change in engine performance, you make no changes and do no harm by installing a high compression head on an engine originally fitted with a low or standard compression head, and visa versa. In a practical sense those variants are all interchangeable. In the final analysis, assuming you want correct physical appearance, any of the 1933 or 1934 heads for a 320 engine will be fine.

BEST ONE TO GET IS
One u find that dose not leak coolant has enough meat for a cleanup and is price right.
When u find one suggest u do a pressure test before proceeding. U should b asking urself WHY IS IT 4SALE same with used cars

Thank you very much for that explanation OD . I didn't even know there was any difference between a Part # and. Casting # ! I now have a much better understanding of the differences and similarities and the "real life" absence of any real importance of those differences. When you know almost nothing about something, even the most trivial things can be perplexing. I sincerely appreciate your patience and understanding. Thank you again OD.
Tom

Flackmaster: No OCD that I know of, and absolutely NO Pebble Beach aspirations, just in over my head and trying to make sense of it all. Thanks for contributing to my ongoing education.
TomB