Packard Forum Index » Modification Discussion

The junkrods keep coming in all forms. From the lowest priced models all the way up to former V-12's and Individual Customs.

I notice that almost 20% of the Packard cars for sale on junkbay are junkrods.

Twenty years ago there were a few cases, but today they have multiplied like rats.

This interesting, but sad number, is something worth following, and as well, the number that go to the crusher after dad kicks the bucket.

I think there is a disproportionate number of modified cars on Ebay vs other platforms.

My observation is that Packard's have remained relatively unscathed compared with other brands. Just look at tri-five Chevy's. You have to go through twenty of them to find one that is stock.

There are very few Packards remaining which would be worth a fraction of the cost of a restoration, so easy to think of modifying them.

But then since Packard has no following among the rod nuts, there are very few Packards remaining which when modified would bring a fraction of the cost of building.

jack vines

For a 1950's Packard as a "frequent driver", the main issue I think is the Ultramatic, for the "original" ones not so much reliability, but simply the combination of sluggishness off the line and gearing that isn't conducive to sedate freeway cruising even at 65 mph. For the Gear-Start and Twin-Ultramatic, reliability problems rear their ugly head.

For this reason I think there are a lot of people that just punt and throw an LS motor and modern tranny in it, like in this article:

Senior in High School drives a Packard 200 Deluxe

Wish they'd at least tried to use the 700R4 adapter and kept the straight-8. It wouldn't surprise me if the mechanic eventually also put in disc brakes, maybe even figured out some way to add a modern dual master cylinder.

Not saying this is great, just it sometimes is understandable.

It seems that the last "performance" Packards were those large ones produced right after WW2, and it was downhill from there. Packard was late to the V8 party, too. So I fully understand and somewhat embrace the concept of applying some performance enhancements to our beloved old cars - at least the driver ones. But Hell, any fool can shoehorn a Shivverlay engine into damned near anything.


Disc brakes are a good idea for drivers, I think. When mom's minivan can do 60-0 in less than 200' and your pride-n-joy struggles to do it in 300', you have a serious safety issue.


I don't know, there's a lot to consider, and I am of several minds about it. I do think that prices on Packards will start to drop, perhaps precipitously, as the last folks who know what they are transition to the next dimension.


I was talking to my 34YO son about "classic cars," thinking '47 Super Clippers, and he was thinking '68 Road Runners. At least I raised him correctly and he wasn't thinking Chevelles or Torinos.

I agree that junkbay is the dominant dumping ground for those things. And they don't move.

If you don't like the mechanics and want performance, then buy a modern car and avoid the hospital bills if you get in an accident. Although these brake upgrades are pretty hard to dismiss given the brake drums are worn out and done. Tom Lester had deep pockets and made up new drums in his shop. The results were very good.

I remember one of the Banichek Darrins had a Chrysler 6 in it, but then the show must go on.

Anyone under 40 gives you a blank stare when you say"its a Packard". I love these cars because even the less ornate and less expensive post war models exhibit exceptional quality and engineering.I do all my own work and enjoy working on these cars a great deal.

To many people out in the automotive world, if a part isn't carried by their corner Chinamart "discount" auto parts store, it is simply unobtainable. Many also see any car without an LS swap as inherently broken and unfit for their attention. As far as brakes go, there is a brain-drain going on where a lot of younger people don't know how to properly set up drum brakes, so they want to spend a lot of time and money bringing the car over to what they already understand, which is disc brakes. A drum brake car, properly adjusted can lock the wheels up hard, the issue is with the amount of rubber touching the road surface for stopping. As one of the moderators of the PAC Facebook page we deal with this daily.


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This is exactly my issue with disc brake conversions - they improve fade resistance and perhaps feel, but do not necessarily stop faster.

Done a lot of repeated hard stops in your Packard lately?

If you're doing a lot of repeated, hard stops that means you're driving your Packard in busy, fast moving traffic. Like rush hour. These cars were not designed for this kind of driving. So you can change over to modern two-circuit (dual master cylinder) disc brakes. Congratulations, you can now stop your car repeatedly, like mom in her minivan or dad in his F-"I wish I was a trucker but I'm a software analyst". You are driving a deathtrap in modern congested conditions at speeds and traffic with potential for great bodily harm should an accident occur. No crumple zones, no air bags. A Packard is best enjoyed after rush hour, on roads well mated to its original maximum speed. Most of us have added seat belts to our vintage cars, and that's a step in the right direction, and far better than having none.


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