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Last Fall I purchased an almost complete supercharger kit for a Packard V8. I'm in the process of having the blower rebuilt and building the 352 engine. I'm curious if anyone has any experience with forced induction on one of these and has any words of wisdom.

The original engine block was cracked in my '55 Clipper Constellation so I found a '56 block which has stronger main caps. I will keep the lower compression '55 heads but I am undecided which type of head gaskets to use. I'm inclined to use the shim type over the composite variety. Apart from finding a forged crankshaft, I'm not sure what else I can do to make it a good recipient for the VS57.

This was discussed some years ago, here, in another thread:

Packard V8 supercharged engine

Also, a previous member, Turbopackman, made his own bracket to mount a McCulloch/Paxton supercharger to a 56 Patrician. Though the rest of the car was not restored, it was nonetheless drivable. The car ultimately wound up in the hands of the Packard museum in Dayton, but may have been cut up for parts.

After repeated clashes with another member, Turbopackman left the site and shifted his focus to Studebaker. He later fell off the radar completely.

G'day NoCoClipper,
to PackardInfo.

I invite you to include your '55 Clipper Constellation in the Packard Vehicle Registry.

Thanks for the information. It looks like I'm in largely uncharted territory. I'll post pictures as I move forward. I just finished rebuilding the T-85 and the 352 is just waiting for the heads to come back from the machine shop.

What pistons are you planning to use?

Are you aware the first generation valve spring retainer are too soft and must be replaced with hardened retainers?

Are you aware the OEM valve springs do not provide sufficient tension for a supercharged engine?

It is theoretically possible to have a distributor provide the necessary timing curve for a supercharged engine, but it's difficult. The starting point would be to have the Packard distributor rebuilt to Studebaker R2 advance curve.

The best would be to convert to a crank trigger and a completely digital spark management.

Which camshaft are you planning to use? I have reground cams with more lift and duration.

As to the unobtanium forged crankshaft, they're not necessary for your application. No one has ever broken a cast Packard crankshaft on the street.

Consider a direct reading O2 sensor as absolutely necessary for your application. You don't know how much you don't know about carburetors and superchargers until it's shown in real time.

jack vines

Quote:

Brian (BH), a couple of months ago, Eric (Turbopackman) consulted me on shortwave receivers. If someone needs his e-mail address, please don't hesitate to PM me.