Packard Forum Index » Project Blogs

Thanks for the clarification

Howard, I took a look my engine and the casting number is 440275, what is listed for the 352's. However, I definitely have a '55 Clipper Deluxe. There's no signs that I can tell of it being engine-swapped (though I don't actually know the history of the car so for all I know it was). To try to settle the matter I tried to look for the VN on the engine but I can't find it anywhere...


Pictures are attached: casting number, VN plate, and 2 of where the Engine VN should be but isn't (I don't know if it's obvious but the first one is looking at below the oil filter, tight space :/ ).

I do have a caliper (somewhere 🤔) so I can take precision measurements of something what could narrow things down if needed.

Attach file:

---

  20211214_174838.jpg (195.56 KB)


  20211214_175056.jpg (190.15 KB)


  20211214_175826.jpg (145.54 KB)


  20211214_175605.jpg (291.71 KB)

The engine number should be on the block in the flat spot just in front of but almost under the oil filter. It could be faintly stamped and may take a bit of cleaning and scraping of grease & dirt for it to appear. Being a Deluxe it should be a 320 but with the casting number wanting it to be a 352, if you cannot find any number at all it could also be a service replacement engine.

There is a notice in one of the later Studebaker written service bulletins which was published in the late 50s saying they had found quite a few Packard 352 replacement engines in a warehouse and were offering them to dealers for almost nothing to get rid of them. Even suggested dealers stock up and call some of their customers and see if any of them wanted to buy a new engine or an engine upgrade at dirt cheap prices.

It was kind of sad how much they must have wanted to get rid of them because IIRC, there was another notice where they also suggested dealers make the same offer to 56 owners with 374 engines. Said the price was so low and performance difference with the 352 would be negligible the customer might appreciate the savings over the size.

Most of the things you're pointing at are bolt-ons or casting numbers but the engine number is stamped into the block itself, not on something that can be removed or replaced.

This photo was taken from the front looking back and the number is right next to the oil filler tube to the driver's side. For those not here in the U.S., that's the left side of the car. You might not be able to clean the number well enough to read it with the coolant manifold in the way, though.

Attach file:

---

  IMG_2567.jpg (290.56 KB)

And if you can't find the motor number where PackardDon has shown, then the Utica engine plant number could be used for engine identification, though it's s totally different in format and unlike the motor up front it won't inform if the motor is original to the car. The Utica number can be viewed from below, passenger (right) side, on the block at the very rear just below the cylinder head. It will begin with a letter, A, B, C, etc.

Thanks for the info guys! I took these pictures at night and couldn't really reach in to do a proper wipedown of the VN area. I'll be back at least by this Saturday with a rag and some time to wipe it down and know for sure. I was assuming the VN would be raised like the others but obviously it makes sense that it's not...

Looking at the specifications it looks like the ONLY differing feature on these engines (352/320) is the bore dia. I'll bring my caliper for when I get one of the heads off.

We're out of winter so I started working on my car again and I have some GOOD NEWS that I finally got the engine un-seized... somewhat. I got it to turn 1/6 of a turn. I decided not to try to take off the heads. Instead, since I got it to move, I put Diesel into all the cylinders again and I'm letting it sit overnight to see if that helps it. The part of the camshaft cycle it's in is raising the 2nd pushrod from the front on the Pass. Side, and lowering the 7th pushrod from the front on the Driver Side.

As you can see in the photo, I have the D. Side rocker asy taken off. Was tapping on the valves and the 5th and 8th from the front were stuck, but I at least got them to move. On the P. Side I didn't take off the rocker asy because the heater core is in the way but I was tapping on all except the last one and all sound free, except the 4th from the front which sounds free-ish.

So like I said, I can turn it 1/6 turn. Clockwise it won't turn any more even with 150 ft-lbs of torque on the bolt, yet it pretty easily reverses direction. Anyone have ideas on why this might be happening? I assume maybe a ring of rust on one of the cylinders is preventing it from moving up, or something like that... IDK.

P.S. Does anyone have tips on getting the heater core off? I looked in the Accessories part of the manual which seems to indicate it's just held on with 3 screws, but I tried getting those out and it still seems stuck also as you can see in the picture the previous owners bypassed it for some reason... maybe it was leaking? That's the only thing I can figure considering the previous owner was driving it around Pittsburgh PA, where you need heat in your car approximately 1/3 of the year.

P.P.S. The intake manifold is off because I was going to take the heads off. I'll probably just put it back on.

Full size image

For 55-6 units, to remove disconnect any remaining hoses from the core and the Bowden cable from the air flapper by removing the screw clamp and round retaining clip. Depending on if a portion of loom was run thru the heater assy you may also need to disconnect several wires from the regulator, generator and headlight terminal area and pull that section of the loom thru first. A hose between block and heater valve might also need to be removed.

There are 3 bolts or large screws as the main supports holding the assy to the firewall. Can't tell on yours but most also have a bracket with an extra sheetmetal screw into the firewall on the side of the box toward the top near the ballast resistor. Arrows in the parts diagram show the general area of the screws.

Heater was probably bypassed because the core is leaking. If so there is a possibility the flange is sticking to the gasket and that is the reason it doesn't want to come off..

Attach file:

---

  heater.jpg (169.45 KB)

If I were you and that far along I think I would go ahead and take off the heads too. That way you can inspect the cylinders and maybe even hone them, then put in new rings if the cylinders aren't too bad. If you don't do it now, you may regret it down the line!

There's a couple things with taking the heads off; first, the exhaust manifold bolts and other HW in that area are very rusty (see pictures). So getting those out without them rounding out or snapping would be a challenge in itself. Second, I need to remove the heater core and transmission dipstick which will take a little while. Third, if I can get the engine running without taking the heads off then that's what I'd want to do for now, as my car has 93k miles and I'd like to be confident the transmission works before investing too much time into the engine.

I'm certainly not against it, it just seems like something that maybe makes more sense to do later than now. Looks like honing tools are pretty cheap and the process is not that difficult. We'll see how it goes; if I can't get my engine to turn around with some time then I'll be taking the heads off anyway I think. Planning on putting a few oz of Evapo-Rust in each cylinder to try and dissolve the rust. Evapo-rust only disintegrates ferrous rust so I don't think it could hurt anything. It's water based so it should sink below the Diesel fuel left in from last night.

Picture 1
Picture 2