Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

It's my understanding that any 200-series car could be ordered with the 327 5-bearing engine in place of the standard-equipment 288. Is this correct? If so, what percentage of 200-series cars were so equipped?

-Dave

What year in particular are you inquiring about? If you go and review the 1951/52 option codes on this website, you'll see that the "300" engine was an option for those years. Can't comment about 53 and 54, and it's outside the range of your question, but it was absolutely NOT an option in 46-50 because the car series were based on the powerplant.

As to what # of 200s had a "300" engine, it would just be pure speculation, no records of that type exist that I know of, and I'd suspect the %-age was very low indeed.

For '54 (and perhaps '53 I have to check) the Clipper Specials had the 288, the Deluxes and the Supers had the 327. Not sure if there was an option for the 327 to be ordered on the Specials. Not very many Specials were even made.

Just to confuse you guys further, there was a lot of swapping going on when we Packard nuts figured out we could go into a wrecking yard and get a nice '53 or '54 FOUR barrel equipped engine and drop it into our '51's and later that originally had the 288.

Once, around '62, I came upon a beautiful MINT MINT MINT '54 Patrician in a wrecking yard that was effectively a new car, except it had been broad-sided. Had MANUAL tranny. Would have loved to have stuck THAT in my '51 "250" convertible instead of the '54 327 I cut out of a "rolled" Packard ambulence.

My recollection is the yard wanted some absurd price for the whole drive-line out of that '54 Pat., so I passed on it. Cant recall how much - think it was something like A HUNDRED AND FIFTY BUCKS ! Ridiculous.......!

Sorry, my question was with regard to the '51 and '52 model years, not the Clippers.

-Dave

During the Carrera Pan Americana era, Packard built a few racers with the big engine in the small body. Sorry my memory is not good enough to recall exactly what model of body and engine. But I believe even the 359 would fit into the smallest 200.

Packard believed in giving their customers what they wanted. For example you could get the most expensive car with a manual 3 speed or overdrive trans if you desired. Cadillac, Lincoln Chrysler and Buick offered only automatic in their top models. So I believe they would build the small model with the big engine to special order. This is in the 1951 to 1956 period.

Whether anyone can confirm this as fact, or point to such a special order car, it is at least a possibility.

Rusty, since the 359 engine was based on the 327 block with essentially the same external dimensions (for example, they share the same headgasket), of course it would fit. A 359 fits nicely into a 53 Caribbean (though certainly it detracts from the value).

As to what Packard may have done for factory-sponsored race cars, I know nothing. But to suggest that Packard would provide a stick shift in ANY car in the 51-56 era just doesn't have any support at all. Granted, dealers may have and probably did do a number of such conversions for individual customers but it's likely the factory did not. Consider the 54/55/56 Caribbeans where automatic was standard equipment; there wasn't even an engine manufacturing code for a V8 Caribbean engine with a flywheel, only with flexplates. So until someone actually can produce a build slip showing this, I think we have to assume it didn't happen.

This "Packard would do anything to sell a car" has become an excuse for all manner of later abberations; there is some truth to it, but it only goes so far. Dealers were far more likely to modify and play with option codes than the factory.

David, the 200 models are Clippers. They just didn't technically call them Clippers again till '53.

200, Clipper, Junior, whatever name works.

Maybe I shouldn't be sharing this, but I have been thinking of them as the Buick Special of the Packard lineup (and the 250s as Packard's Century). Though Buick never tried to spin off the Special as its own marque, so maybe "Packard's LaSalle" would be more appropriate.

Now as for the senior engines in the junior cars - I thought the optional 327 was the 5-bearing engine as used in the 300 series, and that the 9-bearing engine was considered too long to fit in the junior chassis. But my reference materials are of a general nature and have been incorrect in the past - I defer to the experience on the board.

-Dave

The 9 main bearing 327 was reserved for use only in the Patrician and Patrician derivatives (Derham formals and the like) between 1951 and 1953. Even the 53 Caribbean had the more junior version of the 327 w/5 mains. But the basic engine blocks are all of similar dimensions.