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Has anyone replaced single barrel carburetor on a 327 engine to an edlebrock or upgraded to anything similar?

Several have replaced 4 barrel Rochesters on V8s with an Edelbrock but haven't heard of anyone doing single barrel replacements. No idea what Edelbrock offers in a single but Daytona Parts offers their CHV universal adjustable single barrel in two styles they say can fit most manifolds and engines. If you don't have a particular Edelbrock in mind it might be worth talking with Daytona to see what they say.

Thanks for the information. I was thinking I could convert it to a 4 barrel and doesn’t have to be eddlebrock but looking at an upgrade as my 54 struggles to start unfortunately.

Finding a 53 or 54 4 barrel manifold should not be too hard. As I recall, the Edelbrocks need an adapter to fit the V8 manifold so the earlier manifolds might need one too. Not sure a different carb would help the hard start situation though. As long as the engine and ignition is in good condition the cars start very well with the single or dual barrels.

There is a more or less universal Holley fuel injection system that Cli55er has installed in his 37 limo with 8 cylinder engine which had a single or dual barrel carb so doing something like that might be an option too. You can read about his injector efforts which start toward the last pages in his project blog.

That’s great information Howard and greatly appreciate it. I will definitely read his blog and possibly go that route.

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The 327 never had a single barrel carburetor as the base models were 2 barrel.

Your 54 should have a Carter WGD 2 bbl carb on it. The more expensive cars in 53 and 54 had a 4bbl manifold and a Carter WCFB. I'd be happy to sell you a set.

That said, I find the WGD to be an excellent carb which has given me astonishingly little trouble in the last, oh, couple hundred thousand miles on various Packards.

A little more info on your starting difficulties might be good to discuss before dropping a wad on something that might not solve the problem.

Agreed. Did you compression test the engine, for example?

Unless you have an electric pump or prime the carb, you may have to crank several times in sucession to get fuel to the engine.

You guys are correct it’s is a 2 bbl carb on my 54. How much would it be for a 4 bbl? Right now now having a hard time getting it to start, especially since it’s a 6v so I drain my battery down so no compression test yet. I believe it’s the original carb on as we speak and I can have a local company tweak it/rebuild it but he would like the car as he obviously can set it up correctly once it is running.

Even the worst Packards made will start on a dime if they have fuel and the essential mechanical functions. Did you buy a new 6V or are you using one that is very old? Anything that spins the engine over is enough to start it (it doesn't need to spin fast) but again, a lot of these cars take a solid like 5 seconds of cranking, times 4, for the fuel pump to prime the engine all the way from the tank.

Next thought would be the accelerator pump, or possibly ignition system.

What's your history with the car, was anything done to it? Once it runs does it run and drive well or are you still getting there?

Again to be clear, all the equipment on these was quite satisfactory when new and can generally be fixed for less cost, and less or equal effort, compared to finding and swapping in a suitable replacement. So I would suggest approaching this problem with that mindset. If you want to swap for better performance I would only swap to OEM (i.e. Ross's suggestion).

Even something as old and cheaply made as a Model T is not hard to start as long as the essential elements of fuel, compression, and spark are there. Let alone a Packard from 30 years later.