Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

With all the postings lately including the Ford AOD "conversion" (seems like a one off), it occurred to me to ask the question:

Is there an inexpensive, convenient, reliable AT conversion for the Packard V-8 or even the straight 8s?

I think not.

But there are lots of difficult, relatively expensive conversions out there, i.e., Chrysler 727, GM TH-400, GM 700R4, Ford AOD, Ford T-10 manual 4-speed, T-85 3-speed with OD, etc.

With the price of a properly overhauled T-U in the $2,500 range, these conversions look attractive. Mostly because one can upgrade to an OD or least a 3-speed in the conversion.

Just food for thought and discussion.

Craig

Rather than edit my original post, I thought it better to clarify the discussion that I was trying to elicit.

If one had the example Packard V-8 engine block, etc.

If one had the proper machine shop.

If one had the proper motivation.

If one had the access to the requisite transmissions.

Then, it seems to me that one could set up a jig to machine and modify virtually any other brand transmission to mate to the Packard V-8. So, transmission type would be a "pick 'em", as far as mating to the Packard V-8 or inline 8.

Then the details:

Figure out the shifter.

Figure out the cross member mounting.

Figure out the throttle cable connection.

Figure out the driveshaft connection.

Anything else?

Craig

I can only come up with 2wo different methods.

Method 1:
Need 1 BARE block with at least front and rear main caps.
Need 1 BARE trans housing.
Need 1 INDUSTRIAL GRADE PRECISION lathe capable of cutting a shaft approx. 2" diameter and 5 feet long.

Downside of method 1. Variations in Packard blocks???
Expense of machining the alignment s shaft.


Method 2:

Surface plate set up of ACTUAL engine and trans.
DOwnside: Requires removal of engine.
Expense of surface plate.

POssible Method 3:

Need a FLANGED PRECISION shaft to mate to engine crankshaft flange. The shaft would extend 2 or 3 feet as an alignment shaft for a BARE trans case.

I think the motivation is the one issue that affects just about all the rest. Almost anything is possible with time and money but aside from the relative few who are not purists and would not be adverse to changing out the trans, I think in our case there just isn't too much demand to make most of the other issues potentially worthwhile solving. After all, a market of a few dozen or hundred Packards is pale to a few thousand of something else when the cost of design, setup & materials is the same. Anything produced would have to be more a labor of love than a quick way to get rich so back to motivation.

Having said that though, this shop was mentioned before by someone on the forumtransmissionadaptors.com/product%20development.htm and has Kaiser-Willys & Hudson listings which aren't exactly high demand either. Reading his reasoning for trying to produce some different adapters on the about page, I wish him all the best. But looking at the prices of some of the adapters he already has--unless it is an easy, complete and superior solution, I doubt they will fly off the shelf. Factor in the cost of trans and install and you're way up there in the cheaper to rebuild an Ultra range again.

Will be interesting to follow and see what he finally does & which trans bolt up. Using the vac modulator takes care of one of your issues, driveshaft & crossmember are probably not the worst to tackle. Just leaves shifter which depending on mechanical or electrical would be the biggest hurdle--particularly to make the dash part look nice.

That Ford conversion did appear to be a very neatly done one and sure wish more info was available. Have never been that big a fan of GM trans since after about 1980 I never had much luck with them. However, in size they seem to be most Ultra like and would probably cause the least issues in some models.

FWIW, If what is required is a shaft to align the main bearing bores to the transmission case, simply buy a 5' long 2.5" diameter piece of shafting or tubing. Then, make two appropriate width aluminum collars with a 2.5" hole in the center and the OD to fit centered machined surfaces inside the transmission case.

thnx, jack vines

We have used the y-block aod kit from them. It was a excellent kit and a very easy install. Now keep in mind we did a body off restoration, so installing a different trans was easy. We had a local company build us a new driveshaft which may have cost $250 at most. The crossmember we just had to move back some. We paid about $1200 for the kit and a rebuilt aod from him. Not a bad price if you ask me.

I missed something here. WHO did u get the Y block AOD kit from????

transmissionadapters.com/index.htm This is who we got it from.

ok. Am i correct in assuming that u bought a Conversion kit and have a Ford Automatic Overdrive Tranmission mounted to your 1955 Clipper V8 engine????

No, we bought a kit for a y-block 292 from them. All I was saying is the quality of the parts and components were worth the price. Sorry for the confusion.