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Most (maybe all?) Packard OEM mufflers for the in-line 8s were unrestricted, straight-thru designs. And when correct they sure have a lovely mellow tone.

Guess we've gotten a bit off-topic, I hope the thread police will be lenient. Back to the subject at hand, not that you can't find replacement 356 blocks, but I sure wouldn't want any part of a car with a known cracked block without all the assurances possible that it was properly repaired.

I agree with 51Packard's thought that if anything is cracked, it would be the exhaust manifold. That would be easy enough to verify upon inspection and easy to fix if you end up buying it.

Craig

I agree that a better examination of the engine should be done before moving further. The "bathtub" Customs are marvelous cars and it would be a shame to pass on it because of faulty information.

I've heard it the other way around, that if you don't have manifolds on the engine you'll end up with warped valves and cracked seats. Seems like there'd be no restriction then.

i tend to take everything a PO says with a grain of salt. does the car run currently? check the fluids for cross contamination, pull the coil wire and crank the engine to listen for a weak cylender, if all checks out, run it. start it up and check the radiator for continuous bubbling. get the engine up to operating temp (allways assuming it runs right now) check the radiator again once its warm. listen for any audible skips while its running.

ask the po if it uses any coolant.

Gerd, that makes perfect sense and is the point I was getting at, too much or too little restriction is a bad thing.

Eric, I've been under the impression that running an engine without an exhaust pipe connected doesn't hurt anything until you turn the motor off. When the motor is shut down cold air will enter and tend to warp the hot exhaust valves.

Back on subject, I agree that the cracked block story sounds fishy. More likely a cracked manifold is what was meant.

Quote:

Yup, that's what I heard as well.

Quote: G'day Chutetogether,
Like to add my to PackardInfo. Looks like there's already plenty of advice proffered but at the same time a few questions raised as well. Including a suggestion to have someone knowledgeable in this era of Packards have a look at the car. This is where the local Packard Club you cited may be a great source of help, after all who better than to "Ask the man who owns one"! Wish you well with your Packard purchase. And please include your Packard in the Packard Owner's Registry, together with a pic, any known history and how you acquired it once purchased.

First off let me say thanks to all for the very immediate and knowledgeable input. Some really good and entertaining comments!

Unfortunately, despite Rusty O's advice to stay away from old cars and instead choose other forms of debauchery, it's too late. While I've never had a Packard I have had other old rides - currently have a '64 Ford Galaxie Convertible which is restored. But I've always wanted an older 1940's convertible and I never thought it would be a Packard, but I'm pursuing this opportunity.

So now that the option of walking away from old cars has been taken off the table, I wrote a late night email to the owner last night asking to clarify between the engine block and the exhaust manifold. This morning's reply: Manifold. (As with many of you, a cracked block just didn't make sense to me... hence the reason I wrote this forum yesterday.)

Hoping I'm not pushing my luck as I'm technically just a "Ford guy" right now... Here are two other areas I would love to receive Yoda-like input on:

In addition to questions on the engine, I inquired about the transmission and if it was rebuilt as part of the restoration. It's the Ultramatic. He stated that he rebuilt the original transmission two times and finally, on the third time around, he found a fresh 1951 transmission with all the factory kinks ironed out. Not original and 100% completely correct, but he wanted a fully restored driver and was tired of the BS concern of the trans he had. His philosophy is there's original, then there's dead by the side of the road original. His quote: "I restored it to drive, not park." Sounds plausible to me... make sense to you? (note: the car is a 23 series).

Lastly (for now!), the car is in the Los Angeles area. I live in the San Francisco area. Any good/trusted shops in LA (specifically the San Fernando Valley) to take the Packard to for given' it the one's over?

Again, thanks much and best of the new year to all!

(Last note: If I do buy the Packard, the Ford will be up for sale).