Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

A few months ago there was an article on a 1958 DeSoto Adventurer convertible with the original electronic fuel injection

Yes Rusty, that DeSoto was shown at the Greenwich (CT) Concours a few years back, the owner told the same story, and it was a very outstanding, dare I say impeccable, restoration.

Yes Mr. Pushbutton, I had chosen not to give the name of the current owner of the engine, but you're on target.

The '56 FI Executive belongs to Roscoe and Mary Stelford in Illinois. Attached (I hope) are additional photos that appeared in the December 2009 Sidemount, Packards of Chicagoland monthly newsletter.

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Be interesting to know which unit is in the Exec. The SIA article mentions Packard working with several vendors and the two units don't look to be the same.

The two FI systems in the Branson pic I posted and the one in the SIA article, the original b&w picture are two different systems. Look at the fuel distributor at the rear of the engine where the stock distributor goes. (It's now at an angle towards the driver's side like a Y block Ford, same on both engines) The fuel distributors are similar, but different. This is a copy or a different make of FI unit than the one in the b&w pic.

To get a better handle on this we need to look at what fuel injection systems were available in the late 1950's.

First, the Bendix Electrojector unit, as used in Chrysler products.

Next, the all too familiar Rochester Fuel Injection as seen on GM products in the late '50s-early '60s.

Then, the Bosch Fuel Injection from a late '50s Mercedes 300SL Gullwing. Notice the fuel pump on the side that looks like a small 6 cyl engine.

Next of course, is the famous Hilborn Fuel Injection.

Out of all of these, it looks like the Bendix version is the closest to what's in the Branson Executive. I judge this by looking at the pic and the components of the setup. Now, the Bendix Electrojector isn't a mechanical system, but a genuine "computer" controlled multiport EFI unit. The FI unit in the Branson Exec uses a fuel distributor and is therefore mechanical and not electronic. You can tell this by looking at the injectors as well, as there's no wires going to them. So it isn't a Bendix Electrojector unit, but something else entirely, that is similar to the Bendix unit. I still think this is a homemade unit made to resemble the factory experimentation.

Let me answer the three questions posed in the opening post, which will reaffirm what others have said, then provide a bit more insight on the FI.

1) Push-button transmission control was a new feature introduced on the 56th Series. Factory Trade Letters sent to dealers regarding availability and pricing of optional equipment shows that the push button shift was standard on Caribbean, but optional on all other models - with Twin Ultramatic required, of course.

It should be noted that one of our members, Turbopackman, had a 1956 Patrician with push button that had been refitted with an Ultramatic from a 1955 model, yet they managed to retain the push button control. So, it might be possible to refit a 55th Series car with pushbutton, using all the related parts from a 56th Series donor, but I've never seen one. On the other hand, I've seen '56 models converted back to a lever on the column, which is a darned shame, IMHO, but a whole 'nuther topic..

2) Power door locks were a one year only feature for Packard, new for 1956, and only available on sedans. We have the brochure here:

1956 Electro Locking Brochure

There was also a a couple of other point-of-sale pieces to promote this new feature: a window decal to call attention to cars so-equipped on the showroom floor and a dashboard decal to identify the location of the two switches.

However, I don't know if there were any other vehicles that had such a feature prior to this.

3) The pic in SIA #36 shows one fuel-injection system that was installed by the factory on (IIRC) a '56 Clipper for "road testing". In completing the deal on some parts from a seller on eBay several years ago, the subject of FI came up, and he provided me with a lot of interesting details, including photocopies of some pix and notes, but I promised not to publish them or reveal his identity.

I can tell you this much, though. Packard had been considering FI systems from more than one supplier. There was also system with the injection pump mounted at the front of the engine, driven by a cog belt, pictured on a test bench, but it looked rather cumbersome. The system shown in the SIA photo uses a pump that is installed in place of the distributor, and the distributor then slips into, and is driven by, the pump. That may have been the only driveable example of a factory-built Packard with FI. From what I gathered, this FI system had been transplanted to a '55 (likely with a 352-cid mill), but later removed. I was told that, at the time of my discussion, the FI (pump?) was not functional due to some broken part(s).

Now, if you study the pic of the car at Branson, the set-up looks quite similar to what is show in the SIA pic, but with a some notable difference. like:

- the fuel lines to the intake runners on the original appear to be rubber, while the Branson car uses steel.

- the routing of the lines on the Branson car is quite different than the original, including supply/return lines.

- the Branson car has the ignition wires support brackets, where the SIA pic shows none. The location of the distributor on the original FI system doesn't really lend itself to use of those brackets.

- while the injector pump is mounted in the same way as as the system shown in the SIA pic, it appears to be a different style of pump.

Yet there are some notable similarities, like:

- the throttle body may look different because of the presence of what appears to be an adapter (painted black) for whatever air cleaner they used, but - from what I can see of it - has some elements in common with the FI pic.

- not sure about the intake, but the Branson car also has the same solenoid-thing on the right cylinder head, where the exhaust crossover would be on a carbureted car.

Now, I image that several of the components provided to Packard for use on the original test-car could have found their way, in some form, on to some other automakers' FI offering. I can also image that any components that didn't quite pan out may have been superceded by others that fit and function the same way. Hence, they may still available in some form

So, unless the real owner of the original Packard prototype system has sold or reused it, I have to wonder if the FI system on this car shown at Branson was a re-creation of the original.

In case you couldn't tell, development of FI systems for use on the V8 Packards is a subject that has long intrigued me.

Are there any throttle plates associated with F-I? On the B&W photo with round something there appears to be some linkage but see nothing on the Exec--or is it just not installed yet.

And to throw another monkey wrench into the works...THEORETICALLY, one COULD install/adapt modern EFI to a Packard V-8, yes? An aftermarket setup, e.g.?

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Of course there is, how else would you control the engine?

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The injector pump is different, look closer. On the B&W pic there's some sort of accumulator device on the distributor, on the Branson Exec there isn't one. The pics in the SIA article also show this.

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That solenoid-thing is a heat riser, same function as a carbureted car would have.
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I totally agree, and I'm leaning more towards it being based on a '60s Bosch system, using this type of injector pump and a modified distributor mounting. If I could have made it to Branson I would have took a ton of pics from all different angles of this engine.

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Of course you could. You can go to the junkyard and rip out all the FI stuff from a '90s Ford truck and have a mass airflow EFI (the best) system for cheap. I looked into this when I was thinking of fuel injection for the Speedster, but decided I didn't want any computers so I went with the Bosch setup I have now.

Now you ask, why do I think that the mass airflow EFI is the best? Because you can take it off of a 460 Ford and put it on a 352 Packard and it will judge the amount of airflow to fuel ratio. A GM speed density system won't do this, you'd have to reprogram the ECM to get it to work correctly. That can get expen$ive quick.
If I was going to fuel inject a Packard, and I am, I would shop around for what suits you best. For me, the Bosch K-Jetronic unit was the best, it uses multiple injectors, it is a mechanical system, and it looks as simple as they come. Simple is good, less to go wrong.