Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

I'm curious about this, since almost every '55-'56 Packard I've ever seen/read about has an Ultramatic.

And on the subject of transmissions, why did some Packard clubs (or a Packard club) 'approve' swapping a Torqueflite for an Ultramatic? Were they THAT hard to have rebuilt or fixed at one time?

A reasonable guess mite be that who ever provides the T'Flite conversion probably has somekind of 'pull' in the club. OR, one mite also ask has the club approved any Olds oil pump conversions , disk brake conversions (Craig has one) or Bendix TV conversions (Erics).
Anyone care to add to the list??

Hey guys, let's cut the pokes and jibes at the clubs which many of us on this forum belong to and get considerable enjoyment and benefit from, and try to answer the guy's question. No, there are no factory statistics that have ever surfaced to my knowledge about the number of Packards with standard vs automatic transmissions. Given the public's red-hot passion in that era to give up gear shifting, I'd say standard shift equipment was quite low, perhaps 10-20% at most, but that's a pure guess. In the V8 era you can tell from the Utica engine plant number if the engine was built with a standard shift flywheel or automatic flex plate by the letter prefix. For example a Utica plant# of A-XXXX (Clipper) would be equipped with a flex plate, a AA-XXXX with a standard shift flywheel. Ditto for the B and D series engines. There is no CC indicating that no Caribbean engines were built for standard shift.

Dan Yocum has a complete Manual Transmission setup that came out of a '56 Caribbean. I wonder if that car was a special order, or was a dealer retrofit.

Someone wrote:
"Hey guys, let's cut the pokes and jibes at the clubs ... and answer the guy's question."

Go back and read the ORIGINAL QUESTION in the FIRST post of this thread. Here, i'll cut and paste it for u:

" ..why did some Packard clubs (or a Packard club) 'approve' swapping a Torqueflite for an Ultramatic..."

I gave a viable and rational answer. I did not single out any club in particular.

HAVE U GOT A BETTER ANSWER??? OR, is there something irrational about my answer????

The name Dan Yocum rings a bell, but I don't know why? Does his Utica engine number begin with CC? Did they tape off the pushbutton wiring as that was standard on the 56 Caribbean? It would be interesting to learn more about that auto. What color was the steering column? Was that tranny painted bronze as all the ultras were on senior 56 Packards? There was a white/light green/dark green 55 in Detroit a good while ago that supposedly came with a std trans. I would guess that they would build it for you but demand some cash up front??

As long as we are asking that question, let me ask this. What club "approved" the conversion and what publication of theirs (date and type of pub) is it printed in? I'm not a member of all Packard clubs, but never heard any approved mod like that.

IIRC the Torque flite conversion was first done by Harold Gibson of the PI club in Southern California. Remember at the last PI meet that was held up the road from current location the test chassis with conversion was shown. I don't know if it was officially sponsored by the club like their oil pump fix however, but it was advertised in club publications.

Randy, I can't remember where/when I saw this particular '55-'56 Packard advertised for sale, but the ad for it specifically stated that the transmission had been swapped for a Torqueflite per approved practice of some Packard club. I don't recall if the ad even mentioned WHICH club 'approved'.

I remember wondering at the time why the owner just didn't rebuild the Ultramatic - or have it rebuilt for him.

Here is a link I found on Google; it refers to a '56 Golden Hawk but backs up what I posted...

1956goldenhawk.com/newslpdf/56jon008.pdf

I sorry I don't understand where these occasional spasms of vitriol are coming from. The gentleman's original question was


Are there production figures for 1955-1956 Packards with manual transmissions?

I didn't see anyone answering that question so I did, sorry I didn't see that as something I shouldn't have done.