Packard Forum Index » Modification Discussion

Another advantage of an aluminum head is the ability to weld it if needed if you would like to polish the combustion chamber or weld it to reconfigure it or allow for bigger valves of a higher lift cam

thanks ,any one have a wcfb 4 bbl carb ,or a core for a rebuild they want to sell?(model 985 s)

I have a buddy that may have one but I would have to check with him. It would be a rebuildable core. If your handy with a welder you could fab a 2x2 manifold from aluminum or steel, it would look very traditional and would take a little of weight off a very heavy engine.

the 288 on the 327 monifold swap ? what is the compression ratio of the the 327 to start with? goes up to 7.5 with the swap?

You won't need super gas, 1954 Packard had the highest compression ratio ever for a flathead, 8.7:1 which is within the range of today's 87 octane regular.

Mid range or 89 octane might be worth a try but probably won't work any better than regular.

There's a reason there are no high compression flathead engines. Others here have far more experience than I have with flatheads. However, in my limited experience, because of the wide, inefficient combustion chamber design, on the same fuel, Packard flatheads ping at much lower compression ratios than do OHV8s. I always recommend running at least one grade higher octane on a flathead I8 than would be required for the same compression ratio on an OHV8.

jack vines

I certainly agree with Jack on that. Based on personal experience with a 54 Patrician with the 359 and 8.7 cr, anything less than premium fuel gave noticeable preignition if you wanted to keep the timing at spec.

the clattery noise I hear going up hills must be the ping you guys are talking about! sounds like something metalic is broken or rattling around in the engine but only up a hill like a bolt in a coffee can ( although now days coffee comes in little bags from snooty shops),this definatly got better with each improvement in the engine tune in terms of ignition wires ,timing ,especially the timing ;I was at 12 btdc now 6 per spec
So now to the 4 barrel ,have secured an intake ,itll need the thermostatic parts ,that looks easy ,seek the carb and the longer or different link from the cross bar of the throttle linkage, and I guess an air cleaner ,,is the wcfb an oil bath again? Does a later paper element breath better? I don't do much dirt road driving with the 52 ,just looking for some torque so its a more fun cruiser

Quote:

Exactly. Since you're willing to modify the car, consider the GM HEI distributor conversion and a hotter coil. The flathead needs the most accurate and strongest spark it can get. Not only that, but many of the Packard distributors I see have worn bearings, worn centrifugal advance and perished vacuum diaphragms. A new HEI fixes all those problems as well.

Quote:Yes, the oil bath works just fine and filters as well or better than the paper.

No, if anything, the paper filter has more restriction, but it's not enough to make any difference.

Maybe, consider a split exhaust manifold and dual pipes. Should sound great!

jack vines

Hi ,thanks for the thoughts which gm hei distributer would fit on the 52 's 327 ?
I was going to get a pertronix ignitor unit and stick it in the old distributer but hadn't thought about the condition of the distributer and if the bushings or bearings were worn out ,My goal is to squeek out as much power out of the engine I can by upgrading components without doing major changes to the engine ,
Ive found a 4 bbl intake and am looking for the wcfd 4 bbl carb to install to upgrade the breathing ,I hear this was a popular mod at the time ,
I wanted to leave it 6v ,pertronix makes a 6v pos ground points eliminator module and they have a matching high output flamethrower coil ,does the gm hei have a ponts eliminator in it?
a powergen is a alternator that bolts up in the generators place and puts out 60 amp, and eliminates the pesky voltage regulator ,Ive found a stock generator pully and they said if I mailed it to them they would install it on the power gen and then ship it to me to install,this ll be great
I put on modern spark wires ,that helped a ton
I put in modern multigrade oil that helped a touch ,the new rings in the engine allowed the discovery that theres been some rebuilds before in its like as its 30,1000's over
i put in a larger capacity 900 cchr 6v forklift battery that helped alot
I looking around for a 288 head to bolt on the 327 ill check out the distributer swap ,is this 6 v pos ground?