Packard Forum Index » Modification Discussion

I have a 1954, 327 Thunderbolt, 5 mainbearing, Packard engine that i?m going to use in a hotrod-project. (a -29 Pontiac 6) But i have one question: Is it possible to change the hydraulic lifters to mehcanical ones instead?
I really need to change them because most of them have parts missing and don?t seem to be in such a good shape, and new hydraulic lifters seem to cost a little more then I can afford...

Sorry for the language...=)

/Olle, Sweden.

It may be possible, but then you have to set lash periodically, etc. I have a 288 with hydraulic lifters and it ran just sewing machine smooth and never had to touch them. Also, if you think lifters are expensive, wait till you source the $1000 conversion kit so you can use a gm transmission setup. I would run the hydraulic if you can, even if solid gives you a slight power advantage. That's just personal preference.

I have done this, they will fit and engine will run. The cam is different and if you don't change that as well, you might not get the best results for your purpose. Here is a listing for 54 (click to read) which shows the cam differences across the line with various combination engines. Check out the the full specs for 54 or other years to see which engine has what. Go to the service indexpackardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/serviceinfo/seriesindex.php?series=2 and look for the service counselor with mechanical specs for that year. Here is the 54 this snap was taken from.packardinfo.com/xoops/html/downloads/SC/SC-VOL28NO4.pdf

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While I have not done the hydraulic-to-solid lifter swap on a Packard 288" I8, hydraulic lifter cams do not have take-up ramps. To avoid noise as well as losing performance, the clearance would have to be set at .001"-.002".

Bottom line, yes, it can be done.

jack vines

Thanks for your answers, its really helpful! Feels good to know that it at least can be done=)I think I will try a set of solid ones and see how that works out.

I know this is a little late in posting, but I've done the conversion in my 327.

Yes, you have to change the cam. As previously stated, the ramps are different. Any competent cam grinder can regrind a hydraulic cam to solid specs. Unfortunately, this procedure involves pulling the head, valves, timing cover and pan. Fortunately, by the time they started producing the 288 engine they were using interference-fit adjusters, so it doesn't take 3 hands to adjust them. When adjusted correctly they don't make any noise.

I quit hydraulics because I was having trouble with a couple of them having an excessive bleed-down rate (even though they tested fine out of the car) so they would clatter for a couple of minutes when I pulled off a freeway. Prior to my rebuild I had a problem of weak valve springs that were not strong enough to enforce bleed-down at higher speeds (the pressure buildup within the lifter was greater than the valve springs' ability to maintain a balanced, pressure-neutral situation), thereby holding the valve slightly off its seat and causing a miss at idle. All this was with oil pressure in the 30-40lb range.

For me, it's just too much work to take a chance on used lifters. If you do this just make sure the lifters are refaced and that the interference fit is reasonably tight.

Cheers. Bob in Portland

hi, i jsut finished a rebuild on a 54 359 hydaulic lifter engine and it drove very competent mechanics crazy. THese guys know packards and work on all years but it had them scratching thier heads they went through 3 sets of lifters to get enough to make one good set and were purchased from Kanter. but they were still poor and didnt test well even before installation. they ended up getting lifters from Merrit and all seemed fine except at idle. turned out the cam in the engine was ground for mechanical lifters which of course meant some dis assembly to pull the cam and have it reground.

the engine seems ok now but ive only put about 150 miles on it since car was returned. I find it amazing that Packard could roll off so many engines with so little trouble the new ones are jsut a lot of trouble. the engine alone has been a trip.

I have seen people use dodge 6 cly lifters (mechanical) in Hudson 6's and there available reproduction as are the Hudson lifters which are also mechanical. I dont know if they will work on a Packard or not but it may be worth looking into. The thing you may need to look out for though is the durability of the parts (modern) mechanical cams are a lot harder than a comparable hydrolic cam I don't know if this was the case in the early days but it may be of some concern.

I have a really" calttery" engine in my 52 ,I finally saved up and went to the genuine mechanic to have my first valve adjustment for the mechanical lifters of the 288 and found out via the engine number and inspection that i didnt have a 288 with mechanical lifters ,I had a 327 with hydrolic lifters!,nice ,perhaps an option at the time of order ,
they said they cant be adjusted ,closed up the cover on the side of the engine and I clattered home ,clatter clatter clatter ,sounds like a deisel engine ,no smoke though , Ive checked the timing , replaced the plugs and plug wires and have fresh rings ,clatter clatter i hear "thats what they all sound like ",but thought the engine should be real quiet
Im guessing that iM not realizing the full potential of the engine and that all of that noise translates to incompletley closed valves ,any de-clatter ideas?

I built engines for about 6 years prior to joining the navy and every now and then we would have a customer who wanted to reuse old lifters and some of them would be "stuck" we would put them in a vice and bleed them all the way down and in they stuck anywhere we would soak them in solvent (kerosene works well) and then bang them on the work bench till the plunger came up, it didn't always work but it would be worth a try.