Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

If you are lucky those speedometers read only 10% fast, so a good one reading 110 is actually 99. Given the cars tested new were hitting 104 a 10% percent error translates to 114 on the speedometer.

So, get a Garmin and check the accuracy. My modern car reads 0-1 mph fast using the Garmin.

Here are a few photos from September 1955 of the 5582 test car.

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  5582 test car 1.jpg (372.84 KB)


  5582 test car 2.jpg (371.47 KB)

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A stretch north of Mercer PA, which ran past the small town of Fredonia. Some hills and curves, but plenty of straight stretches. Nothing like Pittsburgh.

There are straight places in western Pa just takes a little time to find them. Down hill don't count. Back in the day all car guys knew where they were and used them for non legal uses. Statute of limitation apply in my case

Granddad says he got his 2262 up to 107MPH on I-64 in eastern Virginia back in 1971 or so. Not sure how long he kept it there, but it overheated and messed up the engine. He attempted to flat tow it home (with his ex-wife's Chebby) and ran into the ditch with it and trashed the passenger side. We got it running summer of '73 and it smoked like a chimney. He was always disgusted with himself over that entire episode.


I conclude that the ol' 288 wouldn't have done 104MPH (SUSTAINED or otherwise) for 25K miles without making a mess of itself.

I'm sorry, but 25,000 miles at 104 mph doesn't impress me, and neither does the 250 hours on a dynamometer at full load that Packard bragged about in their SAE paper about the development of the V8.

The U.S. industry standard for dynomometer durability was for engines to sustain 200 hours at full load, 4000 rpm without major deterioration. That standard stood for decades. Well into the 1980's. You could expect a Chevy, Ford, or Plymouth to last 200 hours at full load.

Packard barely beat that.

I know of at least one domestic manufacturer during that time whose engines were good for 400 hours on a dynomometer. They later got them up to 500 hours with improvements to their valve seats.

It was American Motors Corportation. Their V8 that debuted in 1956 was rated for 400 hours, which is like driving at 100 mph for 40,000 miles.

The best straight run I know of is the Will Rogers Turnpike between Oklahoma City and Tulsa. 150 miles in a straight line.

The Indian Nation Turnpike is another good run. Travel east on I-40 from Oklahoma City for 100 miles and turn right.

I'm sure there are others further west, but both of these should be sufficient to blow the Packard motors if you beat on them.

Slightly OT, but the first German Autobahns were proudly built straight and flat. Those were the inspiration for the US Interstate system.

When driving in Europe, one always could make a top speed run somewhere. I had a rented BMW going north on a beautiful new Autoroute in France. It took me a while to realize it had been purposely built following the contours of the rolling hills, with never a straight stretch anywhere. This effectively prevents high speed runs.

jack vines