Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

I just figured out how much work, time, and money it takes to rebuild a 320 in a 1201 club sedan. Holy cow! Convertibles can justify that, but rebuilding a club sedan is below marginal. I have done engines but not a 1000 pound beast that requires all sorts of special handling gear. It is a two person job anyway with all the intricate things one must do. And the front end really needs to come off the car, too. I can see how these end up being relegated to resto-rods. It is a real challenge with the 320, with babbit, rods not going through the bore, counterweights, etc...HArd to even find people who can work on them around here in Colorado. A lost art of restoration around here. So I am stewing about this a lot. Curious how others see the sedan situation as the market for sedans is not very good.

JMO, but I'd much rather see you sell it to someone who can do it justice and maintain its authenticity than to see it re-engined. Even more so as it's a club sedan!

I would think the engine assembly weighs less than 1000#. The crankcase is aluminum and the cast iron block is not very big. We have many in stock and I've moved them by myself, not far, not fast.

The rods not coming up through the block is not difficult at all, I've done numerous ones. Later rods are available and so are repro rod bearings. Turning the crank, if needed, takes a good machine shop and also a positive attitude. Well worth it.

Actually, with a few exceptions in the crackpot class of cars, prices for old pre-war classic cars are going down across the board. Heck, Duesenbergs are selling for a mere million.

You have to like the cars. One of my favorite Packards is the 733 seven sedan when it is painted in an authentic color scheme. Try to find that. So I wouldn't care about the money. In the old days people scrounged up used pistons, valves, and even glued Babbitt bearings back together. If they drove the cars 45-50 mph they would hold up for years like that.

Personally, I'd rather have the Std 8 anyway. The 901-902 is a total sweetheart when it's done right. Sure the look over hood of the 384 is great, but I look at the all around aspects as well.

I don't work on those Packards anymore because here in Detroit they are really nice to me. Today I was handling a car using an actuarial style actual/expected table to sort out an electronics problem in the collision system. When engineering is being held up it costs a lot of money and there is a lot at stake. When I fly to another state the people are so happy to get those cars out of the plant and to dealers. I never got that working on Packards. Nowadays when I see one of my cars in a magazine I'll bring it to work and tell the story behind the car.

As Jack Nethercutt used to say: "I make my money at Merle Norman and I spend my money on cars."

If I was in your position I would take my time and talk to a lot of people in the clubs. If you want to convert the thing to insert bearings I know who can do that. But it does cost a lot. In the old days they had cocktail parties where everybody talked that kind of shop.

This hotrod stuff is just a faster way to turn cash into smoke. If you look in a few nooks you might even find an old timer working for a NAPA machine shop or what not who can do some that work.

I won't be selling it to a hot rodder. I have been beating the bushes, and got engine rebuild quotes as high as $40000, and as low as $20000. But the closest reasonable shop appears to be 800 miles away. If it were close, I would have the car in there now. Locally, I have found a machine shop that can do the 320 (and they did one six months ago) and another older guy who knows how to work on old engines. I'm still looking for someone to take it all apart and pull the engine. I do not have a garage with a lift or high ceiling and I have had enough crawling around at close quarters at my age! I do know that Schumacher makes rod inserts. I think the bottom end may be OK, but the pan has not been taken off for an examination. You have to ready for nasty things to happen, like breaking some of the 40 odd bolts that hold the water jacket on, etc...It is all about time for me, which is why I am looking for a shop and I have a few more leads to chase down. You are right that classic car prices have been dropping, especially for sedans.

If you can economize on some of the niceties like recoring the radiator, new manifold porcelain, nickel plated engine hardware, rebuilding starters, generators, distributors and the like, then around $20,000 would be a good estimate based on recent jobs I've heard about. If the crank needs to be reground, set aside at least $1000 for that alone.