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Does anyone have any remote idea what a 1953 Packard straight 8 engine weighs.

Packard published some weights for engine and trans. Low end to high end shown. If just a bare engine probably subtract 50-75 for the standard trans and more for the other trans combinations. If fully equipped with the bolt ons -- starter, gen, carb etc maybe add 100.

Not sure if given engine weights were with manifolds or not. All I know is it's heavy and will pull over a cherry picker if not carefully balanced.

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The short answer? Engine and Transmission: Approx. 1,000 lbs.

The long answer:

Weight with Clutch and Transmission (Manual): 860 - 915 lbs.
Weight with Overdrive: 895 - 950 lbs.
Weight with Transmission (Ultra.): 995 - 1050 lbs.

If you figure the cast-iron Ultramatic weighs 275 lbs. dry (per Ultramatic Dynamics), then you're looking at a motor weight of around 745 lbs for a 5-main 327.

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Is there much difference in weight between the 9 main bearing Patrician engine and the 5 main?

I would say about 25-30 lbs. Comparing the various engines equipped with the Ultramatic as given in this 51 service counselor would provide a decent estimate. The Ultras on both engines are the same weight. Not sure if the engine/trans weight includes the bolt on items but if so, starters were different with the Patrician having a heavier pinion shift unit and believe the oil filter was standard on the 9 main so both add a bit of weight. Aside from that other bolt on item differences are minimal.

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I hate to say this, but I'm going to say it anyway. If a person wants to know what some thing weighs, said person needs to cause the thing in question to be weighed. I think that this is referred to as Scientific Method. Numbers that are modified with the word "about" are useless. I remember wanting to know what a B-block Chrysler block weighed. All the information I could Google started with "about." So, since I had a stripped engine block, I cleared a path through the house and dragged the damned thing on a hand truck to the balance-beam bath scale. The platform was large enough to stand the block on it on end, so I did and moved the wee weight gizmos about until I came up with 231.25 pounds, and I felt pretty confident that I was as accurate as can be.


Later, I bought a book on performance builds for that engine family, and the author observed that a B-block weighed 230 pounds. Being within .5% of my findings, I took it with confidence when he said that the RB block weighs the same, and he gave the reason. Obviously, he had done the research.


My conclusion, based on the vague ranges given by Packard, would be to take a loose engine and weigh the thing to come up with a figure accurate to a pound or two. That would be a definitive answer. Not having a scale that would accommodate that, it would likely have to be done in pieces.


As a young draftsperson/designer for a design build commercial contractor 40-odd years ago, I had the chance to do the preliminary measurements on a turn-of-last-century warehouse. In the loading area and built into the floor was a lovely 19th century Toledo scale large enough to work with something the size of a modern pallet jack's wheel stance. Nicely sculpted, good workable design, steel with brass trim, it has a large circular dial which was easy to read and its needle was sitting exactly on 0, and it was a 5000 pound capacity. Knowing what I had weighed myself at a few days before, I stepped on it, and the needle rolled up a bit and landed on a number I considered to be accurate. I always wondered what became of that device as it would be a lovely addition to any large auto shop with people working there who like to collect data for the curious-minded. It would be perfect to set this 1954 327 engine/trans combo on and read the dial.


Just a thought . . . .

I agree. If you need an accurate number there is no other way to do it except weigh it yourself. Unfortunately Packard did not give any specifics on how the engine was configured when it was weighed or calculated. Is the given weight a basic assembled engine without generator, starter, carbs etc (which I suspect) or would that be the number if you lifted an engine out of a car complete with bolt on components and sat it on a scale. Using the word "about" seemed appropriate without known criteria.

There is a 30 lb weight difference in the given figures between the 5 and 9 main engines. That is probably due to the extra webbing support in the block and the throws on the crank for the 4 additional bearings but if not, then in addition to that extra there is a difference in bolt on items to factor in.

Weasel Word: "about"


I can see the difference in the material in the block and crank for the difference in main bearing count. That kind of thinking is why I presumed that a RB block would be heavier than a B block, but I'm taking that guy's word for it.


I still covet that antique scale.