Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

i have recently got a packard that is an ambulance, as well as used as a burial car. i want to and have started the process of rebuilding the engine. the car has a 3 speed trans and a flathead 8 engine. I was told the body is a 1955 and the engine is a 1956. I'm not sure the man i got it from is relayable or not, the number on the block is 420791 and the head has the numbers 288 and 327, not in order. If anyone knows what i've got and where to get parts that will work on this engine i would forever greatfull. The pistons were frozen in the cylinders and i'm soaking them in marvel oil and the valves were frozen as well. In prying the valves out of the block i broke the very tops of 3 valve guides and wonder if these had umbrailer seals or not. thanks

69cutlas: I am very certain that the car has be 1954 or earlier. The last year Packard made a straight eight engine was 1954.

Please post some pictures of your Packard and I am sure that a great number of persons in here can be of great help to you. You might want to go to the Packard Model info section here and start doing some research in that section.

Please be sure and register your Packard in the Owner Registry. Also a BIG WELCOME to you.

Does your Packard look anything like the picture below.

John F. Shireman

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In addition to Packard53's suggestion, look for an engine number on the drivers side of block. Will be stamped on a flat machined pad just below the head and to the rear of the distributor---a letter followed by several numbers. Depending on year, the location will vary a bit but in that general area. There should also be a vehicle number either on a tag on the front side of drivers door jamb if 51 or later or if still there, on a plate screwed to drivers side of cowl under hood if 50 or earlier.

most of the commercial cars were on clipper chassis with the 288 CI straight 8. definately a 54 or earlier as John said.

that picture is a 1954 Henney Senior. they were the same body used for both ambulances and hearses. The senior has the 4 forward doors like in the picture, the junior didnt have the second set of doors.

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G'day 69cutless,
to PackardInfo, I'm sure the guys here can help you identify it and a pic, as suggested, and the vehicle number details will help greatly to do that.

And speaking of pic's, could you please include your Packard in the Owner Registry, once identified, together with a pic, any known history and how you acquired it?

Perhaps you meant "umbrella" seals? No, like many flathead engines no valve stem seals are used. And if you get that far you'll be able to get new valve guides from Egge and perhaps others, though there are a bit of a bear to install.

Your head indicates it is either a 288 or 327 cu in engine. The 288 has a 3 3/4" stroke, the 327 is 4 1/4" easy to measure with the head off. Both have the same 3 1/2" bore.

Incidentally a friend rebuilt a similar engine a couple years ago. He said it was an easy engine to work on and parts not expensive, under $1000 bucks for everything.

I.ve looked at the title and it is in fact a 1954 packard with a henny body. The guy i got it from says that the orginial engine was bad so they exchanged it for a 1955 engine ,it has 288, 327, stampted on the top of the head(flathead 8) and the number 420791 on tne side of the head. The vin is 54332106. The seller stated that it had a knocking sound so he turned it off and parked it for at least 15 years befor i bought it. The number 6,7,8, pistons were frozen to the cylinder walls but i was able to pour marvial oil in on the top and spray wd 40 on the bottoms so i finally got the pistons freed up enough to move them down in bores and used a hone to remove enought of the rust so i could remove the pistons. The valves were another problem as they were frozen so bad i couldn't turn the crank or even the cam. I had to use small chizels to wedge them out, I broke the i the little towers that are at the top of the valve guides.I think there is plenty of the valve guide to keep the valves straight, and didn't see any umberla seals on the guides. I need to find some valves, bearings and gaskets, if ya know where please tell me where to look. Iv'e checked the bore and it is within .005 of pistin sise so if they clean up I won't have to replace anything but rings and bearings, they also look good but might as well replace any. Thanks for info

The 55 engine was a V8 so unlikely that part of story is correct as to what is installed in car. The only way to tell what year installed is by engine number on drivers side of block. 54 will begin with M, 53=L, 52=K and so on. The 5433 is a commercial chassis and would most likely have had the 288 engine originally. The number you mention on head is probably a casting number as it doesn't fit any of the head part numbers.

The best bet for engine parts would be either the vendors, Kanter, Merritt, etc etc. Terrill Machine or Egge Machine are also good general aftermarket people. Vendor contact info is in the Directory section. Terrill & possibly Egge advertise in Hemmings Motor News regularly. All will most likely be able to supply what you need although the online catalog is not as extensive or detailed as their printed.

As Howard said, if it's a straight flathead eight, then it must be from a 54 or previous year. You will find the engine number is located here (see picture). By telling us this number we can tell you the exact year, a size of your motor (288, 327, 359 etc). If the number is hard to read, then rub the area with a piece of white chalk, and then wipe it off, this will hi-light the numbers as it leaves the chalk in the stamping indents.

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