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I'm considering my options for a hot rod build. Are the 12 cylinder or straight 8 packards strong enough to take supercharging for any serious power levels?

you done did it now.......

huh? did i say something wrong? i thought they were very strong motors.

Welcome!

No, you didn't say anything wrong. You may want to search the modified forums. Here is a thread on just such a topic.https://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?post_id=37886&topic_id=3627&#forumpost37886

We have a very wide range of interest on this forum.

Best of luck with your project
Jim

Quote:

I'm no expert on the V-12 or S8 Packards, but as I understand the situation, you would want a 9 main bearing S8 to make sure the bottom end is strong enough. Also, you should fab up your own intake/exhaust manifolds, because the stocker 4bbl ones do not flow enough, but I expect you knew that.

Craig

Hank was right...OK, I'm from the generation that Tells It Like It Is, so I'll be The One to Say It, because I'm not one to be hung up on some notion of suffering fools gladly, and I'm quite sure I'm not the only one thinking it either ... is this some kind of ludicrous troll? Because to hot rod a Packard V-12 should be a capital offense, IM not so humble O, and butchering a Super 8, is not far behind. Such an offense rises to the level of barbarism. Sorry, but go forth and bastardize a Chevy or some other common POS with our blessing, and leave truly classic cars like Packards alone. I've seen a '34 Phaeton chopped and channeled. I don't care if it is a free country, some things are just beyond the pale. Period. If you are hereby offended, so be it, and if your intent was merely to raise our hackles, go waste your time elsewhere. Begone.

Soon after my post I fear my garage may be burned down...

Some of us here, i.e. me, are venturing down the modification road. I personally have two 327 straights. One is stock and has never even had the carb off. My other is being broken down this spring to be bored, sleeved and ported. Gonna run 4 stromburgs on a homemade intake. And back it all to a vintage top loader. This is what's gonna pull my 52.

The twin six would not make a good donor. Just not enough around and don't rev that high. Of the straights, the 288 revs higher and would be the best option in my opinion. Either way understand you'll have to fab virtually everything.

Good luck.

Hiboy24,

I have to agree with fatmike, the V-12 would be very costly, and not likely to take very mechanically kindly to that kind of modification. The 39 and earlier 320 and 384 would not be a good choice either. If you have your heart set on a big 384, I do have a pal that has one machined and ready for assembly. Sadly, he has had this engine for over 10 years, but no one from the save em all crowd seems to be stepping up. I say they are not a good choice because they are super long stroke and not built for that kind of use.

The mono-cast engines are a totally different story. They are stout, and plentiful. As seen in the link I provided above, known to perform in this state.

As I said, and you have now seen in this thread, there are many view points here, please don't take it personally, many will correspond and follow with interest. There are plenty of homeless Packard mills for all of us to share, sadly so many, more are probably being scraped than restored.

Big Kev - do you think we can move this thread to the Modification Discussion?

Jim

Good idea. I will move it to the modification forum.

G'day all, In response to the original question, I would suggest that it would be imprudent to modify a V12, due to the sheer scarcity of them. Modification of any of the poured engine bearing eights would be courting disaster if the bearing loads were increased in any way, shape or form, IMHO anything over 2,500 rpm sustained is foolhardy with 70-80 year old poured bearings. Supergharging of the monocast slipper bearing engines has been widely discussed and Packard supercharged the 1954 - 359 engine quite successfully. There is plenty of scope for performance enhancement but i doubt that you would be able to achieve more than 35-40% reliable gain in horsepower. You will not achieve the figures becessary to out accelerate a VW Golf or any other modern bread and butter compact, even less so to a performance vehicle. Unless you are prepared to accept that you will still have a slug by modern standards then there is really no point in spending the money. Having said that I have dabbled seriously in improving the efficiency of my packards, to take advantage of modern fuels, etc and I am pleased with the increases in performance available. Best Regards Peter Toet.