Packard Forum Index » General

A while back CCCA rounded up a Packard 12, Lincoln KB, Cadillac V16, and Rolls PIII. The fastest acceleration to 50 mph was, surprisingly, from the PIII Rolls-Royce.

I've driven the PIII and you would never think that to be the case, but then I was driving it according to the instruction manual. I couldn't hear the motor except for crossing bridges when I could hear the echo.

Body style (weight) and gearing changes could probably change those results any way you wanted, but all things being equal I think a Marmon 16 or Pierce 12 could easily be a contender for top honors within that grouping.

Could we please dispense with the Christian religion titles. Not all of us here are of that faith or any faith. This is not the place for such addressing. Thank you.

(o[]o)

Yeah, especially now that I see I only made it to Deacon!

Kidding aside, the '55 Clipper gave NO oil pump or oil pressure/lifter noise problems, up to and including somewhere around the high 60K mileage range. As far as I know, the torsion leveler only had occasional switching problems when in the auto-level mode. Eventually just used the manual override. The auto switch might have gotten a bit "tired" from kids from all over the neighborhood, yours truly included, sitting on the bumper to make it go up, then getting off to watch it go down... over and over until the battery croaked. Fun times.

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I've read that the "extra" four main brgs were as much of a marketing feature as engineering to differentiate the Seniors from the Juniors beginning with the 356 cid engine on through the demise of the L8's in 1954. Langworth's June 1979 SIA review of a '54 Pacific HT with the new 212 HP 359 cid L8 noted that at 8.7:1 CR, it was the highest compression production flathead ever made. Langworth noted that the performance was on par with OHV V8 contemporaries (especially when equipped with a 3 speed O/D). But, "All anybody saw when they opened the hood were eight spark plugs in a row. To all but the knowledgeable this fairly shouted obsolescence...an old man's car". These engines were extremely smooth and durable (more main brg area than a Chrysler Hemi) but a hard sell for the ad agencies to tout when all the competition had moved on to the modern high compression V8's

Packard8, if the above's true, the only reason for Packard tooling the otherwise same engine for nine main bearings, then that really underscores how out of touch East Grand Avenue's non-leaders were. You get the feeling Packard's management was surrounded by sycophants more concerned with preserving their pensions than suggesting cutting edge automobiles. Spending money on superfluous inner circle nonsense like the above ranks with spending as much on bloating the svelte 1941-47 Clipper as it would've cost to design a wholly new car. Or not retaining and "sweetening" the Clipper as John Reinhart and others urged. It was good enough for R-R/Bentley to use 1956-65, albeit razor-edged and with a curved, one-piece windshield, as the Silver Cloud/S-Type.

Am sure this'll rankle many, but the company that wasted time and money on Elmer Fuddite moves like the above deserved to die. In fact, it's surprising they survived as long as they did. But Packard was one of only two domestic automakers to come out of WWII profitable, and that strong cash position allowed them to coast on their reputation 'til the inevitable end.