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Hi again, not wanting to be a pest but looking for a bit of information if you don't mind. As some of you know by my earlier post I'm new here and looking to buy my first Packard. As mentioned earlier I have Hudsons now and a Ford and Plymouth. Being an old guy I'm familiar with the transmissions and dry clutches on the Ford and Plymouth, and had to learn about the wet clutches on Hudsons. I haven't heard of the "electromagnetic" clutches that I've read about in some Packard ads for cars for sale. Are those clutches on O/D cars only? Two of my Hudsons are standard shift and have overdrive, which makes highway driving easy.
Is there a big difference between Packard rear end ratios of O/D cars vs standard cars? What I'm getting at is I want to keep the RPM'S down at highway speeds. Example, my 53 Hudson has 455:1 with O/D. Plymouth has 411:1 with O/D. My 50 Hudson has 411:1 with O/D. The Plymouth and 50 Hudson will run all day at 70-75, where the 53 won't, its comfortable at 60.
Are Packards geared in a similar fashion? I want to be able to cruise all day at 70.
I'm looking for a Packard from 48 thru 50.
Did Packard make a model with stick shift and no O/D and a rear gear ratio of about 350:1 or 370:1?
Sorry about the long post, but I want to get it right the first time. Thanks I appreciate any comments, Richie.

Others can best answer your other questions but the ElectroMatic clutch was just Packards name for its version of a vacuum operated dry clutch.. With a quick read of some Hudson service material, the Hudson Vacumotive drive and the Packard Electromatic appear to be very similar in operation. Packards version was typically accompanied with overdrive but at least prewar, was available separately.

Packard's Electromatic Clutch was not electromagnetic, but an electrically-modified, vacuum-operated, automatic clutch system, which was something of a workaround until they came up with their own automatic tranmsission - the Ultramatic.

This feature debuted on 1941 models, and an entire issue of the company's service newsletter, SL Vol. 15, No. 2, was devoted to product information. Later on, there was a Serviceman's Training Booklet on Electromatic Clutch.

Unfortunately, when problems arose and the dealer network was no longer around to help, a lot of these systems were gutted or completely removed by those who didn't understand the technology. Personally, I thinks it's a wonderful example of technology, but others will disagree.

I can't speak to axle ratios, but if you want improved fuel economy, know that the Electromatic Clutch was available with overdrive transmission.

Hi Richie,
If you haven't already, you might check out this site for lots of information about Packard and the different models available.

http://www.packardclub.org/

I drive a '47 Custom Super Clipper. These models, along with the Super Clipper, came with Packard's "Super 8" 356 in. engine and it was carried through to '48 Customs and Supers. Pretty sure OD was standard on those cars.

I don't have the electromatic, but the OD is wonderful. Even with a very, very tired engine, 70 mph in OD was not a problem. (I say was, because the engine is out and rebuilt almost ready to go back in). Personally, I prefer not having the added complexity of the electromatic but some folks do.

Good luck with your search.

Mark

HH56, I had a Hudson with supermatic drive, it basically shifted by itself. It was a nightmare to work on, I don't want another like that. Thanks for your reply. Richie.

I've never been around Hudsons much but reading thru the literature, apparently they had two versions of automatic clutch and shift. The Vacumotive which was just the clutch and would be equivalent to the Electromatic and then a version called Drive Master which did the clutch and also shifted between 2nd and 3rd as needed. That version I could see might be a bit much to contend with.

As Brian mentioned, many did not understand Packards system. When problems came, particularly after Packard was gone, mechanics found it was easier to disable than repair. After that, if the system was not working and in the way of something else, removing that offending piece was a frequent approach.

Prewar systems were complicated with several solenoids, switches and relays to contend with. Postwar was much simpler but still one had to understand the operation to adjust it properly.

BH, I now have a better understanding of what the Packard deal was, thanks for explaining it. The Hudson I had with supermatic drive was probably great back in the day, but it had more vac. diaphragms, relays, switches and extra rods than you could imagine. Terrible to work on. I think I'll lean towards a stick with O/D and no electromagnetic clutch.
Thank you for your comment. Richie.

Hi Mark, I will check out that site tomorrow. It looks like you are driving what I'm looking for. I said I wanted 48-50 but actually a 46- 50 would be nice. It seems the 46 and 47 are more expensive than the 48-50, at least so far in my searches. I'm looking for something simple and dependable, something I can get in and drive across the country without worrying about break-downs. I maintain the cars I have very well and have taken some 2,000 mile trips without any issues. I will definitely check out that site. Thank you. Richie.

HH56, the Hudson with supermatic drive would shift by itself as you described. I used it once just to try it out and it would start up in 2nd and when you got up to speed you just let off the gas pedal and the clutch went to the floor by itself and the shift went from 2nd to 3rd and the clutch came back up as you stepped on the gas. Too much to content with for my old brain. Keep it simple is my motto. Thanks again HH56. Richie

Back to your original question about ratios: Most cars of the 48-50 era came with a 3.9 axle if equipped with straight stick. They are 60 mph cars, 65 if you have tall tires. They were designed with rural roads and city traffic in mind.

If you got overdrive, the axle ratio usually bumped up to 4.1 for more flexibility, but the car was now an 80 mph plus car with no particular strain. I have driven my 51 (same power train) loooong distances at 75 and above. Hard on the wallet, but not the engine.

Ultramatic cars at that time got a 3.54. You can put that axle very profitably into a stick shift car, but with overdrive I find it over geared and requires frequent kickdown.

As you know from your Hudson experience, the OD and low rear gearing makes the car very flexible in all types of driving.

I am a bit surprised that your 53 is only happy to 60. My 50 Commander has the same gearing and can hardly be kept below 70 without paying attention.