I drove a '53 straight eight Packard/Henney ambulance with a automatic transmission and it had twin carburetors. We later switched to Pontiacs and eventually Cadillacs. BUT that Packard was the smoothest one I ever drove. Good power too.
Great video. Some guys in Edmonton, Alberta just rebuilt a 1953 Packard that had laid in a pasture for over 50 years and they to were amazed at the quality of workmanship in it.
Nice shop set-up. #7 piston damage : I’d like to see the head & block to get a good picture in my mind of the combustion chamber geometry, but I’m thinking detonation. It starts at the edge of the piston, pinches the top ring, then the damage cascades thru the lands and ring pack until the piston finally fails. Packard engines were bulletproof. My uncle’s Packard survived my cousin Lois. The car was a manual transmission & Lois didn’t like to shift, so that engine got lugged -a lot.
Coldwarmotors just got one of these old Packard running recently. He ordered a head gasket which was the wrong one, so he repaired the old and commented the other one was available if anybody needed it. He is in Edmonton, Alberta, if you’re interested.
Back then an engine would run pretty well on 7 cylinders. I've had a few different 60s & 70s Ford V8s that ran on 7, burning wheels & everything. I was 16 or 17 yrs old.
My dad had a 34 Packard in Australia during the 50s. Huge car. He dropped the sump to check the bearings and they were as good as the day the engine was made. Wish he had kept it but he explained it was an old car that used a lot of fuel. He bought a Vauxhall next...a Vauxhall. WTF
