Ever seen a Packard V8 street rod?

Greetings, Hambers.

I've been building Studebaker V8s and Packard V8s for forty-five years and reading rod mags for longer than that. In all those years, I've seen articles about one Packard V8 rail job, one rear-engined roadster, one sports car, one '55 stock class competitor and one '56 Golden Hawk at Bonneville. Has anyone ever seen a Packard V8 street rod?

I've been consulting with an old-time rodder in Buffalo, NY who is very close to finishing a '32 Ford roadster with a '56 Packard Caribbean 374" V8 with 2-4bbls. He may be the first-ever featured street rod.

thnx, jack vines

 

HAMB User Nads has a Packard powered 34 coupe but it ain't a "streetrod".

 

I can remember like 59 or 60 a mechanic who worked for parkes auto elect in san rafael cali had 1950 chev bus coupe with new crate 57 packard 2-4 caribean motor with a 37 floor box never forgot that car.

 

I was just logging on to ask a similar question. I am looking at a 1956 Packard 352 V8 with the original Ultramatic tranny. Probably can get it cheap and was thinking of stashing it back for a future T project. I was wondering if they were any good as a hot rod engine, dependable, not worth fooling with, etc. Anyone with experience or stories please chime in!

 

Uhhh... There aren't too many street rods on this board (thank god) but T-bone has it right, Nads has been driving a Packard powered Hot Rod for years.

 

A member of our Stude club just bought one, and right now he has it blown apart fixing all the stuff the builder butched up.

 

A buddy of mine bought a 55 (whole car), cheap, $41. This is part of the reason why.

 

Way OT but I can't resist

 

Who in Buffalo,NY?-MIKE

 

I have a Stude 289 in a Model A pickup with 40,000 miles
Rusty is building a Stude powered 32 sedan
Tommy has a Stude powed

 

Does this count?

 

Try doing a search. I seem to remember reading in other threads that the Packards had some oiling problems you'd need to address.

I wonder why you don't see more early Pontiac V8's. See lots of Olds and Buick.

 

Mike Ditka the ex Chicago Bears coach & Hall of Famer had a bathtub Packard ragtop with a big block chevy in it

 

Dude, Nadeem's 34 is a TOTAL street rod.

He and his woman can often be seen at Old Town, setting up their cry-baby dolls under the hood, wearing their gold chains and matching Corvette wind-breakers (tm), polishing his billet swatsikas and his "lost in the 50's" continental-kit wheel cover, and playing "doo-wop" tunes out of a drive-in theatre microphone that's been converted into an MP3 player.

AND...it's actually a Chevy 350 with Packard valve covers.

AND...the whole car is FIBERGLASS with rust and patina painted on.

AND...he's starting a boy band.

So there.

 

I love those Packard V8s. One of those engines in a late '50s Rambler body would kick ass. Or something like a '38-'39 Stude done gasser style...or a '46 Hudson...

The Packard has a lot of visual impact. Looks like a tall deck BBC on steroids.

The only actual street rod that I know of was built by Charles Mayenschein, I think it was a Model A tub widened and lengthened, with Packard running gear, including T-bars and wire wheels. It was a beautiful car.

 

Also in san rafael cali 58-59 a 1940 willys coupe was being built by darrel aultermat a packard with a 6-71 it was always the talk of the town .I dont think it ever made it to the drag strip.

 

BOY BAND? WTF? Didnt the drag queen thing work out?

 

Whats wrong with that?????? A little JB weld and it will be good to go

 

Interesting because I have a numbers match '50 Super 8 all original.
I am considering swapping the power train out for a hemi or 502 and upgrading brakes front end etc. , Question I have is if a restomod '50 would be worth more than the numbers matched '50 ? Not impressed with the inline auto.

 

Just bought an old-school 30 Roadster lowboy with a Packard V8 352...

 

Here are some pictures/articles on the old school 30 roadster with the Packard I just bought

 

There was a roadster similar to this in Missouri a few years ago.

 

This car was at the 2012 Brimfield Nats

 

I've seriously considered using a Packard engine in my T Bucket. I had three 56 Packard's in the early 60's. You could pick them up for three hundred dollars; around three grand in today's money. Most of them were six or seven years old and no one wanted a six year old car. The other thing about a Packard at that time was the transmission would go out in around thirty eight thousand miles. I knew a guy in New York that was a transmission guy and loved Packard's. He made all the parts new that would go out in the transmission. Today I would make the adapter for a Chevy to Packard for myself. The other thing is it's taken me over fifty years to build and fabricate my T Bucket so if I use a Packard engine I'm going to make patterns for a new intake manifold and valve covers. Something different like a four two set up. For a street rod I don't need more than the three hundred horse power the Packard puts out.
The 55 56 Packard's back in the day were a pleasure to drive especially when they had less then forty thousand miles on them. Heavy plush upholstery with the electric road leveling suspension. The girls loved those old cars back then.

A Packard engine would look good in my T Bucket. If and when I get back on it.

 

This roadster came to California in 2007, but was previously back East or in the midwest somewhere. Any idea where you might have seen it? - trying to get more history on it

 

I believe a fellow by the name of Rock Moffet owned it. He buys and sells lots of cars. I am not sure where he got it from.

 

If you have a stick shift bellhousing from a Golden Hawk or Hudson, The bolt pattern is the same as Ford. I had a top loader bolted to my Packard