I need to finish this one up so here are the V8 offerings for the 1956 Hudson.
Interesting enough one was called the Packard Eight and the other was the Hornet Special Eight.
The Hornet Special Eight was a V8 with overhead valves. It was a cast iron block that displaced 250 cubic inches. The bore and stroke were 3.50″ x 3.25″ and a compression ratio of 8.0:1 helped produce about 190 hp. This was topped by a Carter WGD two barrel carb (Model 235S).
The Packard Eight, was it the really a Packard engine?
What I do know is that the Hudson engine was a V8 with overhead valves and cast iron block. It sported a bore and stroke of 4″ x 3.50 (which means the bore was half an inch larger than the Special and the stroke was quarter of an inch larger. This upped the compression ratio to 9.5:1 and displacement up to 352 cid. Topped with a Carter carb WGD two barrel (Model 2231SA it produced 220 hp.
But was it a Packard engine?
It may have been. In 1955 Packard powered some of its models with what they called the Clipper Custom or the Packard Line V8 (up until that date any Packard 8 cylinder was an L head). This engine had the same bore and stroke, compression and displacement (352). It had more horse power but that was more likely attributed to the 4 barrel Carter carbs that were used (models 2232S or 2284S). Packard also used Rochester Type 4GC four barrel carbs on some of the models. So I can’t conclude for certain that it was the same engine, but I believe it was. I’ll see if I can find the answer with more research.
Think there was much of a choice of engines back in 1956? Well there were a few for the 1956 Hudson.
As was custom back in the 40’s and 50’s, the engines were often named similar to the model of the car they powered. For the 1956 Hudson, the company had the Hudson Rambler, Wasps and Hornet. The engines followed suit for the most part. There were 5 six cylinder versions and 2 V8s.
The first up is the Hudson Rambler Six. This was an in line 6 L head with a displacement of 195.6 cid. It was a cast iron block with bore of 3 1/8″ and stroke of 4.25″
and a compression ratio of 7.5: 1. The four main bearings, solid valve lifters and 1 barrel Carter Carb (YF model 2009s) combined to produce 120 horse power.
’56 Hudson Rambler In Line Six
The Wasp Six was a In Line L-head 6 cylinder. It to was a cast iron block same compression ratio 7.5:1. Its bore and store was larger than the Hudson Rambler – 3.00 x 4.75 (vs. 4.25) and it manged to displace 202 cid without a change in hp still at 120. The engine came from the factory with a Carter one barrel WA-1 carb (2009s).
The Wasp Twin-H Six was similar to the other Wasp except it managed 8.0:1 compression ratio with the help of the H carb configuration. This consisted of 2 Carter single barrel carbs (WA-1 model 2013s) that helped the 202 cid engine produce 130 hp.
I was told it would happen when I upgraded my Mustang from a 6 cylinder to a V8. I was told it would happen when I got my first Corvette (1984 C4 with 205 hp). I was told it would happen when I got my second Corvette (07 C6).
And I was sort of told that numerous years ago by an Air Force pilot. I didn’t believe it each time.
No one can fault me, except some “car purists”, for taking the 250 straight 6 motor from my Mustang and replaced it with a V8 302 bored .030 nor when I attempted to increase the HP in my C4 Corvette from 205 to 245 with a new fangled intake (never actually took place). Those were pretty understandable upgrades considering the 250 in the Mustang had no get up and go (more like lay down and won’t) when the AC was on. For that matter why would ever limit a Corvette to 205 hp?
Now the C4 is gone but the Mustang puts out about 300 hp and the C6 is at about 420. I remember saying, “400 hp? That’s plenty for me!!!” when I bought the C6. And it should be. I’m certain that this SHOULD be ‘true’. But why then, do I have a set of 351 Cleveland Cobra Jet heads sitting in the garage for the Mustang. And why am I pricing superchargers for the Corvette?
I started thinking about this driving the C6 on my way to work today, recalling back when the Mustang was 195 hp and the 84 Vette was just 10 more than the Stang and wishing I had more. As I stepped on the throttle entering the Interstate, I thought to myself, I which I had a bit more power now. That’s just plan crazy talk!!! Just a year ago I was happy with the C6’s power and now its like… yeah its powerful, most powerful in the HOA I bet (why didn’t I just say “neighborhood”?). What happened?
What has happened is that I drive the Vette daily and it as become common place to have that power at a bend of my right ankle. I am sure that if I drove a Toyota Corolla every day and took the Vette out on the weekends, I would still be in awe of the power. I’ve just come so accustom (not complacent, mind you) to driving the car that it doesn’t seem extra ordinary (although intellectually I know that 400 plus hp is no joke).
That doesn’t explain the desire to upgrade the Mustang though, does it? So what does? I think that rational here is more rooted in my own attachment to what the last 60’s and 70’s muscles cars should be. But still when I’m driving it I wish for more power. You understand that don’t you? When you look at a 1969 Mustang and it has its original 6 cylinder in it, you say…”That’s nice. Its all original.” However when you see a 1970 Mustang Mach I with its massive engine…you say…’WOW!!! F-ing A that’s what I’m talking about!!!!” So it’s some of that for sure.
So here is where I am with my cars and thinking about it took me back to one of my military supervisor. He was a LT Col and was one of the few that flew the SR-71 for a living. He shared a story with me about flying a mission and on the return trip received a warning light on the instrument panel. This required him to have to slow the aircraft down bit. He said to me, “…and I thought GREAT it’ll take forever to get home at only Mach 2. I realized how relative speed it was.”
Thanks for reading and keep it under Mach 1. (Yes I’m sure that’s enough power…perhaps.)
Chuck has customs, trucks and of course, muscle cars in his collection.
Automotive enthusiasts love to measure their beloved four-wheeled machines’ capabilities by using the term “horsepower.” Chuck Barnes owns a stable-full of true classic muscle — real horsepower — in his modern horse barn.
A few years back, this Barrington resident built a free-standing barn to house not only his family’s show horses, but also his personal vehicles, each packing enough stallions under the hood to intimidate even the brawniest of V-8s.
While Barnes sees beauty in his collection, the “huge eyesore” of a horse barn initially caused some friction between he and his wife.
“She used to be able to have a wonderful view from our kitchen of the animals grazing in the pasture,” Barnes said.
Despite the earlier conflict, Dawn Barnes has grown accustomed to the structure and even enjoys it now. “It’s true he blocked my view, but I’m over it. It’s such a wonderful place to have parties in,” Dawn said. “In addition to hosting a wedding in the barn, I’ve even had my own ‘women’s parties’ where I just invited my female friends to hang out.”
To be fair, Chuck did try to avoid obscuring the tranquil vista; he first added to the home garage, expanding it from two cars to accommodate four.
“It just wasn’t quite enough,” Chuck said. That’s when he began construction on the satellite structure, drawing on personal experience for inspiration. “In the ’50s, my dad owned a speed shop called Belmont Automotive in Palatine. As a kid I used to go hang out there all the time and would see some really neat cars.”
That passion manifested itself in the cool space Chuck spends most of his time in now. “All the memorabilia is stuff I’ve accumulated over the years. Even with millions of dollars, you can’t recreate this. Nothing here is bought out of a catalog. They’re real pieces — even the moose head!”
In addition to car parts, hand-painted signs and neon lights, the custom centerpiece is a wood-paneled bar that a cabinetmaker friend assembled. “We told him we wanted something as cool as the cars, so he made the countertop one large glass shadow box, illuminated by LED lighting.” The couple constantly changes the display, ensuring guests will see something new.
The entire building has air conditioning to keep things comfortable during the summer months and a special warming element for the bone-chilling Midwest winters: radiant in-floor heat. ”You can walk in here in February with bare feet and be nice and toasty,’ Chuck said. “In addition to efficiency, it also keeps moisture down and doesn’t kick up dust or dirt.”
Naturally, visitors don’t come just to see the fascinating décor, but also the rolling iron parked inside. One such creation is a 430-horsepower 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle, packing a full emission-compliant LS E-Rod crate motor.
“It has full catalytic converters and passes the very strict California emissions test that will be mandated for all cars in 2014,” he said.
Other interesting pieces are a 1960 Buick Electra 225; a mint, 11,000-mile one-owner 1978 Ford F250 High Boy; and a project 1957 Chevrolet Nomad that came from Australia.
“I’m going to add an air-ride suspension and a fuel-injected big block. It’ll be a high-end car that can be driven anywhere.”
Another ongoing build is a 1964 Chevrolet Impala, being built as a tribute to Chuck’s father. “It’ll be a period-correct superstock race car that will be raced in nostalgic events,” he said.
While this equine palace is packed, Chuck is already planning for future expansions to his stable of steeds. So the next time you hear a classic collector talking about his impressive horsepower numbers, ask him if he’s got it both under his hood, and under his roof.
Automotive enthusiasts love to measure their beloved four-wheeled machines’ capabilities by using the term “horsepower.” Chuck Barnes owns a stable-full of true classic muscle — real horsepower — in his modern horse barn.
A few years back, this Barrington resident built a free-standing barn to house not only his family’s show horses, but also his personal vehicles, each packing enough stallions under the hood to intimidate even the brawniest of V-8s.
While Barnes sees beauty in his collection, the “huge eyesore” of a horse barn initially caused some friction between he and his wife.
“She used to be able to have a wonderful view from our kitchen of the animals grazing in the pasture,” Barnes said.
Despite the earlier conflict, Dawn Barnes has grown accustomed to the structure and even enjoys it now. “It’s true he blocked my view, but I’m over it. It’s such a wonderful place to have parties in,” Dawn said. “In addition to hosting a wedding in the barn, I’ve even had my own ‘women’s parties’ where I just invited my female friends to hang out.”
To be fair, Chuck did try to avoid obscuring the tranquil vista; he first added to the home garage, expanding it from two cars to accommodate four.
“It just wasn’t quite enough,” Chuck said. That’s when he began construction on the satellite structure, drawing on personal experience for inspiration. “In the ’50s, my dad owned a speed shop called Belmont Automotive in Palatine. As a kid I used to go hang out there all the time and would see some really neat cars.”
That passion manifested itself in the cool space Chuck spends most of his time in now. “All the memorabilia is stuff I’ve accumulated over the years. Even with millions of dollars, you can’t recreate this. Nothing here is bought out of a catalog. They’re real pieces — even the moose head!”
In addition to car parts, hand-painted signs and neon lights, the custom centerpiece is a wood-paneled bar that a cabinetmaker friend assembled. “We told him we wanted something as cool as the cars, so he made the countertop one large glass shadow box, illuminated by LED lighting.” The couple constantly changes the display, ensuring guests will see something new.
The entire building has air conditioning to keep things comfortable during the summer months and a special warming element for the bone-chilling Midwest winters: radiant in-floor heat. ”You can walk in here in February with bare feet and be nice and toasty,’ Chuck said. “In addition to efficiency, it also keeps moisture down and doesn’t kick up dust or dirt.”
Naturally, visitors don’t come just to see the fascinating décor, but also the rolling iron parked inside. One such creation is a 430-horsepower 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle, packing a full emission-compliant LS E-Rod crate motor.
“It has full catalytic converters and passes the very strict California emissions test that will be mandated for all cars in 2014,” he said.
Other interesting pieces are a 1960 Buick Electra 225; a mint, 11,000-mile one-owner 1978 Ford F250 High Boy; and a project 1957 Chevrolet Nomad that came from Australia.
“I’m going to add an air-ride suspension and a fuel-injected big block. It’ll be a high-end car that can be driven anywhere.”
Another ongoing build is a 1964 Chevrolet Impala, being built as a tribute to Chuck’s father. “It’ll be a period-correct superstock race car that will be raced in nostalgic events,” he said.
While this equine palace is packed, Chuck is already planning for future expansions to his stable of steeds. So the next time you hear a classic collector talking about his impressive horsepower numbers, ask him if he’s got it both under his hood, and under his roof.
So we talked about the 1974 the year of big changes and small engines for the Mustang, now designated as Mustang II. The entire idea was to return to the original roots of the Mustang, small every day car. A far cry from the 300 plus horsepower for the 1969-1973 Mach 1’s. Of course it was a good idea, even though most of us don’t think so then or even now, but take a look at the numbers.The 1974 Mustang II sold over 380,000 units, and not a single V8 in the lot and that was 3 time as many Mustang as were sold in 1973. Additionally, it was Motor Trends car of the year. Now just between you and me, the Motor Trend thing doesn’t do much for me (nor does the J.D. Powers award or any of the others) but it does work for some and judging by the numbers that sold at least 380,000 others.
In 1975 things changes a bit for the Mustang. The infamous 302 returned, making a V8 an option. But how as the possible? What occurred that would bring back the a V8? As mentioned above there were Mustang sold with V8 engines…”In the US“!!!! But our friends south of the border (for those of you geographically challenged, that would be Mexico) were in fact selling Mustangs with V8. Not many knew this was going on but once Hot Rod magazine got wind of it and put it in the front of its June ’74 issue, Ford decided that it need to “pony up” (come on now..that’s clever!!!!) and add the V8 for the 1975 edition of the Mustang II.
Your 1975 Mustang Line Up
The V8 was only available with an automatic transmission and was an option for the Ghia and the Mach I (even though the standard Mach 1 engine was the V6) as well as the other models and topped with a 2 barrel carb, it produced a whopping 122 hp or 140 hp depending on you proved the numbers.
So things were looking in 1975 although the number didn’t get even close to the 1974 model.
1975 Mustang Production Data:
69F Hatchback: 30,038
69R Hatchback – Mach 1: 21,062
60F Coupe: 85,155
60H Coupe – Ghia: 51,320
Total Production: 188,575
The total range of engine looked like this:
1975 Mustang Engines
2.3 L – 140 cid, I-4, 2bbl, 88 hp
2.8 L – 171 cid, V6, 2bbl, 105 hp
5.0 L – 302 cid, V8, 2bbl, 140 hp
Code
Y
Z
F
There were two transmission available a 4 speed manual and 3 speed automatic – but the 4 speed was not available for the 302. That might seem odd but it may have to do with a fitment issue.
Continuing with this series we’ll look at what Pontiac offered up in 1948 as a woody.
In a previous blog entry (Project Pontiac 1949 Silver Streak Delivery Van http://wp.me/pKHNM-Bx) I gave you a look at a Silver Streak owned by a co-worker.
1949 Silver Streak
Well one year earlier Pontiac offered the Silver Streak as a woody.
Side view...love the big fenders.
That is a lot of wood on that woody.
These were low production cars with most being build on the 6 cylinder chassis.
1948 Pontiac 6 cylinder power plant
These were the most commonly used power plants mated with an Automatic Hydra-Matic transmission. It spec’d out as follows:
Cubic Inch Horse power 1bbl carb
239.2
93 (68.45) @ 3400
Carter WA-1 (1)
A very limited were built with 8 cylinders engines. Interesting enough these 8 cylinders were called “Silver Steak”. It boosted the specs:
Cubic Inch Horse power 2 bbl carb
248.9 cu in (4,079 cc)
108.00 (79.5) @ 3700
Carter WCD 630 (2)
Total Pontiac production for that year was only 333,957 cars.
I have a National Motor Museum Mint die-cast car to give away. It is the 10 millionth car Ford produced. It was 1924 and the 1924 Model T Touring Car was the car of choice.
When new, the “real” car would cost between $295 and $380. There were 773,102 produced and it was powered by the L-4. With 176.7 cubic inches displaced it muscled out 20 Horse power.
In the original box and with Certificate and "baseball" card
How do you win? Post of a good picture of your 1920-1950 engine, tell us what it is and get someone to like the pic. The engine picture with the most Likes wins.
You can post it on our Facebook page located here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Average-Guys-Car-Restoration-Mods-and-Racing/185827701454279
This is for a National Motor Museum Mint, 1934 Ford V-8 Deluxe die-cast model car.
1934 Ford V-8 Deluxe Roadster
In 1934 these cars would cost you a whopping $710. There were about 6,863 produced each powered by a 221 Cubic Inch V8 with 85 horse power. To day in top condition these beauties fetch up to $40,000.00
Comes in the original packing with the Certificate of Authenticity. These are great collectible cars.
HOW TO WIN:
Email (timsweet@cox.net) or post a picture of your 1930’s or 1940’s car and a quick note about it – no matter the condition.
I’ll collect them and post them up. The readers of my blog will vote. The winner will be mailed the car, however I don’t need your mail information unless you win.
NOTE: ANY CONTACT INFORMATION IS PRIVATE AND IS NEVER RETAINED AND NEVER REUSED. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS CONTACT ME FIRST, BEFORE PROVIDING YOUR MAILING ADDRESS.
