Engine Line Up – 1956 Hudson Part III (Packard Engine in a Hudson?) Update

Additional update:

According to The Standard Catalog of American Motors 1902-1987, the AMC V8 was introduced on March 5 (1956) in a new model called the Hornet Special.  It displaced 250 cu. in.  The 2 V8 engines were sold side-by-side until October 25, when the 1957 models were introduced.  The 1957 cars, all of which were called "Hornets", came _only_ with the 327 cu. in. AMC V8 (the Hudson and Nash 6 cylinder engines were no longer available).
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AACA Forums

From over on Antique Automobile Club of America.

http://forums.aaca.org/f169/engine-line-up-1956-hudson-part-340657.html#post1104154

Kevin wrote:

Quote Originally Posted by misterc9 View Post
AMC bought V8 engines and automatic transmissions from Packard. They installed them in Nash and Hudson cars in 55 and 56. Their own AMC V8 was ready for 57 so I think they only used their own engines from 57 on.

Kevin

56 Hornet

Thanks Kevin.

Tim

Engine Line Up – 1956 Hudson Part III (Packard Engine in a Hudson?)

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.

56 Hornet

Thanks for reading.

Tim

Cops and Rodders 2012 Car Show – Studebaker Row

Here is another row.  I’ve never seen this many  Avanti.  One of the owners heard me say to my wife, “I don’t know there were this many Avanti left!”   He tossed me  a disapproving look and then laughed.

So enjoy  Avanti row.

And some more!!!!

Avanti Engines

Thanks for reading.  More coming up.

Tim

Auto Factoids for Week of Aug 12, 2012

Back by popular demand (Ok, not really, I just like doing them.)

But I’m going to add a  give-away on the end of each one.

On Aug 14 in 1877, Nicholas Otto gets a patented for his 4 cycle combustion engine.

From the ZweiRad Museum Otto’s 4 cycle engine.

On the same day Paris, France creates the first every license plate in 1893.  Or was it?  Sources agree that it in fact Paris, France but the date isn’t clear as some sources say it was Leon Serpollet of Paris, France, who obtained the first license plate in 1889.

License plates were first required in the United States by New York State in 1901.

There ya go.

A sad note on the very next day (Aug 15) in 1956 an early car manufacture ceased production.  Packard closed its doors.

It was a Packard Caribbean

In 1984 on Aug 16, John DeLorean was acquitted of cocaine charges stemming from an alleged deal to help raise funds for the car company. He worked at Chrysler, Packard, GM (responsible for the GTO) and then his company producing the now famous Delorean DMC-12.


Back to the Future.The company still exist – original parts were purchased and now lives in Humble, Tx. Find them here on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/deloreanmotorcompany

Finally, in 1905 on Aug 18, Cadillac got it’s crest trademarked.

Caddy Crest Chart from http://www.cartype.com/pages/1051/cadillac

GIVE-AWAY:

Add a relevant comment to this Auto Factoid and you be entered in the monthly Auto Factoid Give Away.

This month:

1/32 scale 1969 Dodge Coronet Super Bee (new in the box)

1/32 Scale 69 Super Bee.

Thanks for reading.

Tim

Car Production Numbers. They Made How Many? 1946

Fresh out of WWII the America car industry was facing the challenge of converting back to peace time auto production.  This as a huge task and the pressure was on, because if the average American owned a car there was a good change (50%) that it was 9 years old or older and needed replacing.   Materials were still in short supply, money wasn’t and to ensure that stayed the case most of the car company merely refreshed their 1942 cars.  Toss in labor issue and you can understand how tough the  situations was.

Ford lead the 17 manufacturers that year with 468,022 units produced. Chevy followed second with 398,028 cars. The others followed as such:

Plymouth – 264,660        Dodge – 163,490

Buick – 153, 627                Pontiac – 137,640

Olds – 117,623                    Nash – 94, 000

Hudson – 91,029               Mercury – 86,608

Chrysler – 83,310              DeSoto – 66,900

Packard – 30, 793             Caddy – 29,214

Studebaker – 19,275         Lincoln – 16,465

Corsley – 4, 99

1946 Crosely….not much to look at for sure but it did sport a 4 cylinder power plant.

I’m betting they meant to build this:

Thanks for reading.

Tim

Car Production Numbers. They Made How Many? 1956

Well I wasn’t present for the 1956 year but it was an interesting year.  Lincoln and Continental were separate makes and interestingly enough the Clipper (a model of Packard) tried ‘independence’ on for size.  Oh…and there were some very cool show cars.

The finished out with Chevy and Ford way out in front with 1,567,117 and 1,408,487 – respectively.  They were followed over 500,oo behind, were Buick with 573,024, Plymouth with 571,634 and Oldsmobile with 485,458.  The rest of the field looked like this:

Pontiac – 405,730

Mercury – 327,943

Dodge – 240,686

Cadillac – 154, 577

Chrysler – 128,322

DeSoto – 109,442

Nash – 83,420

Studebaker – 69,593

Lincoln – 50,322

Hudson – 22,588

Clipper – 18,482 (out paced Packard by nearly 8,000 cars)

Imperial – 10,684

Packard – 10,353

Metropolitan – 9,0868

Continental – 2,550

Here is an ad for a 1956 Clippard Super…Looks alot like…>>>

…this 1955 Packard Clipper…doesn’t it?

1956 Show Cars were really hot looking.

1956 Centurion by Buick. Come on!!! Warp speed Mr. Sulu!!

Pontiac was in the game with their 1956 Pontiac Club de Mer show car. I like it!!!

What? A Parkard you say?!!!! Yup this was the Predictor (name only would have killed this model). But just think how cool that would have been!!!!

A few other things were happening in 1956 like:

– Studebaker’s Goldenhawk was given Packard’s 352 cid V8

– American Motors developed a 200 pound air-cooled V4 engine

– Plymouth ran a gas-turbine car from New Your to L.A.

It’s ugly!!!

Thanks for reading.

Tim

Gorgeous ˜Wood Vehicles 1948 – Part I

I got this idea from our friend Joe in Florida.  Thanks, Joe,  for the pictures and the reminder of some these great iconic cars.

I’ve always admired the workmanship that went in to the older cars that had wood components and have always disliked the simulating wood on cars with plastic molding and contact paper stuck on the horrible quality 1970’s and 1980’s station wagons was supposed to be a retro look (but only at 15 feet away) and cool (well as cool a station wagon was back then). I recall working in my father’s body shop and how much “fun” it was to put that contact paper back on Ford station wagon. In this mini series “Gorgeous “Wood Vehicles”  I’m going to pick a year and toss you a few facts about the cars that came ‘in wood’.

Wood was used a lot in the auto industry, from all wood wheels to just the spokes to entire frames and interiors (like dash boards and steering wheels).  Some of the best uses known uses were on the outside and truck beds.  They were often referred to as ‘Woodies” either correctly or incorrectly, be most of us know that the term relates to cars with real wood on the outside.  These are the cars I’m going to look in this series.  For no particular reason, other than this was the first picture Joe sent, I’m starting with the year 1948.

A major reason for using wood was the shortage of raw materials and labor issues for producing steel/sheet metal. This was the case in 1948, just a few years after the end of World War II.

Nearly all of the major producer had models that had external wood components.  This 1948 Chevy was one.

1948 Chevy.

This is the two door Fleetwood Aerosedan, but Chevy also made an 8 passenger station wagon the Model 2109 Fleetmaster. This year’s model set the record for Chevrolet woody production with 10,171 wagons built. Both Cantrell and Iona built bodies to fill the demand for the last Chevrolet wagon with structural wood.  The 1948 Chevrolet Fleetmaster Station Wagon was the last true woody (structured wood) from Chevrolet.  What type of wood was used?  Ash the wood used for the structural base, while mahogany was used for the panels. Leatherette was stretched over a wood frame to provide the roof. Approximately 10,171 were built between February 1948 and January 1949.

Most of these cars were powered by the Chevy Straight 6, 216 CID engine.

The 1948 Straight 6 216 engine (The 235 was very similar).

Engine specs:

Bore and stoke 3.5 x 3.75 (in); Displacement 216.5 (CID); Compression 6.50:1; Max Brake Horsepower 90 @ 3300 RPM; Max Torque 174 Lbs.ft. @ 1200 RPM

 

 

 

1948 Packard

Packard was another manufacturer that produced woodies.  They released their Twenty-Second Series cars. They were Packard’s first totally new models were since before World War II.   The wood used was northern birch for the frame and maple panels.  This was purely for looks, because the overall structure was braced by the metal body shell which actually was modified from the Standard Sedan Body, only the upper rear quarters which were removed from the sedan body used the wood as actual bracing. On the door sides and window frames the regular sheet metal was cut away in order to allow the wood to be inlaid, rather than just bolted on top.  These were powered by the Packard’s L-head straight 8.

Some engine specs:

Bore x stroke 3.50 x 3.75 (in.); Displacement 288.64(cid); Horsepower 130 @ 3,600 rpm; Torque 226(lb-ft) @ 2,000 rpm; Compression ratio 7.0:1; Main bearings 5; Lubrication full-pressure; Carburetor Carter 2-bbl
automatic Choke;  mechanical Fuel pump

 

We have Chrysler’s, and Pontiac’s 1948 woodies as well as a Bentley woody and Willys coming up next in this series.

Thanks for reading

Tim

They Made How Many? 1950

Oh the cars of the 1950’s were great. So how did they start out that iconic decade?

Some fantastic car and shapes came out in 1950.

Leading the numbers game was Chevy and Ford with over a million each, Chevy with 1,498,590 and Ford with 1,208,912, not bad.

Plymouth was third with nearly 800,000 out of first place with 610,954, Buick with 588,439 and Pontiac finished up the top 5 with 446,429.

Here’s the rest of the 19 makers:

Oldsmobile – 408,060

Dodge – 341,797

Studebaker – 320,884

Mercury – 293,585

Chrysler – 179,299

Nash – 171,782 (produced it’s 2,000,000th car)

DeSoto – 136,203

Hudson – 121,408

Cadillac – 103,857

Packard – 42,627

Lincoln – 28,190

Kaiser – 15,228

Crosley – 6,792

Frazer – 3,700

Do you have a favorite?  I have a couple.  My first would be the Hudson, followed closely by the Studebaker with its bullet nose.

I don't know why but I love the shape of these cars. Here is the 1950 Hudson Commodore.

There is nothing more interesting than the Bullet Nose Studebaker. Here is the 1950 Land Cruisera.

What else went on in 1950?

Micro Cars!!!  Say WHAT???   Yeah!!!   The IMP – hailed as “The Little Car with the Big Future”. With an MPG of 10 miles per gallon and all fiber glass body, the hopes were high.  But the car didn’t sell and disappeared in the same year.

Thanks for reading.

Tim

Car Production Numbers. They Made How Many? 1951

Over 5.5 million car produced in 1951.

Of the 20 solid car manufacturers only 2 were over 1 million cars, 14 in six figures.  Here is how they broke out.

Chevy – 1,229,986

Ford – 1,013,381

Plymouth – 611,000

Buick – 404,657

Pontiac – 370,159

Mercury – 310,387

Dodge – 290,000

Oldsmobile – 285,615

Studebaker – 246,195

Nash – 205,307

Chrysler – 163,613

Kaiser – 139,452

Hudson – 131,915

Cadillac – 110,340

DeSoto – 106,000

Packard – 100,713

Henry J – 81,942

Lincoln – 32,574

Frazer – 10,214

Crosley – 6,614

Here are some sample:

1951 Frazer Convertible - I like paint scheme.

 

'51 Hudson Hornet Cub Coupe

 

1951 Crosley

Thanks for reading

 

Tim

 

 

 

Auto Factoids for Week of Oct 9 2011

O.K.  These are back, enjoy.

 

10/12/1950  Kaiser-Frazer Built their 500, oooth car.

There ya go...the 500, 000 th

 

On 10/13/ in 1902 Packard Motor Car Co. was formed from the Ohio Automobile Co.  Of interest: In September, 1900, the Ohio Automobile Company was founded as the manufacturer, while the cars were always sold as Packards. Since these automobiles quickly gained an excellent reputation, and there were more automobile makers that produced — or at least planned to — under the label “Ohio”, the name was changed soon: On October 13, 1902, it became the Packard Motor Car Company.

 

1902 Packard Model F

 

An Ohio

 

The very next day 63 years later Oldsmobile debuts the Toronado (10/14/1965).

1965 Toronado I want one of these

 

On 10/15/1945 Oldsmobile began creating producing per war cars.

And  1924 on the 15th of October, one of my hero’s was born.  The proud Poppa  of the Mustang and savior of Chrysler Lee Iococca was born in Allentown, PA.

 

Thanks for reading.

Tim