[Craig Hendrickson]

Hey guys:

My current project, a 1956 Packard "Panther", just had it's engine installed on Saturday. The project was not without it's challenges as any restomod custom is wont to have.

The Panther engine was assembled to the flywheel, clutch and Borg-Warner T-10 4-speed transmission the last couple of days and successfully installed.

The crankshaft pilot bushing is a Dorman 690-032. Because of my mismatched parts, I went to one of the old time guys at the local NAPA store who went back to get an old parts book which actually listed parts by dimension and he found a pilot bushing which was what I needed: 1956 Packard crankshaft and 1963 Ford Borg-Warner T-10 4speed. So that problem solved.

Then there was the problem with the clutch throwout bearing. No one ever put a Borg-Warner 1963 Ford 4-speed transmission into a 1956 Packard. the original Packard manual clutch setup is nothing but a "Rube Goldberg machine", so I went the hod rod hydraulic clutch route. The problem was the mix & match parts caused a 0.150in preload instead of a 0.150in clearance between the clutch fingers and the bearing. I used a Speedway Motors BBC 3-finger clutch, Packard flywheel & bellhousing and a B-W T-10 4speed tranny, so the mismatch wasn't that surprising. I had to modify the throwout bearing shaft rear to get the right clearance, but no problem after that.

Here are some pictures of the install. Yes, the engine went in with the custom made (by me) headers:





Yes, that's a big damn engine. The same physical size as a Chrysler 426 Hemi. My GF was watching the install going in and and was scared spitless about it (a Packard engine with tranny weighs 750lbs). To me: no biggie as I've done it hundreds of times. Tilt it back and forth, left and right and it plops right in with a satisfying "THUD". LOL!