AAA or other sanctioned top speeds

Since no-one else has answered you, permit me to stick my "two cents" in here. May I suggest a way to find out about Packards and what they can do, is to attend events where Packard enthusiasts hang out ! We have a great opportunity coming up at the end of the month - see Mr. Mitchell's "post" elsewhere in the CCCA "site" about our upcoming Packard meet at the GILMORE CCCA Museum. This could be the largest get-to-gether EVER of Packards and their enthusiasts - perhaps if you went and met some of the guys, you'd find someone who can give you precise answers to your questions.

I am not aware of any formalized speed tests of these particular cars, other than the one I am noting below. I have seen ENGLISH car buff magazines of that period with fairly precise speed tests - my recollection is that the magazine MOTOR of that era covered many American cars of that day.

My own personal "hunch" is the Packard would be faster, for the following reason(s. First, remember both cars had hydraulic valve lifters, which start "floating" valves around 4,000 rpm. Packards with over-drive typically had 4.11 gears, so with the .73 overdrive of their Borg-Warner-type systems, would have a final drive ratio of around 2.9, a distinct advantage over the Buick.

While the over-head valve engine of the Buick, combined with its additional carb., would theoretically give it more "breathing" and thus power than the Packard IF all other things were equal, they were NOT equal. The Packard was a larger engine ( 320 cu. in. -vs- 320 cu in. ) You know what we say about cubic inches....!

Your comments suggest you are aware of the weakness of the combination of a long-stroke engine, and the old style "poured babbit" connecting rod bearing. You may be aware that the crank-pins AND main bearings of the Packard are larger than the Buick. Although I love BOTH Buicks and Packards...when I go fast ( and I DO..) I sure feel more comfortable running pre-war Packard wide open.(assuming it has, or has been converted to modern "insert" type rod bearings..!)

The only formalized "speed test" I have seen any data of, was a "promo" speed run introducing the 356 Packard engine, when it replaced the Twelve for the larger Packards, beginning in 1940. There is a movie "promo" film running around in Packard enthusiast samples, in which the factory shows a '40 Packard equipped with the then new "356" engine, running away from a Packard Twelve. I do not recall whether the factory mentioned the speeds

Of course those of us who are familiar with these cars think that was pretty silly - the earlier Packards were deliberately "crippled" with incredibly low final drive ratios, because the older luxury customers did not want to shift gears, and the best way to satisfy them was to gear the cars very low. Obviously, the much more powerful Packard Twelve, if provided with the same gear ratio as the "356" that replaced it, would ( and HAS! ) run circles around the later car. Again, all other things being relatively equal "there aint no substitute for cubic inches"...! While you indicated you weren't that enthused about "personal recollections" I can tell you that a "out of the box stock" "356" Packard with over-drive would "top out" at around 105 mph. I am aware of a Packard factory test of a '32 Packard Twelve (the smaller displacement version - 440 cu. in). hitting over 120 mph, with no alterations from "stock" other than being equipped with the previous year's "speedster" gear set of 3:31.

Bottom line - both the 1940's Packards and Buicks were really neat cars, and great bargins for the customer's money. More than one Packard Twelve collector I know personally, also owns a '40's BUICK !

Check the CCCA site for info. about this up-coming Packard get-to-gether. It could be a lot of fun, and give us all an opportunity to learn a lot more about these cars.