1942 Packard Eight

The 1942 production model year was brief, as the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th of 1941 was followed by civilian production soon coming to an end as factories were prepared to support the war effort. For Packard, production ceased on February 9th of 1942 when the company instituted an impromptu program to re-work the factory to build war munitions. During the war, Packard built its V-12 marine engine for the Navy's PT boats and would build the Merlin engine under license from Rolls-Royce. Prior to the shutdown of automobile production, Packard built 27,961 vehicles for the calendar year.

Most of the bodies wore the new Clipper styling, while others continued to wear the traditional Packard styling. Packard's lineup included the Packard Six equipped with a 245 cubic-inch inline-6 with 105 horsepower, and the Packard Eight with a 282 CID inline-8 with 125 hp. The 'Senior' Packard models included the Super 8 One-Sixty and the Super-8 One-Eighty both employing a 356 cubic-inch inline-8 with 165 horsepower and backed by a three-speed selective synchromesh transmission.

Packard Six models had wheelbase sizes of 120-, 122-, and 133-inches. The Packard Eight had 120- and 127-inch wheelbase platforms and the Senior Packards had 127-, 138- and 148-inch wheelbase sizes.

The 1942 Packard Eight, formerly the One-Twenty with the Series 2001 'Special' using the 120-inch wheelbase and offered as a business coupe, club sedan, and touring sedan priced at $1,300, $1,340, and $1,375 respectively. The Series 2011 'Custom' also used the 120-inch wheelbase and was offered as a club sedan priced at $1,400 and the touring sedan at $1,445. The Series 2021 convertible coupe wore traditional One-Twenty styling on the 127-inch wheelbase, while the other body styles had 'Clipper' styling.

The L-head straight-8 engine had a cast-iron block, adjustable valve lifters, five main bearings, a 6.85:1 compression ratio, and 125 horsepower. Hydraulic brakes at all four corners provided the stopping power. Optional equipment included air conditioning, turn signals, a heater, a radio, and a vacuum radio antenna.

The 1942 Packard Eight was the most popular Packard model with 19,199 examples built. 11,325 were Packard Six models, 2,480 were Packard One-Sixty, and 672 were the One-Eighty.

by Daniel Vaughan | Mar 2021