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44-521: The Packard Plant in Detroit , Michigan had been leased to Curtiss-Wright (and would be soon sold to them), and Packard models in this dying-gasp year were all rebadged and retrimmed Studebaker products. The 1958 Packard Hawk was essentially a Studebaker Golden Hawk 400 with a fiberglass front end and modified deck lid. It was positioned as an alternative to the market favorite Ford Thunderbird , which offered an all-new version in 1958 as well. Instead of

88-674: A gap in the U.S. at a time when similarly powered American-made engines were not available. The first V-1650s, with a one-stage supercharger , equivalent to the Merlin XX, were used in the P-40F Kittyhawk fighter and in Canadian-built Hawker Hurricanes . Later versions based on the Merlin 60 series included a more advanced two-stage supercharger for improved performance at high altitudes. It found its most notable application in

132-578: A more luxurious interior. Electric window-lifts and power seats were optional extras. Its rarity and status as the best-regarded of the 'Packardbaker' final-year cars have made the Packard Hawk quite collectible. Values are roughly double those of the equivalent Studebaker, although they are still low by comparison with Corvettes and Thunderbirds. Because a Studebaker drivetrain was used, mechanical parts are more readily available, although body and trim parts are more difficult-to-impossible to find. While it

176-523: A pump through these to carry off the excess heat generated by the impellers. Without the intercooler the temperature increase in the charge could be as high as 205 °C (401 °F). . The glycol mixture used for cooling was independent of the main engine cooling system and used a centrifugal pump driven by the engine to circulate the coolant through an aircraft radiator system at a maximum rate of 36 U.S. gallons (136 litres, 30 Imperial gallons) per minute, depending on engine rpm. This combined system reduced

220-429: A supercharger blower to 20.7 psi before entering the engine; +25 means that the air/fuel mix is now being compressed to 39.7 psi. The Americans measured their boost ratings using inches of mercury (inHg). One pound-force per square inch equals 2.036 inHg or 6.895 kPa, and a standard atmosphere is 101.325 kPa =29.92 inHg =14.70 lbf/in . In early Merlin engines the maximum manifold (boost) pressure

264-606: Is a unique car, current restoration costs almost always exceed the selling price. Packard Automotive Plant The Packard Automotive Plant was an automobile-manufacturing factory in Detroit , Michigan , where luxury cars were made by the Packard Motor Car Company and later by the Studebaker-Packard Corporation . Demolition began on building 21 on October 27, 2022, and a second round of demolition began on building 28 on January 24, 2023, which

308-403: Is also a function of the size and pitch of the impeller blades. The gear-driven supercharger is a parasitic accessory; therefore, impeller gearing and blade profiles are carefully designed for maximum power at altitude without compromise of available power at the critical take off stage of flight. The double staging of the compressed fuel/air mixture provided the boost pressure through a diffuser to

352-504: Is disputed, was said to be conducting construction surveys in advance of full-scale demolition as of early 2012. On February 5, 2013, it was reported that aluminum letter placards spelling the Nazi slogan " Arbeit macht frei " (work makes one free) were placed in the windows of the E. Grand Boulevard bridge. Community volunteers promptly removed the letters. In April 2013, it was announced that AMC's Low Winter Sun would be filming around

396-721: The Bonneville Salt Flats . The Mynarski Lancaster flown by the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, one of only two Lancasters flying in the world, uses four Packard Merlin engines. Work continues on increasing the power output of the Merlin for the Unlimited Class racers at the Reno Air Races . Innovations, such as the use of Allison V-1710 connecting rods and the replacement of

440-587: The North American P-51 Mustang fighter plane. The factory complex closed in 1958, though other businesses operated on the premises or used it for storage until the late 1990s. In the 1990s, the buildings were used to host infamous "underground" raves and techno parties, including the Spastik party hosted by Richie Hawtin . The majority of the property was claimed by the city of Detroit in 1994 after former owners failed to pay back taxes. A number of

484-578: The North American P-51 Mustang fighter, improving the aircraft's performance so it could escort Allied heavy bombers from Britain to Germany and back. At the outbreak of World War Two, the British aviation industry expanded greatly. There was great need for the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine with shadow factories being established in Crewe, Manchester, and Glasgow. This was not enough to meet increasing demand with

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528-718: The Spitfire IX as the Merlin 61. This model was later produced by Packard as the V-1650-3 and became known as the "high altitude" Merlin destined for the P-51, the first two-stage Merlin-Mustang conversion flying with a Merlin 65 as the Mustang X in October 1942, the production V-1650-3 engined P-51B (Mustang III) entering service in 1943. The two-speed, two-stage supercharger section of the two-stage Merlins and V-1650-3 featured two separate impellers on

572-459: The first use of reinforced concrete in the United States for industrial construction in the automobile industry. The Packard plant was opened in 1903 and contained 10,000 square feet of floor space and at the time was considered the most modern automobile manufacturing facility in the world: modern, efficient, and massive in scale. By 1908, when an enlargement for the construction of trucks

616-519: The B-W T85 3-speed w/overdrive manual transmission. Studebaker-Packard was the first manufacturer to popularize the limited slip differential , which they termed Twin-Traction. Most Packard Hawks came with TT. It was certainly the fastest Packard ever sold, since it shared the majority of its components with Studebaker's Golden Hawk. The price was $ 3995, about $ 700 higher than the Studebaker model, but with

660-621: The British Air Ministry for a high-altitude Merlin for the pressurised Wellington VI high-altitude bomber, a Rolls-Royce team under the direction of Stanley Hooker developed a Merlin with two-stage supercharging, which became the Merlin 60-series. The first 60-series engine ran in March 1941, and was first flown in July the same year. When only 63 examples of the otherwise-cancelled Wellington VI were produced, these engines were instead introduced on

704-620: The British government looking to expand production using U.S. manufacturers. An agreement was reached between Rolls-Royce and the Packard Motor Car Company in September 1940 to manufacture the Merlin under license, with a $ 130,000,000 order being placed. The first Packard-built engine, designated V-1650-1 , ran in August 1941. The first American model was a version of the Mark XX, designated

748-547: The Studebaker Hawk's upright Mercedes-style grille, the Packard Hawk had a wide, low opening just above the front bumper and covering the whole width of the car. Above this, a smoothly sloping nose, and hood—reminiscent of the 1953 Studebakers, but with a bulge as on the Golden Hawk—accommodating the engine's McCulloch supercharger that gave the Studebaker 289 in³ (4.7 L) V8 a total of 275 bhp (205 kW). At

792-686: The V-1650-1 by the American military and the Packard Merlin 28 by the British. This engine used a single-stage, two-speed supercharger, the gear changing mechanism of which originally came from a French Farman patent license. The Merlin 28 was used for the Avro Lancaster bomber. The USAAF V-1650-1 version of this engine was used in the Curtiss P-40Fs . The initial Packard modifications to this engine changed

836-401: The charge temperature to suitable levels. Throttle valves in the updraft carburettor throat were controlled by an automatic boost control through the throttle linkage to maintain the selected manifold pressure with changes in altitude. The valves were only partially open during ground and low-level operation to prevent overboosting of the engine. As air density decreases with increased altitude,

880-404: The compressed charge, it was necessary to cool the mixture prior to entry into the cylinders. The cooling was accomplished in an intercooler passage cast into the wheel case housing between the first and second-stage impellers and an additional cooling fin and tube core placed between the outlet of the blower and the induction manifold to the cylinders. Ethylene glycol coolant was circulated by

924-456: The demolition of a portion of the Packard Plant. On October 27, 2022, demolition began on building 21 of the northern complex. Demolition finished by the end of December; however, some remnants remained. On January 24, 2023, the city began demolishing a second portion of the plant, building 28, of the southern complex. By the end of March, demolition of building 28 was successful, and all rubble

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968-455: The historic 40-acre site on Detroit's east side. At the time, many remained skeptical that the enormous effort would ever succeed — or even get off the ground — given the nearly half-billion-dollar price tag of the project that Palazuelo had envisioned. In May 2017, Arte Express, the holding company for Palazuelo, held a ground breaking ceremony for phase I of the project which will include the former 121,000-square-foot administrative building on

1012-436: The intake manifolds that increased the critical altitude of the power plant. The ability of the supercharger to maintain a sea level pressure in the induction system to the cylinders allowed the Packard Merlin to develop more than 1,270 horsepower (950 kW) above 30,000 feet (9,100 m). The two-stage impeller created extreme heating of the fuel/air mixture during the compression process, and, to prevent detonation of

1056-470: The location. In June 2018, Amazon 's The Grand Tour filmed their first episode of Season 3 in Detroit which prominently showed the Packard Plant; the episode debuted on January 18, 2019. On January 23, 2019, the E. Grand Boulevard bridge collapsed with no injuries reported. In February 2019 a section of the plant owned by the city of Detroit was demolished. Due to tax delinquency, the 43 parcels composing

1100-404: The main crankshaft bearings from a copper-lead alloy to a silver-lead combination and featured indium plating. This had been developed by General Motors' Pontiac Division to prevent corrosion, which was possible with lubricating oils that were used at that time. The bearing coating also improved the break-in (running-in) and load-carrying abilities of the surface. In answer to a request from

1144-424: The outer buildings were in use by businesses up through the early 2000s. In 2010, the last remaining tenant, Chemical Processing, announced its intention to vacate the premises after 52 years. The site was subsequently used as a filming location for many movies and TV shows. Since its abandonment, the plant has been a haven for graffiti artists, urban explorers , paintballers and auto scrappers , and much of

1188-563: The plant by April 9, his 59th birthday. He planned on having six different uses for the Packard Plant Project (residential, retail, offices, light industry, recreation and art), estimated to cost about $ 350 million over the next 10 to 15 years. He hoped to bring a big-3 automotive-parts manufacturer to the plant in exchange for a few years of free rent. He also hoped to create a work space for local artists and an upscale go-kart track. As of August 2016, no redevelopment had taken place at

1232-466: The plant were put up for auction in September 2013. The starting bid was $ 975,000 (the amount owed in taxes) and there were no takers. Another auction in October 2013 posted a starting bid of $ 21,000, or about $ 500 per parcel. This auction closed with a top bid of $ 6,038,000 by Dr. Jill Van Horn, a Texas -based physician who announced in an email that she would team up with "partners and investors from Detroit, Wall Street and international firms," to turn

1276-521: The property up for sale, with an eye toward large-scale demolition to repurpose the site for industrial use. On April 7, 2022, Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Brian Sullivan ordered the demolition of the Packard auto plant in Detroit, finding that it had become a public nuisance. The city began a search for contractors in May 2022. In late July 2022, Detroit City Council approved a nearly $ 1.7 million contract for

1320-471: The rear, the sides of the fins were coated in metallized PET film , giving them a shiny metallic gold appearance. A fake spare-tire bulge adorned the 1953-style Studebaker deck lid. PACKARD appeared across the nose, with a gold Packard emblem in script—along with a Hawk badge—on the trunk lid and fins. The interior was full leather, with full instrumentation in an engine-turned dash. As on early aircraft and custom boats, padded armrests were mounted outside

1364-416: The reinforced concrete structures remain mostly intact and structurally sound. Portions of the upper floors of several small sections in various buildings have collapsed or been partly demolished and lie in ruins in the wake of several aborted attempts at demolition over the years. The City of Detroit has pledged legal action to have the property demolished or secured. Dominic Cristini, whose claim of ownership

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1408-464: The rights to proceed with demolition anymore. The city stated that they will save some buildings of the Packard Plant in order to preserve history but will continue to demolish other portions of the plant throughout 2023. On March 4, 2024 demolition began again. The City of Detroit, using funds from the American Rescue Plan , expects to clear the site before the end of 2024. Two of the bays of

1452-482: The same shaft that were normally driven through a gear train at a ratio of 6.391:1. A hydraulic gear change arrangement of oil-operated clutches could be engaged by an electric solenoid to increase this ratio to 8.095:1 in high speed blower position. The high speed gear ratio of the impellers was not as high as the ratio used in the Allison , but impeller speed is not the only factor that determines engine performance, which

1496-474: The second bidder". Hults then made several non-refundable down-payments on the plant, but he ultimately failed to raise the entire sum of his bid. Around the same time in October 2013, a Spanish investor, Fernando Palazuelo, also expressed interest in securing the Packard Plant. It was purchased for $ 405,000 on December 12, 2013. Palazuelo, who has developed historic buildings in Spain and Peru, planned on moving into

1540-468: The site into an "economic engine", refurbishing the plant grounds for a manufactured-house assembly facility. However, the deadline for full payment was missed, prompting Wayne County to initiate talks with the second-highest bidder, Bill Hults, a Chicago -area developer who placed a $ 2,003,000 bid in the October auction. In a separate email, Dr. Van Horn stated, "It seemed (David Szymanski, Deputy Wayne County Treasurer) had already made up his mind to talk to

1584-421: The site. On August 12, 2017, the inaugural public tour of the property was conducted, which included access to the second floor of the administration building on the complex's western side. The city demolished several structures on parcels it owned at the Packard Plant in 2017. In October 2020, it was announced that the original redevelopment vision for the site had been abandoned, and Palazuelo would be placing

1628-557: The structure, facing each other across East Grand Boulevard, will be preserved for their historical significance. Packard V-1650 Merlin The Packard V-1650 Merlin is a version of the Rolls-Royce Merlin aircraft engine , produced under license in the United States by the Packard Motor Car Company . The engine was licensed to expand production of the Rolls-Royce Merlin for British use. The engine also filled

1672-403: The throttle valves were progressively opened in response to the reducing atmospheric pressure. This system provided full power within engine boost limitations up to the critical altitude of 26,000 feet (7,900 m). The British measured boost pressure as lbf/in (psi). The normal atmospheric pressure at sea level is 14.7 psi, so a reading of +6 means that the air/fuel mix is being compressed by

1716-455: The windows, a rare touch. The styling was definitely controversial, often described as 'vacuum-cleaner' or 'catfish' by detractors. The styling has come to be appreciated more today than in its debut. Only 588 were sold, with Packard's impending demise a likely contributing factor. Most were equipped with the Borg-Warner three-speed automatic transmission. Approximately 28 were produced with

1760-469: The wiring and other building materials have been removed from the site. In one incident, vandals pushed a dump truck from the fourth floor. Karen Nagher, the executive director of the nonprofit organization Preservation Wayne, stated that she was irked to see people come from "all over the world" to poke around Detroit. "Piece by piece, they're disassembling those buildings, making it harder and harder to restore them". Despite many years of neglect and abuse,

1804-765: Was +12 on 100 octane fuel . This was increased in later models. In the United States many war surplus engines and airframes were sold relatively cheaply – two of the most popular items were North American P-51 Mustangs and Packard V-1650 Merlin engines, several of which were "souped up" and modified for air racing in the Bendix Trophy , the Cleveland Air Races , and the Thompson Trophy . Many of these engines remain heavily used to this day in Drag Racing , Hydroplane racing , and Land Speed Racing at places like

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1848-481: Was announced, the factory was already six times larger than when constructed and occupied over fourteen acres of space. At its peak the complex employed 40,000 people, including skilled craftsmen involved in over eighty trades. The plant turned out Packard automobiles from 1903 to 1956, except during World War II, when production was shifted to war material, particularly the Packard V-1650 Merlin , which powered

1892-528: Was transported away from the site. However, by early April, it was revealed that the city halted all demolition operations at the Packard Plant, including the (then) ongoing demolition of building 21. The absentee owner was able to pay their property taxes before the deadline came, which allowed them to secure their ownership of the privately owned sections of the Packard Plant. As of early April, new "NO TRESSPASSING/PRIVATELY OWNED" signs have been posted at every privately owned parcel. The city of Detroit may not have

1936-530: Was wrapped up by April 1, however all demolition efforts by the City of Detroit halted, which stopped finishing demolition work of building 21. The Packard Plant currently sits empty and partially demolished, with many parcels still remaining. The 3,500,000-square-foot (325,000 m ) factory, designed by Albert Kahn Associates using Trussed Concrete Steel Company products is located on 40 acres (16 ha) of land on East Grand Boulevard on Detroit's east side. It included

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