Miguel Sánchez
PHOTOS HOT ROD PACKARD 327: THOMAS STAAB
The tritone has been known as the "Devil's dissonance". It's not that by touching this interval with three whole tones A male goat is going to appear in your kitchen, but the truth is that it is creepy. Around him there is a lot of literature. What if the Church prohibited it for centuries for associating it with witchcraft cults ... What if its serious resonance leads you to the darkest part of conscience ... A multitude of legends that, however, do start from a certainty.
Which one? Well, the one that the tritone comes in handy to distress the staff. Tony Iommi knew this when he came up with the sound of his guitar in the early days of Black Sabbath. Many bluesman fans of the dead twice Robert Johnson knew it too. Even Wagner liked to put in tritones and thick basses to leave the audience nailed. causing the auditorium windows to shake. The funny thing is that these musical tricks are also handled by an American mechanic.
Even more so if the instrument is a motor 8-cylinder in-line packard. An engine that sounds really dense, like spurts of fuel trying to come out of a boiling coffee pot. With sounds like this we understand the persecution that the tritone suffered for centuries. It sounds lubricious, serious, powerful ... Sexual and with a demonic edge. Anyway, you better hear it for yourself.
A HOT ROD OF THE MOST POWERFUL
Of all the motor subcultures "Made in America" perhaps the most genuine is that of the Hot Rod. That was devised by the rockabilly chick of the 50s as a simple macarrada that, full of ingenuity that yes, over time has given us incredible signed artisan creations by experienced amateurs. One of them is that of this hot rod with a really radical approach.
First of all, its low height is impressive. The car is almost flat on the ground. Like a limpet. And it better be, because taking into account that it is powered by an 8-cylinder Packard engine able to put it to 240 km / h... Some sense of security is useful even if it stays at that, in simple sensation. After all, the car is not approved for driving in everyday traffic.
Mounted on the base of a 1930 Ford Model A, This hot rod has a multitude of handmade elements. For example, its interior, which is assembled together with parts from the body of a Ford 56 truck. The 44-spoke rear wheels are made exclusively for this car, while the transmission is taken from a Packard from the late 40s. However, the most interesting thing is all the work that has been done on the engine.
PACKARD 327 1948. LAST 8 IN LINE AMERICAN
During the 40s and 50s the king of American motors It is the V8. With Chevrolet's Small Block at the top, they say goodbye to large in-line cylinder engines. However, at least until 1954 it continued to be assembled in many automobiles, whichever was latest inline eight cylinder engine made by American industry. We are talking about packard 327.
Released into production in the early 30s, this inline eight survived for more than 20 years thanks to a host of increasingly powerful versions. The one that rides this hot rod is from 1948. The three versions of the Packard 327 manufactured that year reached 3.600 rpm, but only the 3560 cc exceeded 150CV, reaching 160 in the spectacular Custom Eight Victoria.
In this case the 327 engine has been extensively modified, also including four Stromberg 97 carburettors also personalized. All this makes it go up to 5.000 rpm according to the data provided by its creator, who unfortunately does not say anything about the horses. Anyway we can tell you one thing: this hot rod with a Packard 327 engine from 1948 knows how to play "The Devil's note".
