We were all set to go over to Europe for today's engine, because the last couple have been American... but then Teargas let us know about the video after the jump, and it was impossible not to go with the Packard flathead inline eight-cylinder engine. To see what we mean, turn your speakers up as high as they'll go before starting the video; in fact, go out and buy better speakers right now!
When you're done with that, you'll probably want to go see the other videos shot by this Packard-powered genius.
Packard made their flathead straight-eight engine for several decades, from 1924 through 1954; the largest displacement was the 359-cubic-inch version. By the time the DOTS 1953 Packard Cavalier was built, all of Packard's competition was boasting V8 power (including quite a few overhead-valve V8s) making the old inline eight seem old-fashioned (not to mention its 1,000-pound-plus weight). But you want torque? Of course you do! Sorry, wasn't able to find a single comprehensive Packard engine site, but this Studecentric site has a pretty decent rundown of the postwar engines: [Studebaker-Info.org]