Packard One Twenty: which version to buy
There is one Packard One Twenty generation in this catalogue (1935-01-01 to 1941-12-31) and one named version inside it: 4.6 MT. That version is a Cabrio, Gasoline, Inline 8, 122 hp (89 kW) at 3600 rpm, 4624 cc, Manual 3, RWD, boost No. Torque, 0-100, top speed, mpg, kerb weight, gross weight, ground clearance, tank and wheel sizes are not measured.
There is one Packard One Twenty generation in this catalogue (1935-01-01 to 1941-12-31) and one named version inside it: 4.6 MT. That version is a Cabrio, Gasoline, Inline 8, 122 hp (89 kW) at 3600 rpm, 4624 cc, Manual 3, RWD, boost No. Torque, 0-100, top speed, mpg, kerb weight, gross weight, ground clearance, tank and wheel sizes are not measured. With a single named row, “which version to buy” is not a three-way trim fight. It is whether 4.6 MT matches the job: Cabrio body, RWD, three-speed Manual, naturally aspirated Gasoline Inline 8, and a power figure that can be checked against displacement.
Specs that decide the buy: 4.6 MT vs a missing second row
People looking up Packard One Twenty specs, engine, mpg, problems, reliability and dimensions usually expect a table of rivals on the same page. Here the table has one line. 4.6 MT is not “the base engine” next to a stronger one; it is the only engine-and-gearbox string in the data.
| Version | hp | kW | rpm | Nm | Displacement, cc | Fuel | Cylinders | Layout | Valves per cylinder | Boost | Gearbox | Gears | Drive |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.6 MT | 122 | 89 | 3600 | not measured | 4624 | Gasoline | 8 | Inline | 2 | No | Manual | 3 | RWD |
Arithmetic on that row, not extra catalogue numbers:
- Power per litre for 4.6 MT: 122 hp ÷ 4.624 L = 26.4 hp/L (rounded to one decimal).
- Power per litre in kilowatts: 89 kW ÷ 4.624 L = 19.2 kW/L.
- Displacement per cylinder: 4624 cc ÷ 8 = 578 cc per cylinder.
- Valve count if 2 valves on each of 8 cylinders: 16 valves in total.
- Peak power is quoted at 3600 rpm, not at a higher rpm band that the data does not give.
Those ratios are the only “extra money” comparison the numbers support. There is no second hp figure to subtract from 122, no second displacement to subtract from 4624, and no second gearbox to set against Manual 3. Buying 4.6 MT does not buy more gears, AWD, or boost. It buys exactly: Gasoline, Carburetor, Inline 8, 2 valves per cylinder, boost No, Manual 3, RWD.
Generations: what 1 generation actually changed
1 generation runs 1935-01-01 to 1941-12-31. Body: Cabrio. Versions in this generation: 1 (4.6 MT). Restyling is not listed as a separate generation, so there is no “1 generation” repeated under a restyle name.
Because the catalogue holds one generation, generation-to-generation change cannot be scored as “+hp” or “new drive.” What 1 generation sets, and what a later generation would have to beat, is the 4.6 MT package:
- Years: start 1935-01-01, stop 1941-12-31 (a seven-year calendar window if both end dates are counted as inclusive year labels 1935–1941).
- Body type to match: Cabrio, not another body string.
- Engine: 4624 cc Gasoline Inline 8, 122 hp / 89 kW at 3600 rpm, Carburetor, boost No.
- Chassis labels: front Independent, spring; rear Dependent, leaf spring; front Drum; rear Drum; drive RWD.
If a later Packard One Twenty generation appeared with a second named version, the first check would be whether hp moved off 122, whether displacement moved off 4624 cc, whether gears moved off 3, and whether drive moved off RWD. None of those later rows exist here, so the buy decision stays inside 1 generation.
Engine: what 4.6 MT actually is (and is not)
The engine people search for on Packard One Twenty is the 4.6 MT Gasoline unit: 4624 cc, 8 cylinders, Inline, 2 valves per cylinder, boost No, Carburetor. Engine location is not measured. Compression ratio is not measured. Bore and stroke are not measured. Fuel grade is not measured.
What the buyer is choosing, in numbers:
- 122 hp and 89 kW are the same version’s power, not two trims. Do not treat 89 kW as a second engine.
- Peak power rpm is 3600. There is no second rpm to compare.
- Torque (Nm) and torque rpm are not measured, so a “pull from low rpm” ranking cannot be made from this catalogue.
- Boost is No. There is no turbo or supercharger row to pay extra for.
- Cylinders are 8 and layout is Inline. That pairing is the data; it is not a second layout option.
Power density 26.4 hp/L is modest by later multi-valve standards, but it is the only density on this page. A buyer who wants more than 26.4 hp/L cannot step up to another One Twenty version in this dataset. The choice is 4.6 MT or a different model entirely.
Gearbox and drive: Manual 3 and RWD, no second combination
4.6 MT is Manual with 3 gears and RWD. There is no Automatic row, no 4-speed row, and no AWD or FWD row. Arithmetic does not create them.
What that means for “which version”:
- You are not choosing between 3 and more gears. You get 3.
- You are not choosing drive. You get RWD.
- The name 4.6 MT already encodes the gearbox family in the catalogue string; do not rename it to “4.6 Manual” on a modification page.
If two versions had shared the name 4.6 MT, they would be split by hp. They do not. One name, one power: 122 hp.
Performance and mpg: every blank is “not measured”
0-100 for 4.6 MT is not measured. Top speed is not measured. City consumption is not measured. Highway consumption is not measured. Combined consumption is not measured. CO2 is not measured. Eco class is not measured.
A “which is quicker” or “which has better mpg” section cannot rank 4.6 MT against a twin. Weight per horsepower is also blocked: kerb weight is not measured, so kg/hp is not measured. Do not fill 0-100, top speed or mpg from memory of other Packards. The honest buy filter is: if you need a quoted 0-100, a quoted top speed, or a quoted mpg, this catalogue row does not supply them.
Dimensions, weight, tank and wheels
Kerb weight is not measured. Gross weight is not measured. Ground clearance is not measured. Tank is not measured. Wheel sizes are not measured.
Suspension and brakes are measured as labels, not as millimetres:
- Front: Independent, spring
- Rear: Dependent, leaf spring
- Front brakes: Drum
- Rear brakes: Drum
Those four strings are the same for the only version, so they do not split the range. They do tell a buyer what 4.6 MT is not: it is not a catalogue row with a different front or rear brake type, and it is not a row with a different rear suspension family. Ground clearance and wheel size cannot be used to pick a “taller” or “wider” One Twenty because both are not measured.
Reliability and problems: what the numbers do and do not support
Searches for Packard One Twenty problems and reliability cannot be answered with failure rates: this dataset has none. What can be said without inventing:
- Fuel system is Carburetor. There is no second injection type on the page.
- Boost is No, so there is no forced-induction hardware in the spec line.
- Brakes are Drum front and Drum rear on 4.6 MT.
- Rear suspension is Dependent, leaf spring; front is Independent, spring.
- Service intervals, rust, electrics and spare parts are not in the data.
Treat “reliability” here as a spec-stability statement: one generation, one version, one power (122 hp), one displacement (4624 cc), one gearbox (Manual 3), one drive (RWD), production window 1935-01-01 to 1941-12-31. It is not a warranty ranking.
Which version to choose
Choose 4.6 MT if the requirement list is: Packard One Twenty, 1 generation (1935-01-01 to 1941-12-31), Cabrio, Gasoline Inline 8, 4624 cc, 122 hp / 89 kW at 3600 rpm, 2 valves per cylinder, boost No, Carburetor, Manual 3, RWD, Independent spring front, Dependent leaf spring rear, Drum/Drum.
Do not choose 4.6 MT expecting a second, stronger One Twenty in this catalogue, a higher gear count, a measured 0-100, a measured top speed, a measured mpg, a measured kerb or gross weight, a measured tank, measured wheels, or a measured ground clearance. Those fields are not measured, and there is no sibling version whose extra hp or extra litres you can buy.
What the extra money cannot buy on this page: another named modification. 122 hp is the whole power spread (spread = 0 hp). 4624 cc is the whole displacement spread (spread = 0 cc). 3 is the whole gear spread. RWD is the whole drive set. Power per litre stays 26.4 hp/L because nothing else is listed to average against.
If two cars in the wild both wear the catalogue name 4.6 MT, distinguish them only if a second official power appears; in this data they would still be the same 122 hp row. Until a second generation or a second modification is added, the buy answer is a single sentence: the Packard One Twenty to specify is 4.6 MT, Cabrio, 122 hp, 4624 cc, Gasoline, Inline 8, Manual 3, RWD, 1 generation, 1935-01-01 to 1941-12-31.