A prerequisite tO analyze the automobile and/or auto industry of the 20th century is a full understanding of the WWII war effort. Otherwise without WWII technological developemnts one is very apt to "place the cart before the horse".

I mite even add that not even the greatest historians of general US history can even begin to objectively analyze 20th century America without a full analysis of the war years. It is the War years that contrast both eras.

Hotter engine = better efficiencey. That's true. But i really doubt that efficiency was the mfg'ers goal at all.
Would the prewar engines hold up at a sustained 190 - 200 degree operating temperature assuming a pressurized cooling system was adapted at the time???? I doubt it. Not many prewar or even pre 1955 engines would run more than 50k miles without piston ring replacement.
SO the efficiency of the post war hotter engine was more or less a positive unintentional side effect of the cheaper radiator combined with technology that stemmed out of WWII.

Just wondering what you are calling second? In the left triangle should be one "shift" which is not really a shift in sense of changing gears but just going into direct drive locking out the converter. In the right triangle should be one actual shift from low to high and then the direct drive. The direct drive can groan or buzz when engaging but don't remember it as harsh. Here is a tech bulletin with approx speeds all this should happen.https://www.packardinfo.com/xoops/html/downloads/STB/55T-6.pdf Has the throttle linkage adjustment been checked? That pretty much determines when and how hard shifts are.

IIRC every 1 pound of cap pressure allows for 3 degrees increase in boiling point. Maybe Owen can expound upon that some better.

So a 7 pound cap will allow engine temp as high as 233 F.

My 56 Executive runs as hot as 230 degess F. BUT only gets that hot during 95 F ambient and only while setting and idleing for long periods of time or very slow parking lot manuvering.
As soon as the car gains some sustained speed of say 15 to 20 mph the temp drops. Sustained speeds in the range of 25 to 60 mph the engine temp stays at about 185 F. Speeds of 70-85 it will reach closer to the 200 mark.

If ambient is under 80 f then the sustained higher speeds will only produce about 180F at the highest. Maybe 210 at long idle periods.

In cooler weather of say 50 F and under the temp gauge will rarely reach 190 F regardless of operation.

I'm using a 160 F T'stat. SunPro 2-5/8 dia dial face, bourdon tube type gauge mounted in place of the clock.

Finally had time to put her up on the lift. Drained out the transmission fluid, now dark and dirty (maybe flushing out all the Lucas oil I put in) but you could see more shavings, put in trick shifter original this time and will drive a bit this weekend. The shifting patterns have changed again. Before the drain would only shift into second in High drive, after the change would only shift in Low drive. Either range the shift into second is often hard. The transmission now glides into reverse and with the new rearview mirror and see where I'm going. Plan to drive a bit and drain the fluid again as the flushes seem to help. Maybe she needs an antibiotic.

Breaking this record by only 13mph is kind of like winning a competition for being the tallest little person.

Morgan, glad your car is now able to tell you what gear it's in. Did you get your transmission problems sorted out?

Finally finished with the gear selector with the necessary part supplied by Green Dragon. (Thanks) When I opened the box it was not what I expected, everyone's recollections were different as no spec drawings were found. What the hell so I put the part on and discovered that it has that weird wire angle was for a reason as it wraps around the outside of the column into the gear selector window. Thought those who have followed this opera would like to see the pictures of how it fits.

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Clipper 47. Thanks and glad it was understandable.

The operation of the light is supposed to be as soon as speed is reached and OD is possible it illuminates and stays illuminated until you are in OD and the solenoid has fully engaged. There are a set of contacts in solenoid that then open and light goes out. If you kickdown out of OD but are still above speed, light will go on again as contacts close to tell you that it is still possible to go into OD. If yours is not doing that then probably the contacts have worn out of adjustment or the wire to solenoid terminal 7 is shorted somewhere. The contact adjustment is a PIA. Out of curiosity looked at 2 solenoids and one opens at about 1/8 from end and on other it has to be all the way out.

Here is a pict of contacts in both states.

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