On the starter, if it is still connected the safety circuit has caused some confusion and issues. If there were problems, some of the safety circuits have been disconnected and not necessarily the way Packard intended.
On the 356 engine with the Autolite pinion shift starter the carb switch is connected to one small terminal of the solenoid to provide the voltage to the starting relay and the other small terminal gets ground by connecting thru the generator. The wire from that solenoid terminal runs over the the regulator A or GEN terminal so all the generator and regulator wiring needs to be connected for the circuit to work.
Safety circuit works as follows: With the engine not running the generator is stopped, no voltage is being made so the starter solenoid will be able to connect to ground thru the generator windings. Pushing the accelerator to start will put voltage on one terminal of the solenoid and ground thru the generator is connected to the other so starter relay works to bring in the solenoid. Once the engine starts and generator is putting out a voltage that voltage is also at what was the ground terminal on the solenoid. Even if there is a voltage on the other terminal if the starter switch is accidentally made, the solenoid can do nothing with approx 6v on each terminal so the solenoid and starter remain off to prevent damage.
If you want to see photos of postwar EC components to identify or see where they would go you can download the training book
Clutch and Electromatic Clutch from the literature section.
https://www.packardinfo.com/xoops/html/downloads/ClutchTrainingManual.pdf There is also a book on the R9 OD unit. Packard called their OD an Econodrive and that is what the book is named.
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