All the engines except the 359" have the same bore, it's the stroke that changes. Ross I remember mentioned that the 288 might be the better performance engine, because it can be revved higher. The biggest performance improvement offered by Packard was the 4-barrel carburetor, offered beginning in '53 on the Cavalier and Patrician IIRC. Not sure if the manifold for the 2-barrel carburetor can be used for a 4-barrel carb, probably not.
The hydraulic lifters can be a pain if they are worn, solid lifters are probably better for your purposes.
Here is this nice chart that shows the various heads and how they can be interchanged amongst the engines for different compression ratios.
Packard 288/327/359 compression ratios for different headsThis Post was from: https://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?post_id=243010