your rendering makes a much better looking car than the grotesque 58 Lincoln. The plan using the '57 Lincoln seems easier to do even though it would be an older platform. 25% seems too high a differential and really all that Ford would need to do is keep the economy of scale for Lincoln as their advantage.

I like using Torsion Ride as a differentiator. When Ford bought Jaguar, they used head and suspension design to differ the S-type from the Lincoln

have a list of Packard needs - the Dayton "dealership" has a parts department. I've found the conversations with the folks in Dayton add to the visit.

Well put.
The analogy to GM divisions is breaking down because the positioning of the GM division became increasingly overlapping and blurred as time went on. For 1938, here's a stab at where the Packard products might compete:

Six vs Pontiac/Oldsmobile
Eight (120) vs Buick/LaSalle
Super Eight vs Biggest Buicks/Cadillac 62, 60S
Twelve vs Cadillac 75, V16

The GM makes still have some shared styling cues at this point - they all look similar for 1938 except for Chevy.

I'd say before you judge the price , be clear on whether this is to do an authentic interior, a period interior, or something else

I had talked to the (maybe previous?) owner when the car was for sale locally in Rockford, MI - he had little idea what it was, didn't know difference 110-120-160-180. I suspect this owner is perhaps flipping it and it appears doing well on it. Still, no need to rod it.

if you haven't already, click on the owner registry and you can see a 1601 touring sedan with sidemounts

the concrete grille on the body bridge and the main office door were removed. I haven't been by in some time, but the place is in death throes. Some of the Detroit folks can comment more. It's far gone.

Wood from the offices was recovered and can be purchased with funds benefitting the on-going restoration of the proving grounds, which is a much happier story.

the street the body bridge crosses is a public street, but not a neighborhood for a Sunday drive

actually, this was their second shortest car.

V windshield means the windshield is made of two flat pieces joined in a v shape. this replaced one flat piece.

all steel body means the roof and framing are steel. earlier wooden framing with steel panels and roofs with a hole in the middle filled with canvas were used,

that's kind of simplistic, but basically accurate.

your 282 in3 straight eight is a well designed and made engine. The 3 speed transmission is typical of the time - it is not synchronized on first

Hess and Eisenhart, ASC and others did the "factory chop jobs" you mention - the biggest part of the work was the bracing. Remember that this was factory paid engineering and tooling spread over a modest production run. It would be much smarter in my opinion to buy a 52 convertible coupe.

The one-off peach-colored Clipper convertible has been replicated, so it's possible, but the financial side of doing this with a hacked 52 sedan is truly frightening