Thanks for the excellent suggestions BigKev, HH56, and Carl Madsen! Looks like I need to get to work!! Need to get a 6 volt test light or multimeter. We do have a local starter and generator rebuilding shop locally and I have done some business with them in the past and probably will again, but money is tight, sunk a lot of money into the old Packard lately (like a custom rebuilt radiator to replace a leaking one-the old one was so fragile they had to totally rebuild it) and trying to save a buck or two. I have described the car in the Packard Owner Registry and with Big Kev's help I have posted a picture. Will try to start a blog when I get time. Thanks again!
Ken Dunning
kens53clip

Hi Guys! A newbie to the website but not entirely a newbie to Packards. If anybody has any ideas on this, I would appreciate it. My Packard that I bought on eBay last year was starting up pretty good but it has been misbehaving lately. When I bought it somebody had switched it over to 12 volt but did an incomplete job of it. It appeared that the only thing changed in the car was the battery. It was burning points with regularity, which somebody who should know told me was a sign that somebody had just dropped in a 12 volt battery. I have put in a new 6 volt battery, a new 6 volt voltage regulator, a new 6 volt coil, new points, new plug wires, new sparkplugs, new rotor, new condenser, new distributor cap, a tuneup, and it was running good for a while. Lately however, you turn the key, and all you hear is a single click. The starter does not run and the engine does not turn over. The battery is new and fully charged. Shop manual says it is the starter or an ultramatic starter switch. I wish I could tell you it is the authentic Delco Remy starter, but it has no nameplate, so it could be stolen from some Chevy for all I know. I think it is a 6 volt starter since it has been starting with a 6 volt battery. Could it be something simple like new brushes? Could it be the 12 volt battery fried the starter solenoid or the starter? Any suggestions? Thanks!
Ken Dunning
kens53clip

My best recollection about the story (probably gotten from Bob Turnquist's The Packard Story) is that J.W. Packard was contacted about sending out literature about the car early in the car's history and he had not yet gotten any literature printed, so rather than send out the requested literature, he told the inquirer that he did not have any literature presently but that they should "ask the man who owns one."
Ken Dunning
kens53clip