I just bought a 51 200 Deluxe with a 327 (added) and a 3 speed on the column. I believe it has an overdrive as I can see the solenoid towards the rear of the transmission. There is an unmarked pull knob to the right of the steering column towards the bottom of the dash. Is that the overdrive selector? If not what should I look for?

I want to start it up and make sure it is ok. It did smoke somewhat until I would take it out on the interstate. Got up to 60 and a big cloud came out-then nothing. Not sure what that was about-maybe valves? I also want to take off the parts I need and then just sell the entire car as I am not set up to remove the engine and tranny. It will be a few weeks before I can get it out of storage and over to the house. The chassis and suspension was also gone through in the last 5 years-not driven much since. I will post a picture and reply when I get it over to the house.

Last spring my neighbors tree fell and took out my garage, machine shop, and 2 of my classic cars. One of them was the 52 200Deluxe I was working on. The mechanical is all done and it was ready for paint. Unfortunately the tree, in addition to denting the roof, hood and both front fenders, also took out the windshield and side door glass. I was going to rebuild it (again!) but ran in to a 51 that will take much less work (and money!) I will take what parts I need off of the 52, then salvage the 52. I would hope that someone here can use the engine and transmission. I am in Omaha, Ne, not exactly a Packard hotbed!

Thanks Howard.
As far as the insurance goes I have Hagerty and they were great. Both cars were "totaled" and I got paid in a week. I think I found parts to repair both. For sure I need parts for the Plymouth. The Packard, I can straighten out if necessary-would be better to replace the hood and at least the left front fender. We'll see. I am taking a short road trip next month to find out.

Neat video. Thanks, Mike.

Sorry for the duplicate pictures. I couldn't figure out how to delete 2 of them. The tree also took out my 65 Plymouth Fury, my garage, and my machine shop. Luckily we have Hagerty for the cars, and good homeowner's insurance. Well over $100,000 in damage.

I had this ready to paint when my neighbors 100 ft tall (was) tree fell on it. You can't see to much from the rear, but the top, hood, and both front fenders were severely damaged. I bought a 51 to replace it, was going to rob necessary parts from the 52 as the mechanical is all done. I am having trouble parting with the 52 though. I may just keep both and take my time rebuilding the 52.

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I ran across this in Hemmings.https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2017/05/02/first-phase-of-packard-plant-renovation-scheduled-to-start-this-month/?refer=news

Follow this link for more pictures.https://www.instagram.com/packardplantproject/

I haven't had this on my Packard. I ran into this on several other vehicles. On Ford trucks we would replace all of the ground cables and clean the connection spots on the chassis and frame. Worked every time on Fords. On Mopars we would check the timing. They will run great with lots of power. When you turn them off sometimes they will not start until they are cooled off-especially in the warmer weather. Just a couple of ideas.

Thanks Kev.