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I have a 1939 120 with a 1940 R9 overdrive fitted to it. It worked fine for years but now when it is supposed to go into overdrive it goes into neutral. I accelerate until the light comes on, let off the gas briefly and it stops pulling/freewheels. I pulled the solenoid, key on, grounded the governor and the plunger extends. My guess is the electrics are ok and it's an internal problem. I'm sure this has been covered before so feel free to forward the post, I couldn't find one.

I too have a 39 with a 40 R9 OD and have worked on many R9's. Sounds like perhaps the bulk ring on the sun gear is not rotating to allow the stoppage of the sungear. My first troubleshooting step, based on your observations, would be to thin the transmission/OD oil, or to fully drain it, flush with kerosene and refill with a lighter oil in order to troubleshoot it. If old oil congeals in the pawl/interlock/balk ring mechanism, it can stick.

I have worked on several Packard R9 OD equipped cars that had been in storage or non functional for years and the above trick worked on each, after checking all electrical components.

I hope this helps.
Pat

My '41 120 OD did not work. Dan Boehm cleaned it out because it was full of gunk and it now works like a charm! Apparently the whole problem was congealed oil and confirms Pat's post above.

It wasn't "for nothing" that Packard advised to change gear oils annually. With the limited use that most collector cars get, I still change them every 5 years or so.