Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

There are a few points to remember here and these are never-ever mentioned whenever this subject comes up:

1.) Packard had one of the first automatic transmissions with a "PARK" setting. Others just had "NEUTRAL" and that was that. Packard's "PARK" position feature on the transmission was something of a novelty when it first appeared.

2.) ALL automatic transmissions with a "PARK" setting tend to bind in that position when left parked on an incline (such as a hill). This condition becomes worse if the PARK pawl is somehow damaged or out of spec. Got news for ya... this even happens on modern Japanese cars... ask me how I know.

3.) V8 Packards with Ultramatic did indeed tend to stick in park under certain conditions and this usually had zero to do with the 1956 pushbutton Ultramatic. 1955 AND 1956 versions with selector lever tended to APPEAR to stick in PARK because of transmission selector/kickdown linkage being out of spec. This allowed it to drop into what I call the "football straight-arm position" where the linkage basically dropped into what amounted to a straight line and there was no longer possibility of elbow action. I have actually seen selector levers bent around into the shape of a letter "J" by people who decided they were going to King-Kong the durned thing into submission! By the way... when this happens on a selector lever car, all you need do is reach under the driver's side and firmly push UP on the linkage (using care not to touch hot exhaust pipe). It usually pops right out (also be sure to have your parking brake engaged first!). The 1956 control arm on the trans is as a different angle and attempted to remedy this condition. Anyway there were factory bulletins issued on these matters.

4.) The 1956 Auto-Park Pushbutton feature is never recognized today for what it really was in 1956: the first factory-installed electronic anti-theft feature. One of the biggest mistakes ever was the misunderstanding (that persists to this day) of this system. Owners who didn't read their O/M and tow truck drivers, valets, parking attendents and others somehow got the notion that these cars could be moved without the engine running or ignition key in "ON" position. They would jump in... press "N" and the car would remain in "PARK"... to which they would reply..."Durned thing is stuck in PARK!" THIS started a rumor that was not true... all based on total misunderstanding of the purpose and operation of automatic PARK. A thief could hotwire the car and maybe start the engine, but unless that ignition key switch was in the "ON" position... the trans was going to remain in PARK. With the key off, you can press buttons all day long and it is not going to come out of PARK. THat's that.

5.) Let's face it... pushbuttons on these old cars are OLD and quite likely to be worn or not working precisely after all these years. Even brand -new electronic stuff goes out of whack. So consider the age and tolerances of what was a totally new feature in 1956. And remember, this is 2014. The late Joe Clayton, who owned more pushbutton Ultramatics than anyone I've ever known (and I've known a lot) had his own technique for preventing pushbutton selector malfunctions. Even with worn contact fingers and weak actuator motors from going bonkers and bending a finger. His technique was simple and I have used it for 40 years without a problem: to prevent over-runs and bent contact fingers on old systems, rather than go directly to or from "PARK"...always go to "NEUTRAL" first... pause...then go to "PARK". His reasoning (which has worked well for me too) is that the pie-shaped contact segment has less tendency to over-run with it is traveling a shorter distance. Just like a speeding car takes more to stop. Right or wrong, Joe's method has always worked for me. And we are talking over a lot of years and a lot of cars.

Of course, the rule with any automatic is always be at a dead stop when engaging PARK... and avoid using PARK when parking on steep hills as a substitute for the parking brake. In a place like San Francisco, it is wise to turn your front wheels (left uphill...right downhill) to chock them against the curb...and engage your emergency/parking brake first...then place your transmission selector in PARK. Saves the PARK pawl and aggravation and angst (and your right arm) in disengaging PARK.

Offered for what it's worth...

Leeedy, correct me if I'm wrong but I believe the early GM Hydramatics had a Park function, even though a "Park" or "P" position wasn't shown on the quadrant. I quite clearly remember that when you put it in Reverse and turned the engine off (thus no vacuum), they went into a locked Park mode.

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Yes, SOME did... others did not. My dad had a Pontiac with automatic... but no PARK setting...only NEUTRAL. Yes there were PARK functions without an actual setting... as for how many users clearly understood this is open to question. Packard was one of the first to take a lead in this area, though not credited as such today.

And selector quadrants were not standardized until decades after Packard was long gone. REVERSE on GM and possibly others was wayyyyyy down the path. My 1964 Oldsmobile Starfire had reverse in the opposite position of today.

All in all, the PB system works well and for the time, probably was advanced. I do remember one harrowing PB transmission experience though. It happened on the first Packard I bought back in 74 or so -- a 56 Patrician. The car had been primped up, new paint, rebuilt engine and trans etc. A mechanic friend and I had gone over to another friends house the next town over showing it off and seeing how things operated.

On the way back Dick was driving at highway speed and I was enjoying the scenery. All of a sudden the engine sped up, Dick let out a strong word or two and we started moving down the road. The accelerator had jammed so the pedal was almost to the metal. What to do. Neutral was locked out by the pressure switch so it was not functional and we both knew you couldn't turn the key off to kill the engine without the trans wanting to go into park. He got on the brakes and managed to slow down and I got down and finally managed to wiggle the accelerator away from the floor. Not really sure what exactly happened to mess things up but it was an exhilarating experience -- almost as much fun as when the car vapor locked going up to Yosemite. Narrow twisting roads with steep drop offs and we were rolling backwards without benefit of power brakes or the "self energizing" feature of Bendix brakes.

Most interesting discussion, but I think it would be better served in the V8 section. The advice about setting the parking brake before putting the transmission in Park is one that I do out of habit with my auto trans vehicles (no Ultramatics).

(o{}o)

I think it was the Federal Highway Safety Act, applied to new 1968 cars that mandated a uniform automatic shift pattern (PRND(s)L) along with other safety features like side marker lights. This may have been the death sentence for GM's premium torque converter transmission, but with it their Hydramatics, Powerglides, Dynaflows, etc., were now easy enough to switch drivers with Fords, Chryslers and even Toyotas. By that era, push button Ramblers, Chryslers and certain Packards were things of the past. So was driving an unfamiliar automatic "by the feel of the lever."

Our family had a 1957 Powerglide Chevy and a new 1958 Rambler with push-button Flash-O-Matic (anything but flashy!). The day my father drove it home, my mother asked if the Park slide lever was actually the parking/emergency brake. He didn't know, so he gingerly moved the car and pushed in the Park slide lever. I was with him to hear the transmission protest the abuse. That settled that. Ten years later, father took the lever of a new Buick, dropping it down into what he thought was a familiar place for Reverse and went forward into a garage door. Same father who tried to manually shift, in three on the tree fashion, minus a clutch pedal, the new 57 Chevy soon after buying his first automatic. No real harm done and Park sure didn't feel like second gear. I suppose things like this were commonplace during the Fifties, and learning the Packard way was not all that different. I believe that the February 1955 issue of Popular Science (or Mechanics?) even had several pages devoted to "How to Start" the new 1955s. Not a whole lot of uniformity, and it was tolerated back then.

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Yes... agree. Perhaps Owen can get this whole thread bumped over to the V8 section?

Or perhaps Big Kev can transition this tread over to the V8 section?