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That is a classic case of carburetor icing: frost forming near the idle jets from the cooling effect of air passing through the venturis. The car stops, in a minute the frost melts and all is right with the world. This problem especially appears on cool damp mornings. That is why some carbs actually had passages for exhaust coming up from the heat riser.

Packard issued an article on stalling due to carb icing but concluded there is not a lot the mechanic can do to help the issue. Seems like I recall some kind of snake oil parts stores sold as a fuel additive that was supposed to help but no idea if it did any good or if still sold.packardinfo.com/xoops/html/downloads/SC/SC-VOL26NO2.pdf

Wow! Crazy that I experienced such an event. Humidity at 7:30 this morning must have been around 70 or 80%, so it might have very well been carb icing. Next thing in the summer I'll get vapor lock! Haha, hope not.
Hmm, next project cold air induction with technology from the 70's with some sort of cotrolled air warmer from the exhaust manifold. On second thought, I will follow the advice of the Service council. Keep driving!

Tobs, In my experience you've reached the right decision - ignore it and just keep motoring. I've been driving vintage carbureted cars since I got my license in 1957 and live in a climate with spring and fall cold and humid weather, and I can only recall maybe two or three times in all those years and miles that I experienced what I though to be carburetor icing. And it was over and done in less than a minute.

Next Project is to clean and re-grease the column shifter. Thursday morning at 30 deg F it was very sticky. I hope it was just the old grease gunking up the smooth operation.

How do I remove the rod inside this shaft? Do I have to remove the plug at the top of the shaft?

It seems like 2 and 3 selector was moving well, but 1 and R was sticky and balky.
Thanks!

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I spent a little while with a rag, some brake cleaner and a few wire brushes cleaning off old grease, dirt and paint. I still have not removed the rod inside the shift mechanism tube, but it moves freely, so I will leave it in there.
Getting my 912 smoothly shifting was a great improvement to drivability, so I hope the Packard also responds well to some attention to the shifter.
I am not quite sure what would be the best lube I have on my shelf for the shifter....wheel bearing grease, Ball joint grease, moly engine assembly lube, or some lighter motor oil or light fine mechanic oil.
The Service manual calls for lubriplate, so I guess something that will stay put and not just run out. I just don't want to use something that will gum things up again. Suggestions?

Clearance is 30 thou or a hair more...According to the shop manual, this should be .025 inch.
Has anybody ever tightened this up and noticed an improvement? I'm guessing since Packard went out of their way to define this spec, then it is worthwhile to get myself some more 5/8inch washers and get the shifter mechanism back into tolerance.
Since I have the car all apart, I may as well try to improve things to get as smooth a shifting as possible. I don't want to go through all this work and still have things be sticky.
Thanks for any advice!

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Well, I got the clearance to 025 on the shifter, and everything feels good with the shift mechanism now.
Before I put the column back on, should this seal be pushed back down into the steering box? It might keep some oil from getting out if it was pressed in deeper.
Any Feedback appreciated. -Mike

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Update, that felt Ring goes way up in the top of the column behind the upper bearing by the steering wheel. -not down by the steering Box.
Column is back in with 1/8 to 1/16 inch clearance to the steering wheel. Shift linkage is lubed and adjusted. It makes driving and shifting easier. Downshifting between 3rd overdive and second overdrive with a blip of the throttle to rev match is a lot easier now. For a manual packard, cleaning, lubing and adjusting the shifter linkage to the spec of .025 inch sure does help to make selecting gears hassle free.
Cheers!

I have available those felt seals that go inside the column but haven't yet offered them on my site (linked below) as I've not yet tried them myself. I'll do so in a couple weeks when I'm back at my shop.