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Dear Paul:

Using big hammers on Packards is not a got idea. Packard is a quality car. For example, today I was behind the wheel of some late model restored car and it took me back to the days when people I knew still owned Packards they'd bought in the 1930's because the Packards drove better than a modern car.

Anyway, why not get some good wheel chocks and carefully raise one of the rear wheels with a jack. I think if you now rock the wheel while someone moves the shifter the Parking Pawl should release.

As for troubleshooting the transmission without a dealer, get a tach/dwell meter into the passenger compartment and accelerate at full throttle in High Range. The motor should turn at around 1600 rpm initially and rise to around 2000 rpm at 50 mph. If it is turning well over 2000 then the unit is slipping. It won't go very far if the high range clutch is slipping. The problem can also be fluid slip inside the converter due to excessive endplay and sloppy fit but most likely the overrunning clutch is freewheeling and thus the car is accelerating on the fluid coupling only.

Finally, UM requires horsepower so if the motor can't rev up to these numbers then do a compression test. You need at least 100 psi for good performance.

Good luck with your car.

I am going to print this and read it carefully. I am not mechanically minded, but I know enough to know that I pray it isn't a compression problem! I will try the jacking- rocking method this evening. Will rocking the elevated wheel by hand be enough to relaese the pawl? Should I put some force into it, or just enough to move the wheel to where it meets resistance? I really thank every one of you who have taken the time to help me not do any harm to this fine old car!

Update! The car was able to be shifted from park today after it's daily starting!! No reason, it just felt like being in another gear I suppose!! (After 8 days!) It will not be put in park again until the Ultramatic has been taken care of... I don't want that to happen again. At least this way it can go to the shop on a flatbed wrecker.