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Thought that would be a great title for this tread.
Also thought I would re visit this recent quote-

"A somber warning: in the corner of the rear window is the remains of a PAC sticker. No too long ago this was someone's baby, someone who had the car painted, replaced the front bumper, and even took the trouble to find a period license plate. And now it is just a lost car in a junkyard with no title.

I am not certain what lessons to draw from this, but am sure of this: go and enjoy the living daylights out of your collector cars now. Run up the mileage and drive them as hard or as easy as you personally like. I think we are largely fooling ourselves when we murmur about being a caretaker in preparation for the next caretaker. For most of these cars, there is no one coming."

The Car market is changing and we all hear a lot of discussion about how to get young people interested.
In addition, I see lots of once great Packards advertised for sale that have been parked for decades and who's restoration is not even close to economically viable.
You very may well own one yourself?

Here is a thought.
There are Auto programs in High Schools & Tech schools all over the country & while they need to teach currently relevant things, maybe if some of those otherwise solid cars were donated maybe it would create a spark as well as create a possible future for some of these fine cars. It really is a tragedy to see kids wasting time on rusty & worn out Nissans, S-10s & the like. And you wouldn't have to worry about what your kids will do with that car you really wanted to restore someday.Perhaps you could even get involved with a history lesson or technical support.
Any thoughts?

I think your idea deserves more attention so will "bump" it.

My own 50 Super, that I bought when I was 14, has been gathering dust in various storage locations for about 25 years. Its best not to think about how much storage I have paid on it. Nostalgia has not risen to sufficient pitch that I want to clear more interesting projects off my plate. I would cheerfully give the car to some young person who I thought would do something with it.

In the past 22 years I have been in the Packard "business" I have employed many young people as summer help, and a few longer term and really brought them a long way in their skills. I always hope they will come to love this stuff and have as much fun with it as I have--and keep with it. In that I have been profoundly disappointed.

Your idea allows for exposure to a much larger audience, a few of whom might "get it". Plus it gives opportunity to pass on old school skill and knowhow that will otherwise go lost.

At first I thought this might be a question about retro-fitting a Packard 352 into a 55-56 Nash V-8. Instead, it was much more profound.

For most of us, there's something about a tender spot in our development around the ages 10-14 when we fixate on a car that we retain, and if fortunate, later strive to buy. Sometimes it's a friend or family member who aids in the process, either by enabling these desires or simply gives us a car "of our dreams." Getting a youth to develop a desire for an old Packard is probably a pretty tough challenge unless it's a car that's being actively loved by someone close by. The most encouraging contemporary scene I am aware of is the Kansas college that offers a degree program in classic car repair/restoration. I believe that Jay Leno is a big fan and supporter of this effort and hope that other regions watch for signs of success in its programs and graduates.

I have four sons and two of them are engineers. One of these boys was once a top graduate in an high school automotive class and was offered a scholarship to a famous automaker's technical institute. He turned it down (as I screamed in anguish!), saying that he had had enough being raised with a pack of old cars. Instead, he went in a different direction and is successful in his field. Now, at age 42, he still does much of his own vehicle and fleet maintenance, but fooling with the family Packard is yet to happen. So far, the grandchildren are viewing the old cars around our place as an oddity and any fascination is a thin veneer. But there's hope for some familiarity breeding a budding appreciation. I did catch one eight year old grandson bragging about the pushbutton transmission and the suspension that goes up and down. His buddy countered that his father's 70s Charger has a wing on the back. Wait until the concept of rarity takes root. That may take some time. At this point, Car Guy may be a skipped generation condition.

Just noticed the posts to this thread, Thanks guys.
Sometimes it seems like dope & sodomy are the new trend...