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The door post number is the official vehicle number.

5492 denotes a 54 Clipper Deluxe 4 door sedan on the 5401 Chassis. 9418 is a sequence number. I believe 54 started at 2001 making yours the 7418th Deluxe built. If I am wrong on the starting number someone will correct and give you the proper number so adjust accordingly.

5493 on the small tag screwed to the firewall and commonly called the Briggs tag was put on by the body builder and doesn't appear to be a valid number. Perhaps it is a poor stamping and is actually 5492?? The sequence numbers may be different because the body may not have been placed on the assembly line to receive the official number in the same order the body was received from Briggs. If not a poor stamping then hard to say what might be going on with it. 54 apparently was a transition year and there are some mechanical things in 54 Clipper models that don't follow exactly with what would be expected based on what was used in previous and succeeding models that are in the same series.

The stamped number above the heater is the Body ID or more commonly called the theft proof number. It was used internally at Packard and very few documents remain. It is almost impossible to know what number went with a particular car. Ironically it is the only permanent number on the car and the one where few records exist. Owen_Dyneto has been compiling a database of these numbers to correlate with the official vehicle number and motor number. Am sure he will be glad to add yours to his list.

The M3xxxxx motor number is the proper one for the car. A 1954 327 5 main with solid lifters delivering 165 HP.

Your Clipper is pretty close to mine in the production run. My car was built after Aug 15, 1954, based on the stampings on some of the original parts.

Your car VN is 5492-9418 mine is 5492-9578, so 160 units apart. It also has the same configuration as far as the GearStart.

Take a look at my project blog as I've had pretty much the entire car apart and it is well documented, so it should help you along your journey.

Thanks, I had a typo, the briggs tag is 5492 not 93.

I will look into BigKev's blog and followup with Owen on car info.

Jim,
for including your '54 Clipper Deluxe Touring Sedan in the Packard Owner's Registry.

Finally got under the car, dropped the transmission pan and everything is real tight other than the small pin that attaches the detent shift mechanism in transmission to an arm that connects to the arm that comes in from outside the transmission.

I did find that I had to turn the Low Brake adjustment in quite a ways to get it to finally grab, tightened it up to 20ft=lbs, backed off 1-3/4 turns. Not much room for further adjustment. Did not find any material in the pan, small amount of sludge.

I have not put everything back together yet, but I am thinking the problem with not locking in position may be with the shift lever? Is there a spline type fitup along the steering column that would lock the shifter in the various positions?

Again, is a gear shift, so it should lock into a high (dot), D drive, Low and Reverse, Correct?

Thanks,
Jim

On a gear start, except for Park position the detents are built into the valve body and manual control valve assy. As the valve slides in or out there are a pair of spring loaded rounded end plungers that push into corresponding circular grooves along the length of the manual valve. When the car is moving and there is hydraulic pressure the plungers are fed an additional varying pressure related to speed from the hydraulic system to supplement the springs so as to increase the strength of the detent and lessen the chance of being accidentally knocked out of gear.

If you have disconnected the rod from the outside lever on the drivers side and tried to move the lever you will feel the detents at their lightest. If all is working you will feel and hear a distinct click at each position except park. The end of the outer lever should not move more than a tiny amount so anything more than maybe a sixteenth inch or so when in detent and something is wrong either with the detent plungers or the tightness of something on the shaft. One poster found one of the plungers and spring laying on the pan because hydraulic pressure had blown the plug out the end of the plunger bore.

The only spline involved is at the end of the steering column. There is a stationary metal plate assy similar to this photo of a regular Ultra setup. When you pull the lever toward you there is another lever with a pin on the end which moves downward on the splines. The large arrow points to the moving piece. The pin fits into positions on the stationary metal plate. This is the safety assy which releases the operator lever so you cannot accidentally bump the lever and do damage. The assy is to make sure the lever is pulled toward the driver to move the pin away from the plate and get in or out of Park or Reverse.

Also check the bellcrank assy below the metal plate sector assy where the vertical rod changes to horizontal. In some models it is carried by rubber bushings and brackets. Rubber deteriorates and the bolts holding the bracket can loosen. Either introduces some play so movement from the operator lever might not be fully transferred to the rod and trans outside lever.

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