Re: 1942 Packard 160 VIN #

Posted by Owen_Dyneto On 2013/5/13 11:48:14

technically there is no VIN on cars of this age. If the ID plate is still screwed to the left top of the cowl under the hood, there is a serial number on it.

This comment back in Post #2 stirred my curiosity. Bkazmer is right about the lack of a VIN as long as we define VIN as the government-mandated and formated "vehicle identification number" which came into use long after Packard was dead and buried. But most Packards have a "VN" or vehicle number and I'd never seen it referred to as a "serial number" so I decided to go back and study a collection of patent plates to see how Packard numbered their cars and what they called the number. I suppose few here are interested in such trivia but here's what I found.

1903-04: Model_____ No. _____
1905: Model N No._____
1907 - 1916: No. ______
1917(*) - 1953: Vehicle Number_____

(*) commencing with the 3rd Series Twin Six