Re: Another VIN question

Posted by HH56 On 2008/10/10 22:19:06

That is a problem others have had also. There apparently was not much standard back then and it depended on the place the car was registered as to what number was used. With Packard out of business and lots of cars unregistered for years and out of the motor vehicle databases, it can be a real issue for re-registering the car now.

In the US most states used the motor number, but if the motor was changed, the original number is gone. The serial number was used in some places, but until 1951 when it was placed on the plate riveted to the door jamb, it was on a plate that could be unscrewed from the cowl so was not considered a permanent number and other places wouldn't allow that.

The only really permanent number is the stamped body number on dash but Packard didn't use that number outside the factory and as others have said, there are no records available today.

My own 47 is one that had to be inspected because it was out of the system. The inspector settled on the stamped dash number.