Re: 1956 Caribbean hardtop options on a Four Hundred

Posted by HH56 On 2016/3/30 9:37:50

There is no chassis number. Packard stopped using them sometime in the 20-30s. The only numbers on a 56 will be on the door jamb, the engine, and the embossed number on the firewall above the heater.

In 56 the door jamb vehicle number is the important one and is the number the car was registered under. If it has the original engine the same number will be stamped on the top of the engine block in a flat surfaced area between the oil fill tube and left head. If it is a very late 56 production the engine number may be facing forward on the front edge of the block just below the right head instead of on the top.

The embossed number above the heater was called the body ID number and is often referred to as the theft proof number today. There are almost no factory records to be found saying what body ID number was on a car along with a specific door jamb number.