Re: Non-matching numbers impact on value

Posted by HH56 On 2018/7/11 8:23:06

I was looking at a 1938 Packard 120 coupe and the owner told me upfront that the engine and body's numbers do not match, but the engine is a '38.

Since he specifically mentions the engine is a 38 perhaps it was replaced with a service engine or one from a salvage yard? In many states at the time, the car was registered using the motor number rather than the vehicle number. Perhaps that is what he is referring to. Does the owner have old registration paperwork that shows a different number than what is on the car now? It is not an unheard of situation as many engines were replaced with a service engine or after Packard went away, that from another car.

There are several cars that have been mentioned on the forum as having odd or missing motor numbers. Missing is probably a replacement with a new service engine but no real explanation for radically different numbers. It is a guess some states had their own unique number requirements and a new number was assigned by the state if a car was registered with a motor number and the original number had to be changed or removed for whatever reason.