Re: Recent additions to the Owner Registry

Posted by BH On 2010/10/12 19:19:22

Mal -

I've run across something that may have bearing on your work, but requires a little background.

In wrapping up the 48-50 Service Index content and preparing to work on the 41-47 installment, I found some anomalies WRT to Clipper models. Of course, all 46-47 Packards were Clippers, and there was only one 1941 Clipper model (body 1951), but the '42s had me scratching my head.

When it comes to these Packards, I'm just a layperson, but apparently the lone Clipper model was a late-comer for '41. Yet, it was so well-received that the Clipper was expanded across the Six and Eight (Junior) lines, and Clipper styling was also applied to the 160 and 180 Senior models for in 1942. However, because not every body style was available in Clipper form (like convertibles and custom bodies), some models from previous years had to be carried over from 1941.

It appears, then, that the following 1942 chassis/models are Clippers:

2000-10 - Six
2001-11 - Eight
2003 - Super Eight One-Sixty
2006 - Super Eight Custom One-Eighty

...and the following 1942 chassis are NOT Clippers:

2004-05-07-08-20-21-23-30-55

However, in reviewing this site's Model Info for 1942, I found the model names rather confusing.

While the parts book and a factory ID chart (by series/chassis/model numbers) reference 110 and 120, I've read that those designations were dropped from model names after 1941. Only "One-Sixty" and "One-Eighty" were retained for 1942, which appears to be the final year for those.

I don't have any factory sales literature that goes back that far and most books don't provide much of a clue, but the Crestline book seems to have the most complete model names, and based on that I've arrived at the following:

Chas Body Model Name
---- ---- ---------------------------------------------------
2000 1582 Clipper Special Six Touring Sedan
2000 1585 Clipper Special Six Club Sedan
2000 1588 Clipper Special Six Business Coupe

2010 1502 Clipper Custom Six Touring Sedan
2010 1505 Clipper Custom Six Club Sedan

2001 1592 Clipper Special Eight Touring Sedan
2001 1595 Clipper Special Eight Club Sedan
2001 1598 Clipper Special Eight Business Coupe

2011 1512 Clipper Custom Eight Touring Sedan
2011 1515 Clipper Custom Eight Club Sedan

2003 1572 Super Eight One-Sixty Clipper Touring Sedan
2003 1575 Super Eight One-Sixty Clipper Club Sedan

2006 1522 Super Eight Custom One-Eighty Clipper Touring Sedan
2006 1525 Super Eight Custom One-Eighty Clipper Club Sedan

The nomenclature for the 160 and 180 models is verbatim from the Crestline book, but I'm not entirely sure of the correct "syntax" for the Junior model names, as the that same book doesn't use the word "Clipper" in its discussion of those models (e.g. - Special Six, Custom Eight, etc.). So, for the time being, I've assumed the use and placement of "Clipper" for the Juniors, but I could be "all wet" on that.

Also, in the course my explorations, I found some other areas which may need correction:

- In 1942, a Super Eight Custom One-Eighty All-Weather Cabriolet by Rollston (Body 894) is listed as Chassis 2007 in Model Info, but shown as 2008 in other publications, such as PI's production info and the Dawes book.

- The 1946 and 1947 Clipper Eight Club Sedans (Chassis 2101, Body 1695 and Body 2195) do not appear in Model Info, but their existence appears to be corroborated by PI's production info and the Dawes book.

- The 1946 Clipper Deluxe Eight Touring Sedan (Body 1612) and Clipper Deluxe Eight Club Sedan (Body 1615) and 1947 Clipper Deluxe Eight Touring Sedan (Body 2112) and Clipper Deluxe Eight Club Sedan (Body 2115) are classified as Chassis 2101 in Model Info, but listed as Chassis 2111 in 1941-1947 parts book, and corroborated by PI's production info and the Dawes book.

I had previously shared this, privately, with BigKev, but know that he's a busy guy. I'm not sure who originally worked on the 1942 Model Info pages and not trying to lay blame, but simply hoping we can arrive at the correct model names for the Model Info database, which clearly impacts the Owner Registry.