Cylinder block water jacket drain plug is brass, not copper, and it's a pipe (tapered) thread so don't ruin the threads in the block by trying to put a bolt into it! It's a very standard hardware/plumbing item, thread is 3/8 NPT as I remember.

No, there are at least 3 different grilles for the 22nd and 23rd series cars.

The embossed number 589277 which you refer to was variously called the BDN (body dash number) or thief-proof number by Packard. It was a simple sequential numbering scheme beginning in or before the Sixth series, and continuing thru the end in 1956. About 1950 the numbers reached 999999 and then the first numeral was replaced with an "A" until A99999, then a "B", and so on. The last Packards were prefixed by a "D". The lowest thief-proof number I have noted for 1941 is 552,XXX, and the previous highest was 583,XXX so yours is now the highest # known to me for 1941. Some 1940 models do not have a BDN, the exact explanation is unknown by is perhaps related to the moving of body dies from East Grand to Briggs when Packard contracted out the body stamping. Any records Packard might have had correlating BDNs with chassis/body styles has not survived or yet been found, so generally the numbers are not useful in detecting body swaps, upgrades, bogus cars, etc.

Just as an aside, I purchased a set of HC aluminum heads for the Packard Twelve from the prior company, MFT of El Paso; although I was aware of the complaints of slow delivery and the like, I did receive the heads quickly and they were of excellent quality.

As you might guess, there isn't much demand for the 1934 Eight and Super 8 owner's manual, I'd be suprised if the demand was more than 1 or 2 a year, probably less.

While you're waiting, if there was a particular item you wanted from the 34 Eight and Super 8 owner's manual, send me a PM and I'll scan and copy from my original.

Guys, isn't it time to put this thread to bed? It turned into an ugly monster the last time it was initiated, frayed a lot of nerves and generated some really bad feelings. This is supposed to be a fun place to enjoy our hobby and exchange useful information.

Hollander's Interchange Manual is one of the best places to find information about interchanges that will fit and function. It indicates that 39 110 and 120, and all 1941 shocks will interchange though of course the original ride characteristics may not be the same. I strongly recommend Hollanders for this and other reasons, including the extensive section on ball and roller bearing interchange. My particular volume is Volume 16 and generally covers 1936 to 1949 with a few exceptions, all US-made cars and trucks.

Just to offer a slight correction on 49Packard's comment on the differentiation between a 49 22nd series and a 50 23rd series, the -9- or -5- wasn't suffixed, it was inserted between the body type (e.g. 2252) and the production number (eg. 2XXX). Thus a 1948 Custom 8 sedan would be 2252-XXXX, but a 1949 but 22nd series car would be 2252-9-XXXX, and similarly for the 23rd series.

Nice response Brian, I agree. When you're fortunate enough to obtain your original build or shipping slip and also get the engine and tranmission numbers along with various casting dates it can be very interesting though not necessarily enlightening to see how Packard handled (or mishandled) inventory control, which surely wasn't "first in, first out". Using my 56 Caribbean as an example, it's a very late convertible, one of those after the initial production of 250. The build date was June 6th, and shipped to the dealer on June 20, 1956 if I recall the dates correctly. Quite understandably it has a similarly late transmission number, #509, which makes sense with just a bit over 500 total Caribbeans built. Yet the engine number, and the engine is original to the car and has a # matching Vehicle Number, is a relatively early engine # with a December 1955 casting date. It's fun to gather these numbers from owners of similar cars (as I've done where possible) yet all it really shows is the randomness of component picks from finished inventories of motors, transmissions, etc. The correlations between engine numbers and thief-proof numbers in the 30s cars is much more exacting though still imprecise.

Brings me to asking a question that has been on my mind for some years, perhaps someone has some info. How, if at all were factory replacement engines numbered? I assume the V8 ones had the Utica Plant number but no vehicle number? Are there any extant letters to dealers instructing them to add the vehicle number to replacement engines when installed? In the 30s Packard offered factory-remanufactured cylinder bores for the 320 and 385 engines, but on these engines the engine# was on the aluminum crankcase, not the cast iron block, so no such situation existed. Thoughts or observations?