Thanks to all for this information. So far I think that I have a winner. Obviously, time will tell, but I intend to be a responsible caretaker and give it a good home. I bought it from the third owner, a retired dealer mechanic, son and grandson of Packard dealership mechanics. This car is a good "ten footer", with the most obvious need to have the driver's seat leather repaired. Most everything else on the car, excepting the radio, works well. I have restored three Corvettes, so my attention will turn to something with real steel from Detroit. With the knowledge that this car was one of the last Packards to leave the factory, I will take extra special care as I turn my own wrenches. And I am now registered. Your comments have been welcoming.

I am a relative "Newby" to the Packard way of doing things, but I have years of experience with Corvette, Buick and BMW data plates and numbers. I recently bought a 1956 Four Hundred hardtop that was also a dealer customized Esquire edition, sold presumably by Harry Du Bois in Virginia. What I am trying to decipher is the approximate production date for 5687-4121. The 5687 seems correct, but do the second numbers mean that this was the 4121 Senior Packard to come out of the Connor Avenue plant. I assume that since records show that only 3224 of these hardtops were made in the 400 line, that this second number is a sequential number for all of the big 1956 cars. Since only 28,500 cars were produced before the lights were turned out in late June 1956, this might mean my car was produced in late 1955 or early 1956, depending on how the line was or wasn't meeting buyer demands and when the 1955 to 1956 model changeover actually took place.

Corvette people can become anal over details like this, so if I am out of line or on a fool's errand, please let me know. This car was carefully maintained for 44 years by the fellow I bought it from, and in turn he is the son of a long-time Packard mechanic (and fellow 1956 owner) who assisted in the care of the car. I am just trying to fill in some blanks about what I have just taken over.