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I'm trying to help a friend with a 1939 Packard Six figure out if his engine is correct or not. The casting numbers are: 6 30 50. One might think this would be 1950, but of course, Packard didn't have a Six in 1950.
The stamped number is: B22536A

On my 1940, the casting numbers tell me the date, but the casting numbers here are confusing us.

Thanks.

B-1501 thru B27541 for the Six; B300001 thru B319537 for the 120, B500001 thru B506023 for the Super 8, and B602001 thru B602497 is the data that I have for 1939. I'm unsure what the suffix "A" means.

And incidently, Packard did make a Six in 1950 and thereafter; for taxicab service, for sale to White truck for their small series of trucks, and then just a bit later they also offered a marine engine based on it.

... and the casting date??? Any idea why it would say "50"
Thanks.

You didn't say whether the 1950 casting date was on the cylinder head or the engine block. If on the cylinder head, this is pretty common as cylinder heads occasionally required replacement, and spare parts continued to be made. My 1948 Custom 8 had a cylinder head with a 1951 casting date. But if it's on the block, it almost certainly indicates a replacement engine. I've never seen an authoritative piece of Packard literature instructing dealers how to deal with engine numbers on replacement engines. Nor do I have any credible evidence of how, if at all, replacement engines were numbered at the factory. If I had to guess, it would be that factory new spare engines had numbers within the original sequence; I say this because the range of engine numbers for a particular year and model usually exceeds the number of cars built and thus I conclude the additional were for parts inventory and already numbered. For example with the 1939 Six, 24,350 cars were produced but 26,040 engine numbers were assigned. So if you truly have a 1950 casting date on the engine block, and a correct 1939 engine #, the only conclusion I can reach is that a replacement motor was obtained, and the original motor number was stamped on it.

The engine # you gave is relatively late in the series, how does that compare with the vehicle VN?

I believe he said it was delivered several months into 1939, so I believe the serial number is quite late as well. Your theory about it being cast in 1950 with its original number sounds good to me.

If you were restoring a authentic 1939 Packard Six woody that had this engine, would you look for an authentic 1939 engine, or leave it?

Help !
I was reading the 38-39 shop manual last night and it states
in section 7 that the "A" suffix in the engine serial # has a cast alloy iron camshaft."B" states have forged steel cams.

Now I'm a little confused!
My engine # is A29467B
Does this mean I have I have the 38 engine with the forged steel cam ?

Right sides of block is cast 5-26-38

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Are you perhaps getting suffixes and prefixes mixed up? The "A" prefix (comes before) denotes a 16th series engine. "B" is 17th series, this pattern following all the way to 1954. Yes, I agree that AXXXXXB is a 1938 engine with forged camshaft.

Thanks O.D.
I thought I was correct.