Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

Looked at a 1937 1501 today. Serial number tag is missing from the firewall. It should read 1501 - XXX. Is the missing portion of the serial number stamped anywhere else on the car (frame?) so I could know what the correct, full serial # should be? There may not be a title for the car so that may not be a source.

The tag won't say "1501". It depends on the body style if it says for example "1018-xxx" for 2 passenger coupe, "1016-xxx" for a club sedan etc.

OK, thank you. It's a 5 passenger coupe. What's the beginning 4 digit code for those? Would the body number be stamped on the wooden sill somewhere? That would be the second half of the serial number then.

It would be "1017-xxx"
I've seen it once on a 38 super 8 that the VN was burnt in the wood of the front doors. I have 2 35 eights that don't have it burnt into the wood.

Try to find some documentation like the last registered owner.

The second part of the number (the xxx) shows the sequence number of production. If it says 217 it would of been the 17th car in that body style for 1937 (for some reason they liked to start at #201).

Thank you very much. Next time I go see it I'll poke around & see what I can find. Car has been in storage 30+ years & just surfaced.

In some states the engine number can be used for registration/title purposes