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

Being new to Packards, all the different nomenclature to describe these cars has me asea. I have a 38 Club Coupe std 8 jr. I've heard this called an Opera Coupe at times. Also supposedly it's an 1195 body and 16th series. How do I know if it's a 1601, 1601A or 1602? I'm getting brain aches trying to get this sorted out.

1938 can be a tough year because it's the only year that Packard replaced the metal patent plate (containing the vehicle number) with a decal which more often than not has turned to dust. If this has happened there is no way to recover your true vehicle number except perhaps thru documentation.

If in fact your body is an 1195 (that is, the vehicle number begins with 1195-), then your car is a chassis 1601, called an Eight for that year but otherwise known as a "120", and the body was called a Club Coupe (2-4 passengers). For 1938 there were 4 Packard lines, starting from the bottom the Six (aka 110), your car, the Super Eight, and the Twelve.

Thanks - that's pretty much what I thought. Just curious what is a 1601A and a 1602? And yes the vin starts with 1195

Phil,

Thanks for the nice talk we had yesterday in the Chat Room and welcome to the site.

You'll find a lot of friendly, knowledgable and experienced Packard people here willing to help and share.

And can you get your 38 Coupe and 41 Sedan into the Owner Registry together with pic's and known history, please?

Again

The 1601 came in two wheelbases, 127 for the factory bodies, and 1602 (139 inch) for Rollston-bodied series of quasi-customs. 1602 is an Eight (120) on the long 148 inch wheelbase for the inexpensive limousine and 7-pass sedan.

Just to round out the picture for you, 1603, 04 and 05 were Super Eights on 127, 134 and 139 inch wheelbases. And 1607 and 1608 were Twelves on 134 and 139 inch wheelbases.

Commonly accepted production numbers were: Six (110) - 30,050; Eight (120) - 22,624; Super Eight - 2478; and Twelve - 566. As you can see, the Super Eight and Twelves, which are bona fide Classics, were far outnumbered by the inexpensive bretheren.

I'm not aware of a 1601A, but the 1601D is an Eight (120) on the 127 inch wheelbase that came only in a 5 passenger sedan.

1601A refers to the Hearse/Ambulance (Commercial) Chassis, most often the basis for a Henney job. Many heavy duty components in front and rear suspension. Often Long Wheelbase.