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Bought this vehicle from somebody who is owned it for over 30 years. Has been registered and driven no problem. I can't find a corresponding number to the number on the title my number on the title is H249308. I have found body number, engine number and theft number none of them match this number. Any help or advice is appreciated thanks

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The number is an engine number but that’s the problem registering by engine number as they often get changed. If the car has the vehicle number tag, then try to register it using that number which should have 23XX-5-XXXX. The Xs, of course, are placeholders since you didn’t say what yours is.

H249308 sounds like an engine number. It indicates a 288 5 main which would have been the stock engine in a 23rd series standard or deluxe eight. H249xxx would put it in the range for the 49 model year production. It is very possible the engine was changed sometime in the cars life. If the current engine number does not start with an H it was not originally in a 23rd series 49-50 model.

Back in those days there was no uniform registration. Some states registered cars by engine number while others used the vehicle number. Sometimes a replaced engine with a mismatched engine number can cause real issues today with cars originally registered under the engine number.

If your number does not match and the car has been able to be registered you might ask the seller what the number is or how registration was done with a number you cannot find. Possibly if the car never changed hands and the engine was replaced after the car was first registered to that owner the paperwork never got updated.

That is the engine number, and as Howard said it was not uncommon for a state DMV to register a vehicle with it.

Take a look at the Packard Decoder and it will show you where your Vehicle Number, Engine, etc should be. Sometimes people confuse the engine casting number with the engine serial number. But there are in different spots.

As far as that engine number, here is the info on it:

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Just to clarify, casting numbers, dates and that sort of thing are in raised characters that are part of the mould while the engine number is stamped into the block individually on a smooth, flat boss somewhere on the left side of the engine. It’s exact location varied by year and model.

Getting it sorted out should not be difficult and even as a licensed VIN verifier in California, I have assisted people with this very issue. Of course, it sometimes depends on who helps you at the DMV but with a formal verification document done by a professional, it should be easy to sort out as long as the proper tag is there and readable.

G'day Zoltar,
to PackardInfo.

I invite you to include your '50 Packard in the Packard Owner's Registry.