Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

midtwnman - Welcome to the forum! The car looks good. I'm pretty new to Packards myself and have come to rely on this site heavily. Keep us updated on your project.

As far as I can tell there are three areas that have sever rust. One is by the fron left fender, the other by the left rear wheel, and the third is on the metal piece that meets the trunk lid when closed. The interior is pretty much like the rest of the car. Everything is there, it just needs to be restored. I'll get some more pictures up either today or tomorrow.

Doublecheck your engine number which can be found on a pad at the rear drivers side of the engine. The nine main bearing engine was an option for the Cavalier. Let us know what you find.

How neat!
Your car brings back memories of a near identical 54 Caviler I had years ago. It was light gray bottom dark blue roof. They are neat cars.

Try to be patient and enjoy the process of fixing your car up. I just spent the last 13 months on and off, correcting a number of issues with my car (supposedly ran and was reliable when I bought it). I hit two Packards International swap meets, and have made good friends in the process of getting back into Packards.

What options does your car have? Power brakes, steering?

Best of luck!
Jim

O.K., I looked at the number on the rear driver side of the engine and it reads M400135. Have no idea what that means, but I'm sure you guys do.

Based on the PAC website, the engine number series for the 1954 Cavalier was M400011 to M402638. Therefore it appears your engine maybe the original to the car. Check the production number on the stainless nameplate on the drivers side door door jam on the side of the front fender. The production number wil be 5472-XXXX. There you will also find the paint and upholstery trim codes. You can find info about these codes also on the Pac website. Go to www.packardclub.org. From that site you will see that your engine is a 5 main bearing, 185hp, inline 8. The engines were allocated from lowest to highest production number as the model year progressed. At first blush it looks like you may have a very early production 54 Cavalier. Best wishes and I hope you enjoy developing your "find" into a really comfortable and enjoyable automobile.
Happy Packarding

You can also find that information here in the Model Info pages!


1954 Models and Identification Information:

packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/model ... php?mode=year&id=1954&ButtonYear=Go

Click on any Model for detailed information.

Midtwnman,

Where in SoCal are you located? (I just happened to notice we are in the same neck of the woods....not that there are any woods around here )

I live in Glendale. It's kind of a small city, but a nice one none the less.

Glendale is pretty nice. I'm out in Riverside, but work in Irvine.