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Hello! I'm new to the forum, and serching for answers regarding a Packard hearse that I am concidering buying. I'm trying to trace the VIN, as there is no title. It appears it is a 1952. Can a seasoned Packard enthusisest tell me how many different hearse models were produced that year? Any info on the hearses would be much appreciated.
Thanks!

You beat me to it! Just sent you a PM after I saw your post in the Chatroom. Again to PackardInfo.

Plus, if you do purchase the Hearse, I invite you to include it in the Packard Owner's Registry here on PackardInfo!

Thanks! Will do.
Here are a couple of pics, as it sits now.

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Welcome. That's quite the photo and advertisement for the hearse. I do hope the roof ornament is not currently occupied -- although after some recent stories about some less than professional people in the business, one never knows.

Am sure several here can give some info -- but I'm not one of them. Until some of the knowledgeable guys check in, have you looked at any of the professional car sites. They might have some production and ID info. Here is one that came up during a search. A brief article on Henney is midway on the page.

http://www.professionalcar.org/?s=henney

That's a Henney "Senior" which were built on an extended wheelbase. 1952 saw the introduction of the Henney "Junior" on the 127 inch wheelbase though I believe the 52 Juniors were limited to just 2 prototypes. The 51 Henney Seniors came in 12 different configurations and the 52 and 53 Henney Seniors came in 13 different configurations, landau hearse, rear-loading hearse, 3-way hearse, combination car, etc. and offered a large variety of options specific to this type of vehicle. These vehicles have been very documented over the years in various Packard Club and Professional Car Society publications, and I believe it is known how many in total (not necessarily by individual type) were produced; the chapter "The Professional Packard" in the Kimes-edited book gives Henney Senior production at 401, 320 and 166 for 1951, 1952 and 1953 respectively.

If any are still present, either the Packard or Henney tags should provide some numbers to give a more complete identification. If you find the Packard chassis (VN) numbers, 2513 is a 1952, 2613 is a 1953. The individual Henney styles carry 4-digit numbers beginning in 52 for 1952, 53 for 1953. I'm not positive but I believe your example is a 1951 or 1952; I'm no expert on Henneys but I believe the rounded upper windshield corners indicate that.