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I've noticed some people know what the serial number of their car is. In other words of say 17,309 1951 300's made mine is number XX,XXX. Where do I find this number? It is not on the data plate either in the door jam or the plate on the fire wall in the engine compartment.

Bob, What number was used to register the car?

I thought someone with a 51 would answer you. B ut I guess not. At least not yet. I'm not sure if the 51 is like the 22nd and 23rd series or not. But if so, the data plate shows the serial number. for instance the first series of numbers, in this case 2279-9 is the model number. the number after that is the serial number.

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Hi There,

The data plate in the door jam indicates 2472 then a space then the number 4599. There are no dashes or other letters. I know the 2472 is the series and body style numbers. Is the 4599 the serial number? Is mine the 4599th 300 built in 51? I am under the understanding that 17,309 300's were sold. Mine was sold in September of 1951 and I would think the serial number would be much greater than 4599. What does everyone think?

To answer the question "what number was the car registered with". California used the number on the left rear of the block as the VIN. That number is the same as on the original registration.

Bob, (and someone correct me if I am wrong) I think that the sequence numbers started with 1001. So based on that, your car would be the 3599th one made, if your car serial number was 4599.

I believe Big Kev is correct in the serial number sequence and your number, while low, don't think is out of line. Sept was just the start of model year selling, yours was a more expensive model, and lets face it, Packards didn't sell like Cadillacs.

Bob,

Check the casting date on your block, that will be a more telling date to when the car was produced than the selling date. For example my car was almost as the end of the production line for '54, and the engine casting date was August 11th, 1954.

I agree that the casting date is a good indicator. I know that Arkansas, and maybe other states, used to use a different system. They dated the car when it was sold. Not when it was built. For instance I have a 1949 convertible that was registered as a 51. Talk about a mess when trying to register it in another state as a 1949.

This is great. I'll look for the casting date on the block. One question, I said my car was first sold/registered in September 1951 not 1950. Wouldn't the 52 models be on the show room floor by then? When did the new models come out? Thought Sept or Oct.

Kev, Where do I find the casting date on the block?