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It's ALIVE! After 3 months of hard work, and standing on my head by teetering on the left fender to install the starter and reaching the last 3 spark plug holes, head bolts, etc, I got the engine to run on the first try! A 12v battery helped too. Not to worry, the power wires going into the cabin were disconnected.
Now for the hard work of removing the frost plugs on the left side of the engine in order to flush the block out. The water pump is off, as is the thermostat. Then putting that all back together including the radiator. Then comes the brake work, and gas tank.

Check the registry for my 1954 Clipper Deluxe that I just entered Monday 7/11 for it's story.

"Help! I'm confused.
Is the vin no. supposed to be the same as the engine no? (M309183)
There is a body tag on the upper right firewall, (pass side) that reads C66068.
There is another tag on the drivers side door post: 5492-5406.
There is also a blank spot on the drivers side firewall that's about 1" high x 2 1/2 long? Looks like there was some sort of tag there, but no screw holes, etc."
Where is the serial no. is stamped on the frame?

I have found this site very informative in many ways. My sincere thank you's to every who has input information.

G'day Fleet,

Good to hear it's alive!

I posted your queries here when I acknowledged your '54 Clipper entry in the Registry but without any responses. Trust someone will respond here.

Congrats!

Start in the FAQ upper section here:packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/newbb/viewforum.php?forum=14 That will answer a lot of your questions. Great info there.

Your car does not have a VIN, those numbers came about as a result of a government standardization of numbers many years after Packard ceased to exist.

It also does not have a serial number, it's primary identifying number is a VN, or vehicle number, 5492-5406. The first 4 digits identify the year and model (1954 Clipper Deluxe 4 dr sedan) and the second set of digits represents it's sequential production starting at 2001.

C66068 is the "theft proof" or body serial number, a unique number assigned to permit identification by Packard if all other numbers were defaced or missing.

M 390183 identifies the engine as correct for a 1954 Clipper Deluxe.

There is no serial number on the frame. The blank spot on the firewall may have been the location of the Briggs body number (which would have matched the VN); except for the very few last cars the 1954 bodies were built by Briggs. Image of a Briggs tag attached.

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Thanks for the clarification.

"It also does not have a serial number, it's primary identifying number is a VN, or vehicle number, 5492-5406. The first 4 digits identify the year and model (1954 Clipper Deluxe 4 dr sedan) and the second set of digits represents it's sequential production starting at 2001."

This explains the vin no. on past registration cards I found.

It was common to in some states to use the engine serial number for registration purposes before official VIN numbers came into existance.

My car is registered in the state of Calif by it's Engine Serial.

I've heard that using the engine no. as a vin no. became a problem if the engine had to be replaced, especially with a used one from a different car. I also know that car companies made engines with no ser. no. just for the purpose of being able to stamp in your old engine numbers on the new engine. Or something like that.