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

Gentlemen, A friend of my has a 1954 Packard 8cyl convertible for sale.
He is not sure what model the car is because it does not have any markings on the side or trunk other than the Packard script. I looked at the drivers side door jam and the chrome plate has the numbers 5479-2443. From my experience I know that the 5479 means a convertible and the 2443 is the # of car that was produced. The only other # I could find was on the passenger side firewall and That was C79197D. I had researched some of the old motors manuals and determined that the engine is probably a 327. but a Pacific or Caribbean would have a 359 cu engine.
Any help in identifying the type of car would really be appreciated. Again I am very inept on getting my pictures on this website. Vin

The 54 convertible would be on the same wheelbase and have the same refinements such as the chrome tail light pods and side trim as the Pacific. It should also have the 359 because it was considered a senior car in 54 along with the Patrician, Pacific and Caribbean.

If it has the original engine the motor number stamped on a smoothed area of the block just below the head and above the starter will start M6xxxxx. Any other letter or number would indicate the engine has been changed.

If it has an Ultramatic it could be the regular or if a late production car the gear start Ultramatic. Gear start would have a small dot on the shift quadrant next to the H as well as a dipstick coming up on the left side of engine near the starter. Regular Ultras have neither.

Thanks Howard. Do you believe that this engine would be a 359 if it started with a M6
What would this model be called, unlike Patrician or Caribbean, does it have any definition besides a convertible coup. Can you tell me how to download pictures from my photo album ?


Vin

If it starts with M it is a 54 engine. L is 53, K is 52 etc. The M6 denotes the 359 block available only in 54; an M3 or M4 would be one of the 327 versions available in 54 but those were not used on the 54 convertible.

It was just called the Convertible with no other fancy name and was the bread and butter offering. The Caribbean was the high end convertible with special chrome and hand work to graft the senior rear end and tail lights onto the short wheelbase body to make it look like the senior cars. The Caribbean had the continental kit as part of the hand work which the regular convertible did not have.

I can't help with photo album posts but others have used some kind of link provided by their photo hosting service to link directly to their albums. If the photos are on your computer then by clicking the choose file button below the reply window and finding the file on your computer you can attach photos directly. They have to be one of the extensions listed, not have long titles or illegal punctuation characters, and each be less than 2 meg in size to post. Jpegs will be visible directly in the forum, the other formats will show as available but are not seen so the reader has to download them to view. To post multiple photos, select one and attach the file then select another and attach that file until you have several. Once you have finished your selection click the submit button and they should post.

Thanks you were a big Help. Vin