Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

Is the bail and feather type ornament found on a 1940 120 unique to the 1940 model year? Or, can the part fitted to 1938-39 cars be used? The published part numbers show the 18th series using a different part than the 16th - 17th series assembly, but that may not be becaue it won't fit or look correct. How about interchange with between differnt models within a model year?

The base is broken on the Goddess ornament on my car, and I would most likely replace it with the standard ornament assembly. I do know you can buy a new base only from America Arrow, at 'only' $290.

Thanks.

Steve

The 1940 has a longer "tail" which is to say the 1939 (feather or goddess) will fall short of your hood trim, even though the mounting is the same.

So, the base that bolts to the grill shell is the same between 1939 and 1940? And, only the goddess or feather is different between the years? It's the base that actually mates against the hood trim strip.

Steve

Correct. The bail and feather unit is it's own base, while the goddess bolts to a smooth base in the same shape and mounting arrangement. It mounts through a square hole in the shell, and is friction fit by means of a stack of flat pieces of spring steel pinned to the base. The rear has a square guide slot, and slides into the hood trim strip. I would photo'd the goddess too, but it's cold in the garage.

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Thanks for the reply. Can you tell me the identifing casting PN on the bottom of that base? The entire assembly has a 341855 service part number, but the base apparently wasn't serviced seperately so it's PN does not show up in the parts list. One on eBay now has a 341853 base PN marking, which I suspect is the correct 341855 assembly.

Steve

Part # on the ornament shown is 341853, and is 12 1/2" long. It is longer than the one on my '39, which is more like 10 1/2" (goddess base). The best thing to do is measure your car from the front "lip" to the hood trim, and determine which you need. If it's 12 1/2", I may be willing to part with the one I have.

Make sure you get the correct length base, as the length is different between the Junior and Senior models.

That's interesting. The goddess base I have now is also 12 1/2" long, like the one pictured. I wouldn't expect any significant differences in the length of the bail cap and goddess bases. If your '39 base is shorter by 2", then perhaps all the '39 bases are different than '40 bases (at least for junior series). The parts list only show one shell per year (i.e. same junior and senior) for the 16th thru 19th series cars.

Send me the condition (chrome, pits, etc.) and asking price in a PM.

Thanks.

Steve