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

Theres a lot of info on engine number but not a lot on the heads. I know on other makes you can tie the engine to the frame,tranny, differnetial and the body (by data tag serial number)
Is it the same with the Packard????
I am sure the heads are numbered to a year, is there some literature on what numbers for what years?

Im just trying to see if Bonnie is all original.

Pat

The cast in number on the head is a foundry number for a particular casting. Don't believe it was used for any identification purposes other than in the factory. After machining the casting Packard issued a different number which is the actual number you see in parts manuals with all the ratios for the different engines. I don't recall ever seeing a list of part numbers that could be machined from a particular casting but likely there was more than one. A different part number could be another ratio because of the size of the finished combustion chamber or could be as simple as a threaded hole drilled in a different spot where something would mount.

Postwar, Packard added to the confusion by authorizing dealers to swap heads from different engines and years to change compression ratios should an owner want a change in performance from factory specs. There is an article in one of the service counselors that describes the change in ratios an owner could expect by swapping a head. You can check the service index for the issue with the article if you want more info. With that in mind your car could have had one of the swaps made although it probably didn't happen much prewar. Since there is very little outward appearance to designate one head from another on most of the cast iron heads there is no quick easy way to tell which head is in your carl.

Here are pics of the engine serial number, head number and data tag. i believe if i did it right the motor looks to be the right number for a 41????? but im not sure on the head????

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D1xxxx indicates a 41 engine and what appears to be an A suffix indicates something has been changed from original spec in the engine or drivetrain. In some of the service letters and counselors there are charts and articles indicating what was different but as far as I know, they have not been compiled into an overall list for easy reference by year. It is necessary to go thru each service letter before and after a model year to try and find an article mentioning suffix numbers. The suffixes varied by year and in some cases changed items were also indicated by a dab of different colored paint or just a symbol like a star or pound sign instead of a letter.

The casting number on the head is likely of very little value in identification. Machining would have determined the final part number and compression ratio etc.

Suffix A indicates an alternate supplier clutch assembly (Borg & Beck instead of Long, or visa versa).

Though not absolute, the cylinder head casting date of 11-6-1940 strongly confirms that the head is for a 1941 model year car.

So is there a date on they tranny somewhere as well??

Soo the engine and head are correct for the year of the car but not necessary original???

Head is correct and perfectly in sequence for your car. In fact, rather "perfect" as the average of 3 weeks from casting to delivery of a new car is just about spot on.

Thanks Flack! Maybe she is original!

On my Packard / IMPERIAL page's classifieds (link below) is a 1941 110 head with photos that show it beside a 1940 head. Since 1941 was the first year of Electro-Matic clutch, the main difference was in the additional cast bosses on the driver side where the EM valve unit attached and these are visible in the photo. In the case of mine, they are undrilled as it came from a non-EM car. On yours due to the date, as pointed out, it is appropriate for your car but there is no way to know if it's the one that was on it when new.

I'm not currently at me shop where my parts are so can't check to be sure, but I believe that there was a casting date on the transmission too. Keep in mind that Packard didn't use "matching numbers" as such so it's not really all that important that all these things match. It's not uncommon to find later transmission installed and generally no one would ever notice the difference.

Thanks I am learning that it's kind of mix and match and it's no bivgie