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These are a pictures of the firewall and engine serial number from a custom Le Baron Victoria 1936 convertible that was built to go on a 120-B frame. I don't recall seeing an anti-thief number without triangles on both ends. Also, the engine number doesn't match any of the number sequences in the "Model Information".

Would this be a normal situation for a custom built car?

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Junior series cars 1935 thru 1937 did not use the beginning and ending brackets on their theft-proof numbers. It can be a source of confusion as a junior and senior car could both have the same number, being differentiated only by the presence or absence of the brackets. The number you posted is appropriate for 1936, and fairly early in sequence. My records show the numbers for the 1936 juniors ranged from 221420 thru 278742.

If you check original Packard sources you'll find that your motor number is in the correct range and format for a 1936 120. I believe the generally accepted range is from X27501 thru X82637. Your motor may well be original to the car, just for comparison the vehicle bearing theft-proof 236755 has motor X52514.

Nothing unusual or out of the norm with either of your numbers.

The vehicle number on the patent plate (assuming it' original) will reveal useful info about the coachwork origin. Perhaps you'll be willing to share that number with us?

Is this vehicle the former Ed Hermann vehicle?

I was concerned about the X in front of the engine number.

A friend of mine is buying it. It is currently located just south of Los Angeles. It ordered by someone in the tobacco industry. There is some literature for it. If he buys it I'll try to find out more about it. Here are several pictures of it.

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Thanks for the photos and yes, that's the former Ed Hermann (the actor) car - a well-known vehicle. The vehicle number would indicate the delivery to the coachbuilder was a chassis only.

Too bad the patent plate is a repro, that can often add an element of uncertainty. Hopefully the original is beneath it or at least still with the car.

I asked him several days ago to inquire if it were available and they didn't have it.

yes, a well known car in Southern CA. what I always found interesting was the header above the windshield in body color.

I remember watching videos of that car in the early 90s when it was being restored, with Ed Hermann narrating some of the process. Wonderful color. Saw it at Pebble Beach one year. It was there for display and not judged.

I saw this car many years ago in the car corral at Hershey. I think it must have been back in the 1980's. This was before Ed Herrman acquired it and had it completely restored. As you can see, it was pretty rough. I also saw the film Ed made of the restoration and it needed quite a bit of metal work to bring it to its current state. I think that most of the wood framing needed to be replaced as well. But the finished result is quite stunning. A very rare and beautiful custom bodied Packard.

Here is a picture I took of the car at Hershey prior to restoration.

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