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

Hello All,

Attached please find a picture of the right side/passenger side on my Straight Six Packard engine. Stamped on that side of the engine, just above the oil pan are a sequence of numbers. I'm trying to figure out what they represent. Two rows: Top Row says: A 5 7 37 (with spacing between the letter & numerals) and the Bottom Row says: 315412. Any help is appreciated.
Thanks, Steve Weaver[PROCESSING IMAGE.... PLEASE WAIT]

The top number should be the date the block was cast in the foundry and the bottom number is the block part number BEFORE machining. The actual part number that appears in parts manuals is assigned after machining since a single block casting with something as simple as a minor change in bolt hole size or location could service more than one engine application and would need a different part number. The same applies to the head as any cast in number you find on a head will not necessarily be of much help in identifying exactly what you have.

The engine motor number will be stamped on the drivers side of the block on a smoothed pad. You can download the engine number reference list to find the location for a given year. For cars that might have had an engine swap, the letter and number format will tell you exactly what engine you have.

These are the casting date and number but have no specific relevance to your vehicle as the engine was obviously cast sometime before the car was built. The number that is meaningful is the stamped engine number which provides the type of engine and the sequence. It is stamped into a flat boss somewhere in the left side of the block and on earlier engines it might be behind the distributor. Somewhere on this site is a document showing the location of engine names that, if you can find, might be very helpful.