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

First time posting, first time owning a Packard. I've been lurking around the forums for a while and just searching and reading up here have already been a help! I found this car in November of last year (2024) while picking up a trailer from a dealer. The family business was originally started decades ago as an auto parts seller and the property was filled with old, sadly rotted gems. I'll admit I didn't quite know what it was at first, but man was it cool. I thought maybe Hudson, Studebaker also came to mind. I asked if I could check out the old car out front while I waited and I did. When I peeped under the stuck hood and saw the straight eight, then verified it was three on the tree (and wasn't stuck), I was interested. I finally saw the emblem on the back, walked in and said "Is that your old Packard?" I was answered with "You want it? I'll cut you a good deal on it." I'm in NC and NCDMV is a real pain to deal with so I said "you probably don't have the title do ya?" "Got a title and I think we have the keys." The price was CHEAP but I was on the clock and had to get back on the road, I was about three hours from home. I talked it over with my wife who is (thankfully) always supportive of the old crusty junk I bring home, so I decided the next time I went back I'd buy it if the engine wasn't stuck.

I ended up going back about a month or so later and said "I'll buy that car if the engine isn't stuck." I went out, carefully got the hood up enough to get hands on it and it spun by hand. Dang...now I gotta buy it. I had my doubts from sitting in pine straw and the air cleaner in the back floorboard was concerning. The lady came out and said she was thinking since it was so rusty and beat up, "How bout this." The price went down and my hand went out. Sold! I went back the next day with a trailer and brought her home with a clean title...having that alone is worth every penny. I've since got the car running with new battery, cables, points, condenser, plugs, and a carb soak. The fuel/vacuum pump works, the generator is charging, even the starter switch still works. I have all the lights working except turn signals and headlights, but obviously wiring will need to be addressed.

The car is titled as a 1951, but from what I've learned here, '51 should have block lettering on the hood, mine does not. All the body panels appear to be original, so I'm not sure if it was a late 51 or titled incorrectly or what. The car was repainted some decades ago and the VN tag in the door jamb is long gone. I have pictured the body number which I need to scuff a bit but I believe is 2592-10036. The last number is the one I can't easily make out. The VN reads K2229211, is that correct with the K or did NC add that for some reason? Either way, to run year of manufacture tags in NC, it needs to match the title, so I lucked up and found a nice clean 1951 NC tag about 30 minutes from me and had to have it.

Hopefully the pictures will load without issue, I've included the first one I took of it when I found it. I was informed that all the cars there were going to be crushed so the property could be cleaned up. I rode by the property a week ago while I was out that way and it's now a fresh asphalt lot...I found it just in time. I haven't cleaned the car yet with the exception of removing sagging headliner and rotten door panels, and while solid enough to drive to some local meets (I'm in rural NC, all back roads), the floors are very rough. I'm very impressed with how well this car runs after showing it some love (I'm a 90 model and it had a '94 inspection sticker on the windshield) after sitting for so long. I've got it running, having the leaking radiator recored as we speak, I've replaced the master cylinder and all the brake lines, and will have new tires this week. I've "field driven" the car around and can't wait to get it on the road for a proper shake down.

The 25 in the 2592 vehicle number identifies it as a 25th series 52 model -- and the 92 indicates a 200 6 passenger standard sedan which was Packard's lowest cost offering. Almost every thing was an option on that model and your car has a few so even tho a low cost model, someone bought it fairly well equipped. 51s would be a 24th series. The chrome part of the trunk emblem is also 52.

Aside from minor trim details, 51 and 52 models were all but identical and while the memory is failing, believe they did change the front on 52s by dropping the hood letters.

The K2xxxxx at the start of the motor number indicates a 52 production 288 which would be the stock for that model and is probably the original engine.

Technically the 2592 - xxxxx would be the vehicle number as the car was made long before today's VIN numbers with the specific format came into existence. The last 4 or 5 digits of that number is the sequence number indicating where in the total production of that model the car was built. Numbers started at either 1001 or 2001 so it is a fairly high number and probably made near the end of the 52 model run.

The K2xxxxx is the motor or engine number and even though it was a number that was lost or changed if an engine was swapped, some states used it instead of the vehicle number to register a car at the time before the VIN became the standard. In those cases there could apparently be a state issued number that might be required if the original engine and number was changed. California is a state that used motor numbers and some fine examples of weird motor numbers have turned up on the forum posted by owners of long time Calif cars. Those numbers are assumed to be state issued but AFAIK, no documentation has surfaced to prove that..

Great story and great save! The first time I saw my '53 Cavalier, Feb 2023, it was froze into the ground at a wreckers who had picked it up at a car auction. I had not idea what it was, but my son had seen it on facebook and I went to "just have a look"! LOL, you know how that goes! It was like a abandoned puppy begging for me to take it home. A month later it was in my garage and has been so much fun to work on and drive ever since! We have great adventures together, both driving and restoring! I'm sure you'll have great adventures with your car too, it sounds like your have already!

Great information, I forgot to write down the engine number before posting this. I pretty much knew it was something like that when titled or maybe a new title was issued somewhere down the line, who knows. I see the people at the license plate agency fairly often and one of the new ones said "that's it? Thats not enough characters for a VIN.." for one of the last old trucks I put on the road. Thanks!

That 53 is in much better condition than what I drug home! Great looking car!

As Howard said, 1951 had block letters across the hood while 1952 did not. Instead, 1952 had a Packard crest on the grille which was placed where the three little holes are. 1952 also had a one-year-only hood ornament which stood up like 1951’s but with swept-back wings. Your ornament was standard on the senior models such as the Patrician 400 or the 300 but on your car is was an accessory and the wings are fragile so handle with care! The stock, base hood ornament was flatter with no discernible shape but something like an airplane.

1951 and 1952 were, again as Howard said, very similar but while some items such as the trunk emblem look the same, they are not interchangeable. I’ve had several 1951 and 1952 Packards and still have quite a few small parts such as the hood latch panel (yours appears to be rusted out) so let me know if you need anything or check with one of our dealers listed in the Directory who might be closer to you.

As a California licensed VIN verifier, I would never use an engine number if something else on the car itself is available. Engines can be changed but typically the body isn’t so if your vehicle number tag is clearly readable, then by all means use it on the title. Although I’ve heard before that some states use the engine number, it defies logic to do so!

G'day Matt,
Lurking is good! Now it's a formal to PackardIfno.

And lurking, you know what comes next? Thats right, my invitation for you to include your '52 Touring Sedan in PackardInfo's Packard Vehicle Registry.

Nice find! I have a number of original door cards for your car. Not for sale as I don’t have a full set, but please post when you want to redo the cards and I’ll give some advice and info 😊

Don, I feel the same about using engine numbers for titling. That is the number that NCDMV already had it titled by, so that's what is on the new title that DMV sent me. NCDMV gets funny about titles, so I'm just happy to have one I can easily get tags for. I did notice this hood ornament did not match any other '51s I saw here. My hood latch is in good shape. It was removed in that picture so I could soak it to clean it and get it lubricated to work smoothly. It would not latch before, so I wanted to be sure it latches securely before a road test.

Mal, thanks for the welcome! I will add this car to the registry once I have all the numbers in one place in front of me!

Pgh, unfortunately, the hard tooth termites have feasted on the floor pans and rockers. Our humid climate is hard on old cars (especially decades sitting under pine trees like this one did), so it will be a while before she's ready for interior dress up. Thank you! I really appreciate the information and helpful posts here!

In the engine vs VN number registration controversy, Packard started stamping a large body ID number easily visible on the firewall I believe sometime in the late 20s or early 30s. After the 20s or so era where the numbers being stamped on or near the frame was discontinued, that firewall number was one of the few on the car and the only one that could not be removed or easily changed. Today people have nicknamed it the theft proof number but in a true case of irony, it cannot be used in a meaningful way if a car is stolen. The number was for factory use only and because almost no records still exist that can trace the number to a specific car which was registered at DMV under one of the other numbers, it is almost worthless in a stolen car situation unless you have photos or some way of proving the number belong specifically to your car.

Some states will use it for registration though. Cars including my 47 that had fallen out of the DMV database due to long periods of not being registered are now registered under that number. In my case the 47 had to be inspected before re-registering and even though the old Calif registration paperwork was available, the inspector would not register under the engine or VN as was done before because both numbers could be removed.

When I registered my '53 Cavalier we used the Vehicle Number as the VIN, 267210903. Our system in Alberta went from paper to all digital records in the early 80's and they were unable to find any record of my car in the system, which made me think oh boy, we're going to have to have a full inspection to get it registered.

Luckily I live in a small town and the person I was working with dug around and found something that seemed to be connected to my car, or at least a Packard, but she said Clipper instead of a Cavalier. I said that's also a Packard model and maybe just a typo in the system. I was just making stuff up as I didn't really know what she found or was looking at, but if it indicated that somehow my car is in the system somehow that's good news! Long story short I was able to get my car registered without an inspection.