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

In a recent process of registering my two 1948 packards with their respective roster keepers at www.packardclub.org, I discovered from one of the roster keepers that there is a hidden source of valuable information that may still be found on some of these vehicles. I would refer to this piece of paper as an "assembly line tag", "build sheet", or "birth certificate" for your car. It was especially helpful for me, since the previous owner had removed and misplaced the ID plate on one of my cars.

I will quote the roster keeper as to its whereabouts, since he descibes it better than I could:

There is a small piece of paper that may still be found on the 1941-50 Packards. Although it may not provide a clue about the original dealership, it is an interesting record of the car. It is wedged in between the gas tank's vent tube (this is the thin tube running along side the larger filler pipe). You can see it by laying on your back and looking up into the left-rear fender. The paper is folded to about 1/2-inch by 1-inch. This area of the car would never be exposed to water (unless the car was flooded), and this paper can be (carefully) removed and unfolded. It would have the car's ID number and the various paint and option codes from the factory.

I might add that if you do find this item in your vehicle, be very careful in removing it and unfolding it, as it may have become very fragile after all this time. I had to wedge a slim jim pry bar between the filler and breather to expand the gap that held the paper in order to release it. Don't try to pull it out as it will most likely rip or disintegrate in your hand.

Some of you may have been aware of this hidden treasure, but for those who, like me, were not, it is like having Christmas all over again.

I have not yet deciphered all of the code on the paper yet, but have a good idea of what most of it refers to.

HAPPY HUNTING.

Hi Dan: I've not been very lucky about finding that slip at the gas tank vent; much more often but still not enough to satisfy is finding the build slip glued to the top of the glove box. And on a very few 51/54 cars we've found the build slip behind the rear seat cushion.

Some interesting things happened with the VN numbers in the 1948-50 run. Of course we know that over the 3 years there really were 4 distinct cars, a true 1948, a 1949 22nd series, a 1949 23rd series, and a 1950 23rd series. In order to avoid the inevitable discount for selling a "left over" when the new cars were identical, Packard dealers were able to send the VN tags back to Packard which issued new ones with the -9- or -5- inserted between the 4-digit body type number and the production sequence to make a left over 48 a 22nd series 49, and to make a left over 49 23rd series a 1950. Apparently on occasion the dealers got the plates reinstalled on the wrong vehicles, I have a friend with an Packard where the VN on the patent plate is about 40,000 numbers away front he vehicle number on the build slip.

I found the paper when I removed the gas tank on my '47 Super Clipper. It was very brittle so I had it encased in plastic to save it from further deterioration. Under the front carpeting of my '47 Custom I found two pages from a 1947 detroit Free Press left by one of the assembly line workers who had used it to wipe his hands or clean something. I must look under the parts car for that build sheet as well.

I found the build sheet for my '50 Custom shortly after I bought it. It was taped to the top of the glove box. I also keep it sealed in plastic. It reads:

2352 X 2697 WSW AT HE RADVA 501

So... body type 2352, color code X (black), 2697 = serial number?, White Side Wall tires, Automatic Transmission, Heater, Radio with Vacuum Antenna, and interior trim 501 (Tan Broadcloth). I guessing that's how it decodes. The only oddity is the serial number (if that's what it is). If I take the cars actual serial number from the data plate and subtract 2000, the resulting number is not what is shown on the build sheet. The number is off by a couple hundred. This makes me wonder if my '50 is a leftover '49 or if this number is supposed to correlate at all? Everything else matches. Now to inspect the fill tube on the '41 (the glove box is long gone).

You didn't mention whether the VN on the patent plate had a -5- inserted between the 2352 and the sequential #. If not, it's a 23rd series 1949 and if so, it's either a re-numbered 49 or a true 1950. But the best clue would be the Briggs body# tag applied by the bodybuilder (Briggs) who numbered the bodies sequentially as they were delivered to Packard; this tag is screwed to the cowl near the heater. Briggs delivered the bodies in small batches to Packard so that number should be within 20 or so of the patent plate number. If not, your car was almost certainly renumbered. Note that this doesn't necessarily apply to early 21st series cars.

JD:

I wonder if the serial# on the build sheet refers to the order in which the body of your vehicle was produced and the serial# on the data plate refers to the serial# or order in which the entire car (frame, body, drive train etc) was assembled. My 1948 has a small Body Number plate that is located directly beneath the embossed anti-theft number on the passenger side of the firewall which agrees with the build sheet serial number; is this small plate also found on your 1950? If so, check it and I think you'll find that the numbers will match your build sheet.

Thanks for sharing the code from your vehicle along with your astute interpretation of the code. Perhaps if we all shared the info from these build sheets on our various cars, we could crack the code.

My 1948 LWB sedan for 7 build sheet reads as follows followed by my guess as to what the numbers and letters refer to. Mine was not totally legible because of folds and rips, so some of the characters could be in question:

3313 ?
Line 2-assembled on assembly line #2
2271-body model# for Super 8 Deluxe 7 pass. sedan
X-exterior color code for all black
2051-51st body of this model produced
D(orP)FAHD ? maybe defrost/heaters?
RV-radio w/vacuum antenna
P(orF)SE ?
401-interior trim code for tan shadow check cloth

I would appreciate any help in deciphering the unknown characters

Quote:

Yes, it's a 2352-5. The Briggs body number is a match within 20 of the build sheet number. So I guess I have a re-numbered '49 23rd series. Fascinating stuff.

JD - the body number you mention below the thief-proof number is the body builder's sequential number, Briggs, Henney, whatever. As I said above, it is not necessarily a match for the VN on the patent plate but is usually within 20 or so numbers. The VN on the build slip should match the number on the patent plate and if not, the car was renumbered.

Dan, does your LWB '48 have electro-hydraulic windows? If so, maybe 'PSE' could be a power front seat? Grasping at straws here.

JD:

Thanks so much for taking a stab at one of my mystery line items, but, unfortunately my car doesn't have any electro-hydraulics, everything is plain old fashioned manual.

I'll just have to keep scrathcing my head until someone helps to solve the mystery.