Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

Endless guess:
Maybe there were no 56 service engines. 55 service engines carried over into 56???? Very possible.

BTW, if all else fails, the oil pan is alot ezier and cheaper to remove than the head.

My spare block is numbered 440971 - a 374. I think it's reasonable to assume the foundry number can accurately identify the block. The machine shop had to be able to easily identify the different blocks to machine the castings.

Hi All,

I realise this is an old thread but I was re-reading this and became intrigued, I know with my 1955 Caribbean this appears to have a 1956 replacement engine. It wasn't until we pulled down the engine when we did the rebuild discovered that it had 4 1/8th standard pistons (Engine had never been disassembled) what was also interesting is the fact that there was no utica number stamped on the engine and the number on the top of the block near the filler tube reads 137. Apart from that number besides the casting numbers there are no other numbers. my thoughts of this being a replacement engine was when I looked at the date stamped in the head it reads 01/31/56. Also considering my Caribbean is # 5588-1006 this should have had a reasonably early numbered engine in it.

Also considering my Caribbean is # 5588-1006 this should have had a reasonably early numbered engine in it.

I don't know how much you can read into that kind of data. My 56 Caribbean is late one, #254, has a late Utica transmission number (#509) but a relative early Utica engine #, #137, and a block casting date of November 1955. I suspect production conditions at Connor were pretty chaotic and inventory control was more of a random activity. There is almost no logic whatsoever with the body dash numbers and I suspect this is symptomatic of other aspects of the operation.

Packard34,

Assuming that your Caribbean fire wall is the original to the car, what is stamped between the triangles on your car?


There is a Caribbean collector in Indiana, who drops the Caribbean convertible parts from way rusty cars, into good 400 bodies. He does nice work, but the numbers would be off.

My Caribbean 5588-1035 does not have anything stamped between the triangles.

My car also has a 56 Caribbean engine in it.

I will have to check tomorrow and will let you know the number, I know there are some numbers there but can't remember exactly what they are.

I am quite sure this is a correctly numbered Caribbean not a 400 conversion. When I removed the original glovebox I found 5588-1006 stapled on the back of it (which didn't look like it had been touched for a long time), as well as other tell tale signs such as the reinforced chassis. (I'm hoping its not a converted 400)

The thief-proof or body dash number of a 55 or 56 will not tell you whether the original body was a Caribbean, or anything else for that matter. As I've stated before, the numbers beginning in 1955 and thru 1956 are just a random jumble. In fact the highest known body number of all is for a very early export 1955 Patrician far higher than any known 56 car. No doubt Caribbeans were made in production campaigns but two Caribbeans with consecutive vehicle numbers have body dash numbers that are widely separated.

Two ways you might be able to spot a true Caribbean convertible from one made from a 400 would be (1) comparison of the frame for the reinforcement plates welded in for the convertible, and (2) presence or absense of the body cushions at the body mounting bolts - the convertible has none. I don't quite see how you could create a 55/56 Caribbean convertible from a 400 without having another 55/56 Caribbean as a donor car - if for no other reason than getting the windshield structure?

Maybe there were no 56 service engines

Sure there were 56 service engines, after Packard folded J.C. Whitney was selling them for a decade or more, new in a crate. Many went for marine conversions.

Not sure of any difference on 55s but one for sure on 1956 400 and Caribbean bodies is under the floor. Because of the different seat design in Caribbeans, the seat bolt reinforcement plates have different spacing.

The 400 plates are welded to the body and run between floor and side to side stiffening channels. In using a 400 body for a Caribbean, unless someone removes a lot of welds and cuts the plate or the channels to reposition the plates inward a few inches, there will either be a second plate or a different type reinforcing arrangement for the bolts.

Let the ride decide
My car also has a 56 Caribbean engine in it.

Does the engine number match the plate mounted on the door post??
Look in both locations for the engine number.