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

Hi all,

A while ago we moved to a new house and I dug up some Packard bits right at the back of our yard (most of a front end, along with one rear fender and some bits of seating). The shape definitely looks to be 1930s-era Packard.

Now, separately, just off the property, there's the body of a Packard (sadly destroyed beyond all hope of salvage). I'm almost certain that the pieces I found belong to it - and it did provide a bodyshell number from the firewall.

Question is, is there any way of tracing the car's history just from the shell number - or would I need a license plate for that? I'd quite like to find out when it was built and what model it is, purely for curiosity!

cheers

Jules

If the number you are referring to is the one stamped right into the firewall then I believe the answer is no. The number was apparently an anti-theft number but the records for which car belongs to which number have been lost or destroyed. Are there any other numbers or a data plate anywhere else on the body? If not perhaps you can post a few photos of the body here. I am reasonably certain that some of our pre-war experts can give you a pretty good idea of the year and model.

Clipper47 is correct that no record correlating the Thief-Proof numbers (cowl serial #s) has survived. I do have a fairly extensive listing of these numbers that I've collected over many years and could probably pin a number down to a specific year or two, but could not identify the model or body type. Put the # up and I'll see what I come up, if you're still interested.

Hi,

thanks for the replies. No other plates / ID that I've been able to find, unfortunately.

Not sure what the rules are here as to photos, so I uploaded them off-site... hopefully these links work!

Front end parts:patooie.com/temp/packard/Packard_front_sm.jpg

Body:patooie.com/temp/packard/Packard_body_sm.jpg

Firewall:patooie.com/temp/packard/Packard_firewall_sm.jpg

Various:
patooie.com/temp/packard/Packard_bits_sm.jpg

Bumper and mounts (these look to change a lot across models, so may help with ID):
patooie.com/temp/packard/Packard_bumper_sm.jpg

(all images are 1024x768 res and around 600KB each)

Shame it's all beyond hope of salvage - it was obviously a really graceful car once.

cheers

Jules

Thief-proof number identifies it as a 1938.

I am going to suggest that it is a junior car, either a Six or Eight (120) if a 1938 model although that is a fairly easy determination. What body style is a bigger challenge.

1938 for Certain. 110 for certain. Two Door for certain. Very difficult to ascertain from photos the area behind the front doors to determine if coupe or tudor. Another photo of this area, and I'll go on record.

Oh I think I'm gonna be sick !
That's a 38 for sure.38 was the only year Packard used a decal for model I.D.

Attach file:

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Any idea waht the following 2 stamped #'s mean?

59I47B I could be 1?
57G4I9 I could be 1?

In the Packard type font, a "1" is a "I".