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

I heard about a Budd body tag that might be on a 47 Packard custom super clipper. What is that and where is it located? Did they all have them?

Briggs, not Budd. Budd did a lot of auto stamping operations but Briggs was the body builder and there is a tag on the engine side of the cowl, I'll post photos of both the early (thru 1952) and late style. To my knowledge the only Budd tags (not actually a tag, just the name embossed into the metal) are on some late prewar cars on the inner door panels as Budd was subcontracted and did some of the door stampings.

"Did they all have them (Briggs tags)?" All 46-54 Briggs-built bodies had them; there is some uncertainty about whether the prewar Clipper-style bodies had them though they were also Briggs-built.

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Were all bodies from 46-54 built by Briggs?

Almost all, about 99%, but not quite all. Briggs didn't build the show and concept cars though they might have had Briggs components, the Panthers, the 53-54 Caribbeans (at least not to completion). The long wheelbase 7 passenger cars thru 47, and 53-54, the ambulances/funeral cars were built by Henney but again with some Briggs components. Briggs did the 48-50 long wheelbase cars. But it depends a bit on your definition of "built"; for example the Henney LWB cars used some standard Briggs components, and the 53-54 Caribbeans started as Briggs-built convertibles before conversion by M-B. I'm uncertain who did the wood portions of the bodywork on the Station Sedans.

Thanks for the quick info and help

On that 47 Custom Super Clipper--Is the body tag number the same as the number on the data plate? I'm talking about the one when you lift the hood that is on the driver's side on the aluminum plate thing.

If you're asking if the Briggs body number matches the vehicle number, the answer is almost never prior to 1951. In 1951 and after you could be reasonably certain they matched though there are a few exceptions. Briggs numbered the cars sequentially as they built, painted and trimmed the cars and then shipped them to Packard. But they weren't necessarily assembled into finished cars in the same order that the bodies were built; numbers sometimes can vary by as much as 400 (or even more) and sometimes are within 25 or less.

So most didn't but some actually could have, right? This Packard history can be confusing or at the least a non-exact science. :)

Also, where do you find the 2106 number at?

Lastly, are there any secret places to look around on a 47 Custom Super Clipper for additional info? I'm close enough to one and I'm going to see if I can out of curiosity, owner is a nice guy.

If you found a set of Briggs and VN on a car between 1946 and 1950 that matched, that would be a miracle among miracles. I've got about 800 data sets for the 21st thru 23 series and can't recall a single matching set. On those cars that were leftovers and were issued new vehicle numbers and plates the differences can be even larger, more than 1000 different.

If you want to give me the theft-proof number on your 47 I'd be glad to see if it's in my data file.

Yes, I suppose it can appear confusing to one not immersed in the topic. But if you think of the numbering in terms of what the factory operations were like I think it makes sense.

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You won't find the 2106 number anywhere on the car since it is the chassis model. Only the body model numbers would be shown as the first 4 digits on the Briggs plate or the data plate.

1946 body models were numbered 16xx and 1947 were 21xx

1622 or 2122 were the body model numbers for a Custom Super Clipper Sedan (4 door) and 1625 or 2125 for a Club Sedan (2 door)