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

A friend of mine, who owns a small garage, had a 51 (2?) 4 door show up a while ago. I happened to be driving by while it was still on the trailer being estimated. The ca. registration claims it is a 52 but it has the wings up Cormorant. After 62 years, who knows? I was somewhat surprised to see vary Packard looking 16 inch wheels warring F 70 16 wide whitewall tires. The paint and interior are properly aged and faded enough to be original. The gas tank and radiator are missing. I have no clue as to its history. The relevant numbers are;
Theft proof; B 6506 I
VIN on the door jam ; 2562 27854
My 52 bodied, 53 Henny Jr has the standard 15" wheels that look very much like the 16's on this one. Does anyone know if any of the commercial chassis Packards used 16's in the 50's? I'm going to ask the Professional car group also. Their plan is to collect the missing pieces and try to start it sometime this week. I'm planning to be around to watch.

I shall return and report this momentous event, Tom

Both of the 1953 Henney Juniors I have owned. The one I had for over 20 years #13 was a 52, bodied 53 . It had 16 inch wheels. It was pretty dolled up. It had lots of chrome and had an OD transmission. The other one was in the #250's of around 325 built. it also had 16 inch wheels. I had bought this car for the siren and the gurney. I never drove it.

Quote:
Yes, for 1951 through 1954, and that was the only wheel size used on those chassis.

You could have found that much out by simply checking the "Specifications" section of the factory shop manual, which is available in this site's archive. The same specs were also published, annually, in the Packard Servrice Counselor, which can be readily identified and downloaded from by this site's online Service Index.

What's more interesting is 16-inch wheels on a non-commercial model. As the factory Trade Letters on equipment do not show that as an option, it's likley a post-production swap.

However, the use of those 16-inch wheels on non-commercial models may have significant implications, since 15-inch tires seem to be an endangered species in the mass market.

A 2562 is a 1952 200 Deluxe Touring Sedan. Clippers reappeared with the 1953 models.

(o{}o)

Thanks for the numbers. By body dash or theft-proof number it would appear to be a VERY late 1952, the only higher body-numbered car, also a 2562 is B65225 with a slightly lower vehicle number, 2562-27816. B65506 is a 1953 car.

Another wealth of information and another testament to my ignorance; I thought the Clipper name came with the new styling. The procar society agrees that 16" wheels were standard on the commercial cars. Now, do I live with the 15's and more available wide whitewall tires or offer a trade and be technically correct for LOTS more money? Both cars now have vintage www tires, mine were installed before the car was wrecked 1983. The other car came out from somewhere that it had been for a very long time also.

Question about the theft proof number B 6506 I; the last character is a vertical line with very pronounced bars top and bottom, I read it as the letter I. The other number, B 65225 has all numbers. Am I misreading a 1 or do they combine letters and numbers after the "B"?

I'll print out the information and present it to the proud new owner, Tom

In the type font used by Packard both for theft-proof and also for vehicle numbers (in most years), the digit "1" is represented by what looks like an alpha "I'.

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Uppercase "I" and lowercase "L" were often use since most typewriters didn't have the number one "1", also sometimes the letter "O" was used for zero.
Wes

At some point in time in the past I downloaded a file with the Packard Antique font. I use it quite often in personal correspondence. I forget where I found it.

(o{}o)

Packard commissioned two different and proprietary type fonts over the years, Packard and Packard Bold; these were American Type Foundry #s 348 and 453 respectively. Many of the articles in The Packard Club quarterly were done in Packard font and it can be found and installed as one of the fonts on your PC. I have it as a TrueType font and use it occasionally. These fonts date back to about 1923 and the ATF ID numbers are from Mac McGrew's American Metal Typefaces of the Twentieth Century.

I'm not aware of a font called "Packard Antique".