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

Where do you look to see what the original factory color code was for a 48 model?

Paint (and interior trim) codes were ink stamped on the ID plate and unfortunately most stamps haven't survived. If your amount us with faded paint/trim codes, hopefully you can find some orginal paint and match it to a color chart - here.

Believe if the car is early production 22nd series the body and trim code does not appear anywhere unless you can find a build slip. Those cars used the same style data plate as 21st series with only the dealer info in addition to the vehicle number. It's been mentioned here that in a few cases the trim and paint codes might be written or stamped on the rear of the data plate but that isn't a given. Bob Neal's book says that in February 48 or several months into 22nd series production they updated the data plate to include dealer, paint and trim info and as old ones ran out those new plates were phased in at different times depending on model.

Another suggestion is to find some original paint, like UNDER the patent plate and then go to the color chips and see which one it was. If it's been repainted several times, they usually didn't strip it back to metal like in a resto, so you can chip some look at the layers under scope. The firewalls were the same color so sometimes, you can take off a part/grommet, etc. and see what color lies under it. Under taillights are another area that preserves well.