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hi there i don't know if anyone can shed some light on this i have looked around and see articles on the firewall numbers but got a headache now
i have found a Packard convertible 1941 the chassis has been changed to a 54 and engine etc there are know tags any where but i have the firewall number which is 558261 in this number so i understand is the model production number i think 58 or 61 but don't know were to find out what they are if any one can shed some light many thanks Dave

Wow, that's a very long sentence!

No great mystery about these numbers, you'll find plenty of mention of them on this forum, also in the early Packard service letters (use of the numbers began in 1929), and in 2 articles which I published on them in the quarterly publication of The Packard Club.

Initially Packard called the number a "thief-proof" number, a number to be used (in concert with Packard internal records) to identify a vehicle when the original numbers have been lost or altered. Later Packard chose to call it the "body serial number". Simply, bodies were numbered sequentially as they were built, there is no other information coded into the number though analysis of them can prove useful in analyzing production sequences like for RHD cars, customs, etc. My database, thanks to generous Packard owners offering up their information, has theft-proof numbers and corresponding vehicle numbers (and often motor numbers) on nearly 4000 Packards. Your vehicle is not in the database and therefore I have no information about it. I gather your "patent plate" (Vehicle number plate) is missing; unless you can find it from prior owners or documents, there is no practical way to ever recover the vehicle number. Of course the car can be identified by a careful examination of it's features, though that's made a bit more difficult with a substitute engine.

The known number range for 1941 is from 542XXX to 619XXX.

thanks for reply,adding some photos its is a 41,would it be a 120 body or 160,I'm ignoring the parts on the floor he had a packard 6 cylinder engine there and a spare set of fenders,they may have had 3 or 4 cars 160 120 and 1954 who knows,i bet you do,what do you think!

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You have parts for Jr and Senior cars as well as part of the front clip appears to be off a Henney ambulance. G

some one has cut the hood and extended it to meet the chassis length is a bit of a mess,what parts can you see as junior??is the body?

dash and interior window surround for more hints?