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

for quite some time i have been trying to decipher the engine # on my 52/200. i have wire brushed, sand paper, and chalk. my car has auto trans. does this # make sense?
M344377H
i believe the # should start with J4 , but i don't see that no matter how hard i try.
Does the H mean i have hydrolic lifters....?
the packard record keep-er told me to get the production slip off the top of the glove box.... wow it is so so fragile i did not want to force it. any advice on how to do this. ????
thanks for all your input in advance.
tim

That is a strange one. M would indicate a 54 engine but even so, the numeric range is way higher than any listed end number. Kev has 321199 as top but for some reason the Kimes edited book doesn't list an end number in the M3 series.

Wonder if they built some service replacements with an M designation but a high number. There is very little info on how service engines were numbered. There is a Studebaker bulletin referring to replacement engines in the 300000 range but we are missing page 6 in the bulletin which gives the details. The H could mean hydraulic option was installed as M3 would be the solid lifter 327 in normal designation. There was a bulletin saying all replacement engines had hydraulic lifters though but no info whether H was still used in those engines.

The reference I most often consult for engine numbers is one derived from Packard internal data. Curiously the M3XXXX series is the only one except for the very early models L and N that does not list a terminal or ending number.

Quote:

I don't know if the '52 build sheet was attached the same way as the '49 build sheet was but if it was you can feel for the two strips of tape on each edge of the build sheet and carefully lift the tape from the outside edges. The teletype paper is, as you indicated, very, very brittle. Here's mine (bottom one is from the glove box) showing the way it was taped.




I don't think it will have the engine number on it if that's what you were hoping for.

Never seen a build slip with the engine number on it. 55/56 excepted indirectly as the engine# is also the vehicle number. The engine# was recorded along with the vehicle#, thief-proof# and other details on the Vehicle Unit Record Card but no other place that I'm aware of, or at least no other record that has survived, with the possible exception of the original dealer invoice. And as only perhaps 1000 of the Vehicle Unit Record Cards have survived (out of about 1.6 million vehicles) that I'm aware of, chances of finding that data are slim to say the least.

thanks for your advice.

i am still not sure about the M, and i still think i am 2 digits short of the full #. but this is the best i can see.
it just makes me curious to know. and i should perhaps find the date the engine was made and compare with the other info i have on the car.

You won't find the date the engine was made; you will however find the date the engine block was cast.

All the postwar straight eights have their date cast into the block just above the oil pan in the rearmost rectangle of the block skirt. It is usually on both sides, but for sure on the starter side. Probably have to do some scraping.

My car was pretty late production, and the engine casting is the end of July, 1954 I believe. There also was a stamping on the bottom of the heater box that was August 15th, 1954. So my car was assembled at some point after that, but obviously before they started ripping up the assemble line floor at East Grand Ave.

this engine # sure is a mystery. i have read all that has been written here and found the engine # PDF, and yes the 'M' is in 1954.......
now i will go find the date the block was cast . that will be interesting to find.
the good news is i had help figuring out the timing and distrib. etc and the car started this morning and sounded good. timing set/ it is so gratifying to get the car runing well after i finish a project..... t o hear the sound of the enginge is exciting. wow.