46? 47? 48? Cadillac 75 - where the (bleep) is the serial #?

[Pontiac59]

Friend has a hearse in, he thinks it's a '46, was told it could be a '48 because of the dash in it. Motor is a flathead, so we should be able to rule out '49. The serial number will tell me for sure what it is - the car does not have the usual Fisher Body tag because it's a professional car.

I believe the Caddy uses the engine number as the car's serial number up into the 1960s.

My Motors manual says the number can be found "On engine block behind water pump, and on right frame side bar" .... I looked around above the water pump, no luck, is it literally behind (as in I have to remove it to see the number)? I scraped it down, tried the usual paint tricks, nothing.

The car is not in bad shape, so I might be able to raise the frame stamp - but the car is 25 feet long, it would be nice to know where exactly on the frame to look, too.

If someone had a picture of where it is that would be ideal - maybe a scan of a page from a Caddy shop manual?

The hearse is an S&S - they went so far as to replace a lot of the Cadillac badges and crests with S&S crests, the hood, one of the original hubcaps, etc. This is probably one of the last Caddys to have a manual transmission, too. But someone's horsed around with the table setup in it - I could use to see a shot of what these are supposed to look like in the back, see if the one roller I did find is correct.

Thanks in advance -

[CarlLaFong]

This is probably one of the last Caddys to have a manual transmission, too.

The Cad guys probably know for sure, but Cad had a manual option til 53, I believe.

[R Walling]

Cadillac serial numbers matched the motor numbers and were used for all license, insurance and identification purposes.

For 1946, 47 & 48 they were located on the righthand side of the engine crankcase, just above the water pump, and on the right frame side member, behind the motor support.

[Pontiac59]

I scraped off the block above the water pump, but I couldn't raise a number, there doesn't even seem to be a machined spot for one to be stamped -