383 v.i.n.

[roadrunnerman]

i have 2 383 blocks.one came out of my '69 RR.it has a build date of 6-16-69. the other block has a build date of 11-13-67.my question is where is the i.d. pad located on the block to match the v.i.n. for the car to see if this is a numbers matching motor to my car.i have looked all over the block to find it(along the oil pan rail) and cannot see it.would these be factory replacement motors if they didn't have the stamped i.d. pad?

 

[696pack]

What are you calling the "build date?"
The casting date is cast into the side of the block the day it was cast. The assembly date is on the pad in front of the dist. on a big block. It is sometimes blank but that is usually from an engine rebuilder/machine shop decking the block and removing those numbers. The V.I.N . boss for a 1969-up big block is on the lower passenger side front corner of the block near where the oil pan bolts to the block. Early cars may have the complete V.I.N. but the factory quickly switched to using only the model year digit, plant code, and the six sequencial digits of the V.I.N. Factory replacement (service engines) still had an assembly date as well as other info on the pad near the dist. but had no V.I.N. stamped on the V.I.N. boss described above.

 

[detmatt1]

Look just behind the oil pressure sending unit, pre `69 blocks were stamped there right at the joint of the engine and trans. Tuff to see because the stamp was not done on a machined surface, rather the rough casting. I have a pic of the one on my `68 block on my laptop, I'll post it later. I think the transmission should be stamped in such a way that when it's bolted to the block the numbers are adjacent to eachother.

 

[roadrunnerman]

ok it must be the casting date that i read off.I did not see anything on the pad by the distributor. Will have to look by the sending unit later and see if there is any numbers there. Also both blocks have the same casting numbers,but the '67 block has LL under the casting numbers.Do you know what those stand for?

 

[roadrunnerman]

just cleaned off the pad by the dist. the '67 block has D 383 and the '69 block has F 383. there are no other numbers stamped anywhere else that i could see.i know they're 383 blocks but can't remember what the letters mean.can one of you guys tell me?

 

[69Coronetrt]

just cleaned off the pad by the dist. the '67 block has D 383 and the '69 block has F 383. there are no other numbers stamped anywhere else that i could see.i know they're 383 blocks but can't remember what the letters mean.can one of you guys tell me?

The "D" indicates model year 1968 in which cast the VIN numbers may be stamped on the back of the block near the oil sending unit. Not all 68 blocks have a VIN.

The "F" indicates model year 1970 and the VIN would be on the pad on the passenger's side of the block about 1/3 of the way back.

What are the rest of the numbers on the pad following the D 383 and F383? There should be something that looks like a date.

 

[roadrunnerman]

383's

the '69 block has 8 1 stamped on pad and at lower corner it says HP. The '67 block has 2 20 2 stamped on pad. There are no other numbers stamped anywhere else on these blocks.

 

[detmatt1]

I don't know what the LL in the casting stands for, couldn't find any info on that in all my books, but here is a pic of the vin stamp on a `68 383.

 

[roadrunnerman]

I don't know what the LL in the casting stands for, couldn't find any info on that in all my books, but here is a pic of the vin stamp on a `68 383.

you're right,it is very hard to see, might have to get a magnafying glass out. but i cleaned the area by the sending unit with a wire brush and still could not find even a hint of anything stamped there.

 

[696pack]

the '69 block has 8 1 stamped on pad and at lower corner it says HP. The '67 block has 2 20 2 stamped on pad. There are no other numbers stamped anywhere else on these blocks.

The 1969 cast engine 8 1 is August 1st when the engin e was assembled and the HP means it was the High Performance or high lift cam engine (335 h.p.) It it is an F rather than an E it is a 1970 engine. There should definatedly be a partial V.I.N. on the passenger side of this rngine unless it was a service engine in which cas the V.I.N. boss would be blank.

The 1967 engine of 2 20 is Feb. 2 and the 2nd engine of this type assembled that day. There were only 2 383s that year either a 2bbl or 4 bbl. and neither were marked HP. It was a 67 model year installed engine as the C indicates.
C=67
D=68
E=69
F=70
G=71

 

[roadrunnerman]

there is no C stamped by the 383 only the D which would make it a '68 installed motor,correct?and since there is no other V.I.N. numbers stamped anywhere on either blocks, then that would make them service motors (replacements) correct?

 

[696pack]

Yes, if it is stamped D then it is an engine that was slated for install in a 1968 model year car.

67 back and SOME 68 clock have no factory stamped V.I.N. on the blocks. ALL 69-up blocks (except service engines) have a V.I.N. stamped on the lower passenger side of the block on a boss that is milled for the stamping. Service engines also have a rivited plate indicating such in the middle of the side of the block. It is often missing after all of these years but the rivit hole will still be there which is near the freeze plug hole.

The lack of a V.I.N. on a 68 model year engine is no indication it is a service replacement engine. If the scheduled production date of the car lines up with the engine assembly date proceeding it fairly soon it would be considered the original engine as there is no way to DISPROVE it.

 

[roadrunnerman]

i don't think i even saw any rivot holes,but i wasn't looking for them either. So i have a motor block that was slated for a '68 car and a motor that was in my '69 RR that came out of a '70 mopar with no other i.d numbers then somebody that had these motor in the right year car could say they were original motors.Is my thinking correct?

 

[696pack]

i don't think i even saw any rivot holes,but i wasn't looking for them either. So i have a motor block that was slated for a '68 car and a motor that was in my '69 RR that came out of a '70 mopar with no other i.d numbers then somebody that had these motor in the right year car could say they were original motors.Is my thinking correct?

NO.
If the engine in your 69 RR is stamped "F" then that means the engine was assembled and slated for install in a 1970 model car. The fact that there is no V.I.N. stamped on the machined boss indicates that the engine MAY have been a left over assembly plant engine from the end of the 1970 model year that COULD have been sent to a parts depot to be used/sold as a service engine. The factory would typically purge the assembly plants of model year date code specific parts like this before the start up of the followng years new model production start up.
The engine MAY have ended up in you 69 as a warranty replacement engine, it could have been bought by a previous owner that was refused a warranty claim and still needed an engine,could have been purchased over the counter after the warranty had expired, could have been installedin ANOTHER car for any of the same above reasons. THIS car could have ended up in a junkyard and later the engine could have been installed in your car. Uless you have some kind of documented way of determining where the 1970 engine came from there is no way of knowing how it got there.

The bottom line is that it was impossible for a 1970 model year stamped engine to have ended up in your 1969 built car.