Help with engine numbers?

[Rosco]

So I've been going over my Engine, and so far found a few numbers, but haven't found anything you could use to match the engine with whatever car it originally came out of...

On both lower sides of the block, the number "2468130 - 4" is cast into the block. From what I understand, that's just like a casting designation, meaning it's a 383ci block, from 1959-71, correct?

On the driver's side next to that number, is "9-28-70" This would mean the block was cast on Sep. 28, 1970, and therefore was most likely originally installed in a 1971 car? Obviously that confirms that it's definitely not the original engine from the '69 it's currently living in.

There is also this "4" cast into the block, at the top, rear, just towards the passenger side of the oil-pressure sender...

What does this mean? Anything.?

Now, I was under the impression there should be a partial VIN stamped somewhere on the block, that, starting in '69 (and onwards, including '70/'71, etc) would match the partial VIN stamped on the radiator support and trunk lip.
I found this machined pad on the bottom passenger side of the block, which seems like the kind of place you might stamp something like that -

- but as you can see, even after cleaning off all the paint, there's nothing there...

I saw something about on a 1968 383ci the stamping was on the flange where the bellhousing bolts up, just to the driver's side of the oil pressure sender, but since this engine was (if I'm right about that second casting I mentioned), made in 1970, that wouldn't be the case, and indeed there is nothing stamped there.

I've seen a few people talk about there being a pad somewhere near the distributor, but for the life of me I can't find it  
Anyone got a good photo of this mystery-pad? Pictures are worth a thousand words, and all that...
Anywhere else I might find it stamped?

[Homerr]

AFAIK the unstamped pad at the edge of the oil pan means that the motor was a warranty replacement engine.  Meaning the original 1969 383 had an issue and was replaced with the block you have now.  Or the unstamped engine found its way in to another car(s) as a warranty replacement before making its way in to your car.

Look here for the one near the distirbutor:
http://www.moparts.org/Tech/Archive/motor/36.html

There is a flat (horizontal) pad the right of the distributor hole (toward driver's side) at the front edge of where the valley pan bolts on.

[ODZKing]

Yeah, actually I do have a nice pic on my computer at home ... but you can see them in the pic you posted as well.
Here is a couple more I found on the net.

[maxwellwedge]

The VIN pad may have been ground on....or a warranty/replacement block/short block.
The pad by the distributor would probably bear this out. There may be a TW or WT or a set of 3 numbers....usually sign of a replacement block.

[Rosco]

So I've most likely got a warranty replacement block?
I'll have another look for the distributor pad when I get home from work - I wasn't looking in quite the right spot.
Cheers guys

[ODZKing]

Here is the 68 - 383 block I've got. Pictures are not great but you get the idea.

[Rosco]

Found the distributor pad, the only thing stamped on there is "A9", if anyone knows what that means.?

[Rosco]

Totally missed this. Was using my phone earlier, and looked at the wrong spot in the photos above and pulled the starter bracket off, found the "A9", didn't bother to clean the crud off the flat section below it. Looked over the photos again now I'm on my computer, realised my mistake and looked again.

Now I have "G" and "383" on the first line and, "3" and "18" on the second...



Now, I'm guessing the '383' means it's a 383... As for the 'G'... ...where it was assembled..?

What about the '3' and '18' on the second line.?

[69CoronetRT]

Totally missed this. Was using my phone earlier, and looked at the wrong spot in the photos above and pulled the starter bracket off, found the "A9", didn't bother to clean the crud off the flat section below it. Looked over the photos again now I'm on my computer, realised my mistake and looked again.

Now I have "G" and "383" on the first line and, "3" and "18" on the second...



Now, I'm guessing the '383' means it's a 383... As for the 'G'... ...where it was assembled..?

What about the '3' and '18' on the second line.?

G means it's for a 71 model year car
383 = CID
3 18 means it was assembled March (3) 18th, 1971

[ODZKing]

On mine D = 1968 then the date, Dec 2. But what does the "R" and other numbers mean?

[maxwellwedge]

On mine D = 1968 then the date, Dec 2. But what does the "R" and other numbers mean?

Since you have the three sets of numbers 1 12 2  - I would suspect this is a replacement block....they usually have the 3 sets of numbers. Original engines have two sets.....like 3 18 on the other '71 example (month day).

Is this a matching engine to your car?

[Rosco]

I thought mine, the "3 18", was a warranty replacement, since it has no engine number stamping on the pad on the passenger side bottom of the block.?

[maxwellwedge]

Have a good look to see if the original machining marks are on the VIN pad - My initial guess is the VIN may have been ground off...Just saying that pretty well every warranty block/short assembly I have ever seen has the 3 number grouping.....but, I haven't seen them all! 

[Rosco]

Well the pad on the bottom of the passenger side is definitely machined flat, and not machined and ground off later- you can see the machining marks.
Doesn't matter for registration purposes, VicRoads - the local people - are happy to just give me a new engine number since this block doesn't have one. Just interested to know more about the history if possible...

[ODZKing]

Since you have the three sets of numbers 1 12 2  - I would suspect this is a replacement block....they usually have the 3 sets of numbers. Original engines have two sets.....like 3 18 on the other '71 example (month day).

Is this a matching engine to your car?

No, a 67 Charger parts car I purchased some time ago. The plan was to grab the engine, trans and various other parts, and sell what was left. I had planned on taking, what I thought would be a date coded 67 engine and trans, redo those and when the time came, drop them in MY 67 keeping my engine as original.
I then found that the engine was a 68 but everything else matched including heads, intake and exhaust manifolds etc., so I was going to do something with it ... not sure what now. But I still have it.
So no, it is not out if my car.

[Mytur Binsdirti]

This will help explain Chrysler's code....


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_Y6UKMp8Qw

[71 SE3834V]

To the OP, scrape all the crud & paint off that dist. pad and look for an "HP".

Ok, since we're on the subject of 2 numbers vs. 3, does anyone have a guess on mine? I see a 1 next to the bolt flange. A 10 & 2. If you look close you can see a faint 1 at the top of the bolt head and a second faint zero after the 10. I just figured the faint #'s were mistakenly double stamped. Build date of Oct 2nd makes sense as my car was built in Nov. 70.
How does the 3 number date figure in if I have what I assume to be an original matching block (last 8 #'s of vin are stamped in the pad by oil pan)?

[Rosco]

To the OP, scrape all the crud & paint off that dist. pad and look for an "HP".

Definitely no 'HP' stamped on the distributor pad. Doesn't that indicate it was the High Power version? like, 383/4barrel, or the 440/6packs?

Ah well, at least now I know it was a warranty replacement engine. I rang VicRoads (the local registration people) about it, and they said it's all good. They only need to know it's the same type/size engine as what's listed on the roadworthy and engineers certificates, and they'll give me a new, generic engine number to stamp into the block.

Cheers for the help guys

[71 SE3834V]

High Performance.

Is yours a 2 bbl? Might not be now but coulda been orignally. 4bbl's also had a different cam.

[Rosco]

Yeah, it's a 2-barrel. VIN says it should have a 4-barrel, but as noted, this isn't the original engine, so if this was a warranty engine, it was probably a warranty in something else, then got transplanted into this car later. Or whoever owned this one at the time got screwed over on the replacement haha