VIN# on engine block

Discussion in 'The Bench' started by 64 Hardtop, Jan 25, 2020.

  1. 64 Hardtop

    64 Hardtop Founders Club Member

    Wow! What are the chances? A used engine being replaced in the late 70's is 148 numbers after the VIN# on my car. Looks like it, what do you think? upload_2020-1-25_12-0-12.png
    upload_2020-1-25_12-1-34.png
     
  2. John Codman

    John Codman Platinum Level Contributor

    I didn't know that the VIN was stamped on the engine.
     
  3. steve covington

    steve covington Well-Known Member

    John, Really? That started back in the mid 60's on some cars and became LAW on cars produced after JAN 01 1969 or 1970 on certain components. Engines and Transmissions for sure, sometimes other components, and sometimes they have "secret" locations. It isn't the FULL VIN, but enough to identify it, and if you know the casting numbers used on particular years, it would be 100% sure. I know that later in years, the frame was stamped with the VIN.
    Haven't you ever heard the term 'Numbers matching"? On older cars, it was by casting dates and casting numbers, but it COULD be done with the correct parts. When They got to VIN stamps, it got a LITTLE harder... But not THAT hard. Crroks can and will do what they want to do...
     
  4. 64 Hardtop

    64 Hardtop Founders Club Member

    Well for anyone interested, and not that it really matters. After more examination of the number on engine it must be 400,148 because the block casting is E4 and my car is 3D. The number that looks like a 1 after the H must be a 4 it was an exciting thought for a few minutes. The build continues...
     
  5. John Codman

    John Codman Platinum Level Contributor

    I musta missed that, Interestingly, except for a couple of that later years, the only place on the Model T Ford that had a stamped number was the engine. In 1926 they started stamping it on the frame, because some states were beginning to title cars, and if the engine was changed it created a mess. Ford had gotten around that by selling new engines that had no serial number on then and the installer would stamp the new block with the old number. That created it's own set of problems if the old engine was then repaired and installed in a different car. When T production ended in 1927 they (Ford) did stamp a serial number on all replacement engines that they made. Model T engine production ended in 1941. Not Buick, but possibly interesting to a few of you.
     
    john.schaefer77 likes this.
  6. telriv

    telriv Founders Club Member

    It's also stamped on the Buchev
     
  7. Dan Healey

    Dan Healey Well-Known Member

    Vin derivative 1H180935
    Block stamp 1H181083

    In what world does that match?
     
  8. 64 Hardtop

    64 Hardtop Founders Club Member

    Well, I never said it matched. I asked what are the chances of a engine being replaced is only 148 after mine, according to VIN#'s.
    See if you do the math it really looks close.
    I was in hope of someone with experience to help me try to make ends of this.
     
  9. 64 Hardtop

    64 Hardtop Founders Club Member

  10. Dan Healey

    Dan Healey Well-Known Member

    There is a better chance, the block was installed in your car from Buick. There are documented cases of that happening...
     
  11. 12lives

    12lives Control the controllable, let the rest go

    They ended Model T engine production in '41? Wow, MS should pay attention...re WIN 7! Of course the engines were used for lots of other applications, WIN 7 only has one.
     

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