The guy I got it from said it came from a 72 Riv, but there is a casting on both sides of the block that says A73. So Its a 73 right? Buick didnt put 73 on them all did they!ou:
Joel With a can of carb cleaner and a little brush, clean the area around the dipstick hole. Look for two letters in all caps. They should be around 1:00 o'clock from the dipstick hole. Those letters id the block.
That's the casting #. The ID is next to the dipstick hole. The VIN in '70 is on the left deck between the #1 and #3. On '71 and up it's on the face of the block behind the water pump intake.
Is there any way I can tell with the heads and water pump on? I dont want to tear it down just to figure out what year it is!
Block I.D. The #s on my block on the front are near the timing cover,they look like a vin #.The numbers are 43x195960 any idea what year that would be out there.Thanks Bryan Fant
Joel The id code is next to the dip stick hole. You don't need any disassembly to find it, just a little carb cleaner and maybe a screwdriver or scrub brush. The VIN on '71 and later is on the face of the block on the right side behind the intake on the water pump. The second digit is the last # of the year. In this photo, the second digit is 5 so it's a '75.
The VIN can also be stamped on the left (driver) front side of the block. The last six numbers are the sequencial vehicle identification numbers of the car. Also, just about all the '70 blocks were stamped on the deck between cylinders 1 and 3, but I have an original '70 block with the VIN stamped on the front of the left side of the cylinder case and no stamp on the deck between 1 and 3. It's not a late '70 block, I believe it to be a Dec. '69 block, but I haven't looked at it in awhile. My '71 blocks are all stamped on the left side of the front of the cylinder case. Back in those days production procedures were not always the same. Dennis
Thanks RH for the info on that,Ive had the engine for years and could not remember what car I took it out of,I had a 74 riveria that I parted out one time and couldnt remember if it came from that one or not.Thanks Bryan Fant
Thanks for the photo. The block is pretty clean by the dipstick hole, and I must have looked at the photo wrong. I though you meant the code was on the block, under the head(in between) Ill just check the VIN when I get home. Thanks again!
Look at the first photo and you'll see the discolored outline of the head. That's a good reference point as to where the head is on the block. If you still don't see it, look for the VIN. The two letters near the dipstick hole tell the year and application. The VIN just gives the year and plant.
O.K. I went down and actually looked at the engine. I found the numbers exactly where you guys said they would be. I take back every bad thing I have said about you! (J/K) xf 430 43h551076 Guess it is actually a 73. What did it come out of and which number(letter?) designates that?And what does the A 7 3 that is stamped on both sides stand for?
Joel XF is a big body (Rivy,Electra,LeSabre)455. The VIN decode is '73 from Fint, Michigan. That A73 means early production '73 model year (I think) which could have been after Aug of '72. If it's the original engine, it could possibly be a very late production '72 that got an early run '73 engine. Check the VIN on the door jamb if it's still visible. Also, check on the top suface of the timing cover near the distributor, there will be a 1/2" size clock looking thing that if you look close has the month on the outer ring and the year in the center which will be the year that the timing cover was produced.
