Thanks Jim. I wonder if it truly has the six in it. I had a two door that showed on the vin it was a six, but had a two barrel 350 instead. I always wondered if it was the same money to Buick to use their engine over the Chevy six?? o No:
on the 71 and earlier vins, a code might indicate a 6 cyl model of the car (typically, the third digit would be an odd number) but that didn't mean that a small v8 couldn't be optioned into it. 72 and later the exact type of engine that the car received at the factory should be coded, often detailed down to single or dual exhaust and carb option.
Bob is correct! The BASE engine was the 6 banger, so all you know is there was nothing smaller than that from the factory. Just like all 71 GS's BASE engine was a 350-4, and anything larger was just antother option. The VIN contains NO info on options in 71. :bglasses: The 350-2 is probably the orginal engine. Check the drivers side, FRONT face of the block just below the head surface. The vin would be stamped vertically down the front face of the block, just above the waterpump an behind the pwr steering pump. :TU:
Is the vin stamped on the block of 1970 engines too? Can someone post a picture of where it can be found? Thanks!
Is the vin stamped on the block of 1970 engines too? yes. Can someone post a picture of where it can be found? check out this page. http://www.buicks.net/shop/reference/engine_ident_where.html
Um, good luck finding it according to those tips on that site. I don't have a pict of a 350 vin, but my 71 assembly manual shows it to be located in the same general area as the 455, just perpendicular to the 455's vin number direction. Here is a pict of a 455. It should begin near the head surface, and go down. :Smarty:
Then they lost the production records. I smell a conspiracy. The purpose escapes me, but the combination of both is very suspicious.
to quote myself (not that i've put this anyplace anybody would have seen it) "In 65 GM forced Buick (as well as the Olds and Pontiac divisions) to adopt a modified Chevrolet style VIN system in which the 2nd digit is the Model and the 3rd digit is the engine/trim. Although Buick is not very consistent about using this in some cases the 3rd digit of a Buick VIN is helpful in determining the original base motor for the car model. 3rd = Chevrolet style decoding 3 = L6 w/standard int 4 = V8 w/standard int 5 = L6 w/custom int 6 = V8 w/custom int" i haven't finished my VIN spreadsheet but from a glance, Olds and Pontiac were much better about adhering to the 'spirit' of the Chevy style VIN than Buick was. i don't know if Buick management was trying to emulate Cadillac's standoffishness or what (Cadillac didn't allow themselves to get strongarmed into the 'corporate' style VIN until 71).
