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Old 09-30-2021, 08:53 AM
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Default 68 Engine Block Production Date Code Location and Reading

Next to the distributor is what appears to be the engine production date code and it reads looking at it from back to front H287 which would mean it was produced August 28 of 1967? for the 1968 model year. Did they produce engines in August and is reading it from back to front correct?

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Old 09-30-2021, 09:17 AM
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Read it front to end .H__7

Look for casting number behind passenger side head near Bellhousing area.

Also 68 engines have partial Vin number on passenger front of the block. It will start 28 then a plant letter.

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Old 09-30-2021, 09:27 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thepontiacman View Post
Read it front to end .H__7

Look for casting number behind passenger side head near Bellhousing area.

Also 68 engines have partial Vin number on passenger front of the block. It will start 28 then a plant letter.

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Yes the casting # is 9790071 and the partial vin is 28E110783 (Linden NJ) but it is the production date code that I believe is located in the distributor pad area and it looks like it reads H287 reading it with me pointed from front to back and reading it from the driver's side to the passenger side.

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Old 09-30-2021, 09:29 AM
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Reading it from back to front.

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Old 09-30-2021, 09:42 AM
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Yes, that is the casting date near distributor hole/pad.
It is read from letter to numbers.

You are reading it right.

I have seen casting date upside down before especially on heads.

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Old 09-30-2021, 11:42 AM
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Quote:
Did they produce engines in August and is reading it from back to front correct?
Yes they did produce engines in August, for the 1968 model year in your case. Could probably have July produced engine castings also.

What is the engine code and eun above that code?
Do you have the car it came in?


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Old 09-30-2021, 11:51 AM
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The date near the distributor is the casting date of the block, not production or build of the engine. Normally engine assembly would follow within a day or two of casting, and you could assume that the assembly date would be close to the casting date, but not always. My numbers matching engine was cast 30 days before assembly.

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Old 10-01-2021, 09:35 AM
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Engine casting dates, especially at the beginning of production, can have VERY long lead times to actual build.

Case in point - my 1968 GTO convertible. This car is the first ever produced 1968 GTO convertible, built at Pontiac Plant, body serial # 001, VIN ending in 044. This car was built on August 9, 1967, along with my one of my other 1968 GTOs,. which has VIN ending in 110. As luck would have it, there is another 1968 GTO convertible in town with VIN ending in 040 but has body serial # 004. It's nearly the identical car to this one (meridian turquoise). I talked with PHS regarding build sequence and they indicated that the earlier VIN of 040 car did not mean it was produced ahead of 044 for many reasons. This is especially true of very early production cars which were often pulled from line to have work done, then returned. These two were the very first two 1968 GTO convertibles ever built and they live within 20 miles of each other.

Engine cast date D247 (Monday, April 24, 1967), 107 days prior to production. EUN matches PHS. VIN stamp matches PHS. Due to the extremely early nature of this build, some of the parts were cast long before this car was assembled. I have a full breakdown of the build dates for car components available. Everything matches.

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Old 10-04-2021, 08:03 AM
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Red face 68 Engine Block Production Date Code Location and Reading Reply

Thank You 68 gtoMN & OG68

I am having a hard time reading the casting date on the block. If you read it from back to front left to right it looks like it reads J287 which would mean the block was cast in August of 1967 (I think). If you read it from front to back it looks like it reads L8ZJ which makes no sense. What I think is a 2 looks like a Z. I will have to scrape the paint of the casting date and see if I can read it better. I can tell you I scraped the paint of the area of the engine ID on the front of the block and it read 28E110783 and 9790071 on the back of the block on the passenger side. The main thing is it is a 68 Pontiac 400 block . All of you who have responded to my inquires have been really terrific and I appreciate all the help you have given me in my engine identification endeavor on my 69 GTO.I may in the future try to acquire a 69 YS block period correct (build date of my GTO was 3-4-69).

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Old 10-04-2021, 09:31 AM
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A J287 is October 28, 1967 cast date. Which would be better than the 'H287' said earlier.

What's the engine code and engine unit number on the block?


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Old 10-04-2021, 10:27 AM
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Thank you johnta1,
Can you tell me is an I letter used in engine block date identification. I have heard that they may not have used I's because it looks too much like a 1.

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Old 10-13-2021, 11:39 AM
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Yes, 'I' was used in the casting date.
The 'I' wasn't used in STAMPED parts like alternator or distributor.



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