Franks has a 389 WS block for $650 and shipping around $250. It is original only once and there is someone out there that can tell if it is on original as well as not original but still correct. It would have to be the exact original block from that car to justify $1500. Over the counter blocks either had no stamps or an SR on them. I have even seen poorly faked SR blocks now. The block numbers (numerical sequence) for the early cars are often listed on the PHS documents kind of like a a separate vin for the block as the blocks have a sequence number and the line knew which block went into each car. Each plant was different, but the Pontiac and the Kansas cars seem to have more PHS info. I have seen this many times and when pressed the owner will confess the block is not the factory block. This helped track issues after production for warranty at the factory level. The vin on blocks was just for the police and theft issues, but it was easier for warranty concerns as well, in place of the two production numbers of block and vin. There are also examples with original owner documents that the engine date date is after the car as it may have had issues before leaving the factory. Many of the early cars that are said to have an original block have close replacements. A more correct replacement if the block is gone is to have an SR block, if my car was missing the factory block I would search for an SR block with a date after the build date. For concours they are not supposed to deduct for an SR block. This would be for a warranty or engine replacement by a dealer.
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