[holzy]

I'm restoring a 68 gto and I'm trying to find out if the motor is original. I looked on the front of the block under the passenger side cylinder head, and it has the motor unit number, and under that it has the two letter engine type code, but there is no engine vin code. I found the block casting number near the base of the distributor and it says A088 which is January 8th 1968. The body number plate on the car has 01A which means the car was assembled the 1st week in January. What does all this mean.

Thank You
Bruce

[webfoot]

IIRC the correct place to look is in the timing chain area.

[Greg Reid]

This page has a photo that will show you exactly where to look.
It's along the edge of the timing gear cover and almost under the lower radiator hose exiting the water pump.
You'll have to lie on your back with a scraper and a flashlight most likely.
http://www.teufert.net/identify/identify.htm

[MORTIMER]

If you are standing in front of the car looking at the engine. Locate the Engine block casting numbers and letters to the left of the water pump. Now follow the block down toward the ground and as the block goes vertical to the left of the timing cover the engine number should be stamped. A scraper and some steel wool will go far for you.

Also you will have to donate the obligatory pint of blood from the tops of your knuckles in order to succeed at this task.

Remember no Blood, no numbers!

Good luck.

Morty

[The Boss]

Based on the dates you have posted, I would guess that it is not the original. It would appear that your block core was cast the day after your car hit the assembly line.

[Greg Reid]

That's an interesting observation...It'll be even more interesting if they come up a match.

[holzy]

Thanks for the info. I was looking in the wrong place. I do have a matching numbers car.

[The Boss]

I don't see how that is possible.

[Greg Reid]

I have a matching numbers car that is not supposed to be either. I have a block cast in August '67 for a car built in May '68.
Although I'll admit that this one is stranger than mine. Maybe your car sat on the line for and extended amount of time for some reason or another.

[The Boss]

Does the EUN on your Billing History Card match the engine block as well?

[Greg Reid]

I'll assume you're talking about holzy?
Just an FYI, mine does.

[The Boss]

Greg, you are correct. The build date on your cowl tag is probably closer to your engine casting date than the date on your billing history card. Sometimes cars were returned from their first dealer and ended up going to another - thus a later invoice.

[holzy]

What I'm thinking may have happened is January 1, 1968 is a Monday, so since it was still December at the beginning of the calendar week, maybe they don't start the weeks until the first full week and that would start on January 7th thru the 13th.

[Greg Reid]

Originally Posted by The Boss

Greg, you are correct. The build date on your cowl tag is probably closer to your engine casting date than the date on your billing history card. Sometimes cars were returned from their first dealer and ended up going to another - thus a later invoice.

Again, if you're talking about my car here, my cowl tag date and the invoice date on my billing history match exactly. 05B and 5-13-68 respectively.
The weird thing about my car is that the engine was cast 9 months previous to these dates.
Sorry holzy, I don't mean to hijack the thread.

[The Boss]

Originally Posted by holzy

What I'm thinking may have happened is January 1, 1968 is a Monday, so since it was still December at the beginning of the calendar week, maybe they don't start the weeks until the first full week and that would start on January 7th thru the 13th.

Even if that were the case, it is still odd.

In almost every case, the casting dates on engine parts pre-date the car by a minimum of one month, and as in Greg's case, by several months. The foundry and engine assembly plants were not in the vehicle assembly or Fisher Body plants. Once the parts were cast, they still required machining, assembly and shipping to the different manufacturing plants. The vin was then applied to the block while it was on the assembly line.

What plant was your car built at, and does the EUN match the history card?

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

re: Holzy's car.

Very Very Strange. I agree with The Boss's observations - but with a minimum of 2 +/- weeks on a Pontiac, Mich build.

If you have the PHS package for your car, it should have the engine unit number listed on the billing history card. This should match the engine unit number near the block code. Block codes and VIN's are subject to being restamped - EUN's are a little less likely to be converted by restampers unless they really have a handle on all specifics. But ... one in the know could have it all down pat. (no offense to Pat)

A prolonged/later shipping date "might" explain an A088 block in a 01A car. Ship date should be on billing history card also.