[Baron Von Zeppelin]

. 1KN (5 or 8) 13624

That is way off from anything practical. fwiw
Should start with a 2 for Pontiac .( 1 is Chevy iirc)
Then model year.
Then Plant
Then last 6 of a VIN

What is stamped up top on passenger side front face of block - just below the head ?
What heads and exhaust manifolds are on it ?
There will be a casting date on the block right behind the distributor mounting bolt.

The Cali Carb is a deficit to performance.

Sight unseen buyers are a sellers dream , and usually what most are hoping for.

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

M22 sound is kind of neat. For about an hour.
Sort of like an old army jeep

[besserspat]

Originally Posted by Baron Von Zeppelin

M22 sound is kind of neat. For about an hour.
Sort of like an old army jeep

I confirm what you said , I own both M22 and a 40s Willys lol .

Peter

[kingbuzzo]

[QUOTE=Baron Von Zeppelin;6534157]That is way off from anything practical. fwiw
Should start with a 2 for Pontiac .( 1 is Chevy iirc)
Then model year.
Then Plant
Then last 6 of a VIN

Maybe...2XN513624?

What is stamped up top on passenger side front face of block - just below the head ?

485428

What heads and exhaust manifolds are on it ?

7F6 or 7FJ and 478141 pic attached hard to read

There will be a casting date on the block right behind the distributor mounting bolt.

H201

Thanks BVZ

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

Don't give up on it yet.
Those are the right 455 HO roundport heads.7F6
If it has exhaust manifolds - they can only be roundport as well.

The block date is 1972 vintage.
The stamping on front face - should start with what looks like a "C" on that number. C485428 or C0485428
And should be a 2 digit alpha code like WD or YE etc.... underneath that number.

Perhaps some lacquer thinner and scotchbrite on that stamp area - and the VIN stamp down lower - can reveal more precise info. Sometimes a cellphone picture in good focus is better to look at than the naked eye.

VIN stamping should be 22Nxxxxxx
Sometimes they get double stamped or unevenly stamped.

Don't use sandpaper to clean up those stampings !
Lacquer thinner , brass wire brush , scotchbrite.
Sometimes they need a smear of dark oily grease after cleaning to create highlite.

[kingbuzzo]

He did some cleaning, took some pics and finally joined! 😲

The block date is 1972 vintage.
The stamping on front face - should start with what looks like a "C" on that number. C485428 or C0485428
And should be a 2 digit alpha code like WD or YE etc.... underneath that number.

Side of the block rh side rear
485428

Above water pump

C087857
WM


VIN stamping should be 22Nxxxxxx
Sometimes they get double stamped or unevenly stamped.

22N513624

[Rocky Rotella]

Just confirming, the VIN on the block doesn't match that of the car though?

[unruhjonny]

According to my Pete McCarthy book, WM is a 1972 455HO block code used on manual transmission engines;
There are two 455HO-mt engine codes;
I was about to type that I thought there were two codes because one was a code for an engine with a unitized distributor - but I grabbed one of Rocky's books, and sure enough, WM is a 1972 455HO used in A & F bodies which had a unitized distributor.

The unitized distributor was a part of the 455HO engine option, if selected for a 1972 Formula Firebird, but was a caost option on the 1972 Trans Am.

I am echoing Rocky's question because that partial vin shows that engine came from another 1972 Firebird (notice the "N" in the partial vin - that was the Norwood plant).

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

I kind of had a clue when you didn't realize what those heads were ,,,,
But why didn't you just tell us that you boys didn't know your azz from a hole in the ground about deciphering a Pontiac engine ?

That is a correct 1972 455 HO engine for a manual trans application that was born into either a Formula or Trans Am.
Glad you didn't give up on it !

C087857
WM

With partial VIN
22N521413. ,,,,, (you wrote 22N513624)

That engine has already been recorded in the EUN Data Base as belonging to a 72 Trans Am with build week 12B

Double check that VIN stamp again.
And check if 521413 or 513624 matches the last 6 digits of the car VIN

And check if the trim tag has 12B over to the left side.
Trim tag is under hood - on top of cowl - near windshield - on driver side.
It looks like a metal credit card with 2 rivets

Hang In There , it's looking to be MUCH better than you first thought..

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

This is a sample trim tag.
Where this one has 02D ... that is the build week.
The car that this engine came from would have 12B , instead of 02D.



This is a sample VIN tag on a random car.
Driver side - upper dash
His will look similar.
What are the last 6 digits on his VIN tag ?

[Rocky Rotella]

BVZ,

According to my research, an ESN of 0087857 does correspond with a VIN in the range of 22N513624 and an early November 1971 build date.

Just wondering, where the 22N521413 VIN came from?

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

. Side of the block rh side rear
485428

While we are bringing you up to speed - that isn't a stamping. btw
That is a raised numeric cast into the block at the foundry.
It's the casting number / part number to the bare block.

That is the number you originally gave us when we were asking for the stampings from the front..
Just trying to get you straightened out here Buzzo
These factoids will become useful and helpful if you ever need to help someone again.

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

Originally Posted by Rocky Rotella

BVZ,

According to my research, an ESN of 0087857 does correspond with a VIN in the range of 22N513624 and an early November 1971 build date.

Just wondering, where the 22N521413 VIN came from?

From the EUN Data Base
That engine (engine/car) is already documented in the data base from days gone by.
Along with the build week 12B

[johnta1]

I would be interested in the date code on the engine, back by the distributor.
Also the engine partial VIN.
Which may be the N521413?


Here is what I have, but can't find where I got it from yet. Also was from Feb 2022.

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

John
H201 casting date

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

I can't lay positive claim as to what got charged for unitized ignition , and what did not.
But the invoice doesn't list untized ignition.
And the engine code is for unitized ignition. fwiw

The 2 VIN's we are bouncing around are 7789 units apart.
Maybe the engine is a coincidental replacement that just happened to be really close in relationship to the parameters.
We might find out

[kingbuzzo]

I must admin I am lost and just relaying nfo here BVZ...lol

Here is the cowl and vin diesel:

[johnta1]

Take a picture of the partial VIN on the engine.
Passenger side by the timing cover below radiator hose outlet.

I'd about bet it is the 22N513624 (which probably was also a 72 TA)

My pics suggest it was probably an ebay ad and probably someone changed the original engine with this one.

The good thing is the engine appears to be an actual 1972 455HO.

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

Not a problem Buzzo
We are here to help . Always

That's exactly the same car that John has the pictures and PHS for.
If the owner could get a good focused picture of the VIN stamp on the engine 22Nxxxxxx
We can put some of this puzzle together better.

If he can't really do that , but feels certain he has the VIN on the block nailed correctly at
22N513624 - as you last posted -
Then the engine was replaced in the past with a very comparable engine in date range and EUN range
by pure coincidental (or calculated) luck.

And could explain why the engine is coded for Unitized Ignition
But the car was not built/optioned with Unitized.

If it's not VIN matching , it is at least the next best thing to it.
He's not dead in the water.

[necdb3]

Originally Posted by unruhjonny

According to my Pete McCarthy book, WM is a 1972 455HO block code used on manual transmission engines;
There are two 455HO-mt engine codes;
I was about to type that I thought there were two codes because one was a code for an engine with a unitized distributor - but I grabbed one of Rocky's books, and sure enough, WM is a 1972 455HO used in A & F bodies which had a unitized distributor.

The unitized distributor was a part of the 455HO engine option, if selected for a 1972 Formula Firebird, but was a caost option on the 1972 Trans Am.

I am echoing Rocky's question because that partial vin shows that engine came from another 1972 Firebird (notice the "N" in the partial vin - that was the Norwood plant).

The other MT block code for 72 was WD, with points