'71 Big Block Numbers - What's DJ mean?

[Ed Hansen]

Hi - I looking for some help.

I am looking at a '71 LS5 roadster to purchase and have noticed a large stamped DJ on the engine block pad. The VIN numbers match, but the date code of the engine reads T0129CPH, which based upon the VIN production sequence of 109475 doesn't make sense to me. It looks like the assembly date of the car is mid January of '71, but the engine wasn't assembled until the end of January. Is this where the DJ comes into play? Is that a factory replacement code? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Jack H.]

Re: '71 Big Block Numbers - What's DJ mean?

Could be 'ID' mark of prior machine shop who did rebuild. Often, these guys wack blocks/heads so they can honor their warranty and protect themselves from the unscrupulous who'd do the old 'switcharoo'....

[Jack H.]

Re: '71 Big Block Numbers - What's DJ mean?

Could be 'ID' mark of prior machine shop who did rebuild. Often, these guys wack blocks/heads so they can honor their warranty and protect themselves from the unscrupulous who'd do the old 'switcharoo'....

[Joe L.]

Re: '71 Big Block Numbers - What's DJ mean?

Ed----

The apparent "discrepency between the build date of your car's body and the engine assembly date is atypical, but not necessarily impossible. Your car could have suffered an engine problem on start-up or sometime soon thereafter. In this case, it would have been removed "off-line" to the repair area. If the car had been one originally ordered for dealer stock and not a "sold" vehicle(one with an ordering customer Chevrolet assumed was impatient for delivery), it might have been assigned a lower repair priority. Therefore, it could have sat around while "higher priority" cars were repaired. Or, there could have been a number of other reasons for delay in repair. In any event, eventually someone decided that its original engine could not be repaired and another was taken from the engine bay, stamped with the correct VIN-derivative, and installed in the car.

I have no idea what the "DJ" pad stamping means. As Jack Humphrey mentioned, rebuilders often add their "mark" to engines for the purpose Jack mentioned. Also, it may have been some transitory policy established at the St. Louis plant to signify a "late-stamped" engine. Certainly, it was not a policy of long-standing.

[Joe L.]

Re: '71 Big Block Numbers - What's DJ mean?

Ed----

The apparent "discrepency between the build date of your car's body and the engine assembly date is atypical, but not necessarily impossible. Your car could have suffered an engine problem on start-up or sometime soon thereafter. In this case, it would have been removed "off-line" to the repair area. If the car had been one originally ordered for dealer stock and not a "sold" vehicle(one with an ordering customer Chevrolet assumed was impatient for delivery), it might have been assigned a lower repair priority. Therefore, it could have sat around while "higher priority" cars were repaired. Or, there could have been a number of other reasons for delay in repair. In any event, eventually someone decided that its original engine could not be repaired and another was taken from the engine bay, stamped with the correct VIN-derivative, and installed in the car.

I have no idea what the "DJ" pad stamping means. As Jack Humphrey mentioned, rebuilders often add their "mark" to engines for the purpose Jack mentioned. Also, it may have been some transitory policy established at the St. Louis plant to signify a "late-stamped" engine. Certainly, it was not a policy of long-standing.