stamp pad # s & letters

[Chuck S.]

Archive Search For Maximum Experience...

Click Archive tab at page header;
Click "Archives January 16, 2003 - January 116, 2004", or period of interest;
Enter "engine cast build date" and "All" terms;
Click "Search";
Scan to separate the relevant wheat from the chaff (some time and work involved here).

Note: Terms do not have to string together to make an intelligent statement... the computer looks at each term individually. When you click "All", then each return should have ALL the terms. You will still get some returns that aren't exactly on your topic of interest.

Example of Relevant Return from 21Oct 2003:

Re: 66 BUILD AND ENGINE # SURVEY?
Dan #32787 -- Tuesday, 21 October 2003, at 2:40 p.m.

Bill,
I have an AO Smith car built around the same time yours was built. The body build date was August 30, 1965 (A30). The engine was built on the same day (0830). The heads, however, were built on June 8, 1965. Hope this sheds some light on your situation.

[Craig S.]

Re: stamp pad # s & letters

Clup - my 67 L79KH block was cast on 2/23/67 first shift, first hour, and the engine assembly date is on 2/24/67. I was very worried, but careful photos to Al Grenning and he confirmed it was the real deal based on his stamp pad library and adjacent engine stampings of the build date stamp in Flint and the VIN stamp later on in St Louis. I guess my block was still warm from the casting process when it was assembled. Probably much more common on small blocks than big blocks.....Craig

[Craig S.]

Re: Archive Search For Maximum Experience...

Chuck - good idea, I can sure see an engine asm date matching a body build date or maybe even a few days later on a Dow Smith car, in fact, it could easily happen due to the 10 day build date to vehicle asm date scenario. I would think a St Louis body may be a day or two between the body asm date on the trim tag and the actual line car asm date (I can't recall on my 66 L72 the spread). It also appears from Al Grennings trim tag book that in 63 the date was only a month/week code, so that may not be granular enough to help either......Craig

[William C.]

Re: stamp pad # s & letters

Yes, I used to watch the truckloads of blocks coming down from Saginaw to Flint. Allowing for "last in-First out" GM production practices of the time, it is possible, but not common. As the thread goes, just one of may "possible but not too common" issues with the car being discussed. Sure would like to see the thing in person.

Regards,

Clup

[Harry Sadlock]

Re: stamp pad # s & letters

Richard, based on my post of earlier today I was trying to suggest that your car could have been built on the 16th. I believe the Birthday Calculator may be one day off that week as it calculates my car being built on the 19th but in fact was built on the 20th.

Harry

38513

[Joe C.]

YES *NM*

[Ken Robb]

Re: YES

My 65 has an engine block cast date of B25, Feb. 2, 1965. The engine was assemblied on F0203, Feb 3, 1965. Vehicle was assemblied on G10, Feb 10, 1965. So blocks were done when warm.

[Joe C.]

Re: YES

Ken:

I agree with you. My reply of "YES" was to Richard's question, above "...is it possible block was cast and engine built on same day".
What is NOT possible, is for the engine to be built on the same day as the car ("final build date", "birthday", "assembly date"). This is the situation, as I understand it, with Richard's car. I hope that I misunderstood.
There was some speculation about the "Birthday Book" possibly being off by a day or POSSIBLY even two. Be that as it may, I still don't believe that the completed engines were shipped by rail from MI to MO in time to be installed in a car the same day, or even the next day.

Joe

[Joe C.]

Qualification!

Let me qualify what I said above: "IN MOST CASES, it is not possible for the engine assembly date to be the same as the car build date".

There was a very small percentage of anomalies (i.e. failures) that occured on the line which would account for some oddballs. Engine pad "grindouts" being one possibility (I know of one which recieved the Imprimatur of a very well respected stamp pad guru). Whether or not these are the result of actual build situations, or not, will certainly raise the eyebrows of the judges, and place the burden of proof with the owner.

Joe