Marx3

Hi, I know this has been covered a thousand times, but I can't seem to find answers when I do a search. sorry!
I would like to know exactly what year my 396021F block is and maybe what car it came in. I know there is stamping of the original vehicle's VIN somewere on the block, right?
How do I learn the year and application of the engine otherwise?

don71

The year is in the stamping just below the head. Second digit.



You might not ever know the exact car it came from. We can allways guess depending on letters.

Depending on build plant...An X might mean a big car. B and C bodys like the 88 and 98. An M might mean an A body..The experts can divulge that info later. I'm not an expert.

There is a casting date code at the distributor area. Tell us what that is.

Take a pic or write down the numbers you see.

BackInTheGame

I don't have a picture handy at the moment, but there should be a small flat panel about 1.5"x2.5" just under the number 1 cylinder spark plug, at the front left of the block. There will be a number on it that is a derivative of the VIN. It should look something like "38M123456." The 3 represents Olds, the 8 represents the year (1968), the M is the build factory, M is Lansing MI. The 123456 represents the last six digits of the VIN.


Hope this is helpful.

67442nut

Seems like I heard years ago that the "F" blocks were 1968 thru 1970
and the "Fa" blocks were 1971 and newer.
The older blocks supposedly had a higher nickel content.
Anyone know if there's any accuracy to this?

Octania

In certain years at least, the Toronado Serial Numbers started higher and so if your VIN stamp is for example 30M625101 it would have to be a 1970 Toronado, because lesser models did not extend into VIN's that high...

Lower VIN sequential, much harder to tell. Block drain drilling can often tell A-body from BC line but that's about it unless you have the original car on hand.

btw, why does it matter?

joe_padavano

F blocks were used in some applications through at least 1974. Fa blocks from 1972-up. Yes, they did overlap.

Marx3

Oh just asking out of pure curiosity.
Don't care if it is from '68 or '74 :-)
Is there any chance it is a 45 degree block or were they made before 392160 blocks?
The crank has the large N on it.

It says 107 by the distributor...
I will look for the areas under the nr 1 cylinder and block drain holes first thing Monday ( engine is at the shop were I work )

Thanks a lot everybody :-)

Fun71

No 45 degree 455 blocks.

Marx3

Oh, okay :-)

Marx3

1970 block, but where is it built? E or possibly F ?
It says F1 on the rear of the block.
C0043E31-54FC-4398-A339-E50FF6074068_zpsgjfxvw8h.jpg

I guess it must have come out of a full size car?
F0B630B8-0F2F-4EDC-A657-506835266455_zpsbuntum4x.jpg

joe_padavano

An "E" would be Linden, NJ. An "F" would be Fairfax, KS. The Fairfax plant only built full size cars. Linden did build A-bodies, and later Toros, but I'm not sure about the 1970 model year.

Edit: Linden DID build A-body cars in the 1970 model year.

Marx3

interesting! I am 90% sure it's an E...
So the 2.digit being 0 does not necesarily mean ´70?
What about the drain hole location? Is it not pointing toward a full-size vehicle?

joe_padavano

The "0" definitely means 1970 - what else could it mean? The block castings are all the same, so I don't know what you mean by the "drain hole location". All 455s have a drain plug there. The fact that the block has been repainted the incorrect blue tells me it's been messed with by a previous owner anyway.

Octania

I think I see the fwd LH motor mtg hole not drilled/ tapped.

that is weird

Motor mt was in the aft location indicating A-body.... I think. 1970 Big Car experts please chime in. I have seen the other block drain boss drilled and tapped and the one seen here, between the aft pair of motor mt holes, left untouched, I think. Maybe.

I see only one block drain possible boss on this one.

The F1 means pretty much nothing.

That drill spot next to the VIN stamp meant something to someone, someday. Today, it is a mystery.

Marx3

I read somewere that the drain hole was located different places depending on wether the engine came from a small body or a big body car.
The thing about the drain hole was mentioned earlier in this thread?
About the year, you wrote :-) I guess I misunderstood.

You guys want more pictures? this is getting interesting :-)

joe_padavano

My year reference was about which plants built which model lines, and I edited the post with definitive information.

joe_padavano

Look again, Chris. That's not a motor mount hole boss. It's too close to the others. The three motor mount holes are equally spaced. And yes, the 1964-70 full size cars (J88 only in 64) used the front two holes, as did the 73-74 Omegas. The front hole MUST be tapped on all Olds blocks, because the PS pump bracket also uses it, as does the Toro differential bracket (which is why non-Toro applications have that spacer between the PS pump bracket and the block).

F0B630B8-0F2F-4EDC-A657-506835266455_zpsbuntum4x.jpg

joe_padavano

I'll also point out that while this photo makes it look like the two rear mount holes were used, that's potentially only been since the block was repainted corporate blue, so we can't infer a factory application from that. I read the VIN derivative as an "F", which would indicate a full size application, but that reading is open to debate. To the OP, try doing a pencil rubbing of the VIN derivative. Sometimes that will pick up nuances in the stamping that the eye can't see.

Marx3

Gotcha. I will look into it tomorrow. Thanks so far. This is very interesting and educational.

Marx3

Here are some more pictures.
The engine was installed in a Chevy pick-up truck, so the position of the engine mounts is possibly to fit the chevy frame.

The derivate positively says E, not F
832BA4A1-F93C-433A-A022-021472F38B27_zpsf1g6vjmt.jpg
D7B1A712-B168-4E44-B135-EC44112B95EA_zpsu4v1wufr.jpg
E997DEBD-C323-4F10-852C-A9875ECE0895_zpssbzftuqm.jpg

Octania

Agreed the VIN letter is "E", clearly here.
btw, NICE PHOTOS - what did you get that with?

Now I see the motor mount thing, sure, I just never noticed that other pair of flat bosses down low

OP, your starter bolts [at least one] is/are bent. Get rid of them- starter position is pretty critical.

On the RH side we see the two block drains, and the motor mt is in the fwd pair of holes from its life in C-land.

Toothed washer is supposed to be UNDER the cable end, not between bolt head and cable.

Marx3

So the engine is propably from a 98... great, thanks!
Yeah, that starter bolt have propably gotten bent from sitting in the thread with no starter.


Toothed washer, say what?

Octania

Toothed washer, say what?
===================
Next to the VIN stamp
secures the ground cable to the engine
I see a bolt head, toothed [external star] washer, then the end of the cable [broke off] then the block

For cutting thru the paint and transferring electrons directly from cable to block, it is best to have, and the factory specifies and uses, the star washer between the cable end and the block. The bolt head sits right on the cable end.

Fun71

Be careful with the dipstick tube still in the block. You don't want to break that and have to locate a replacement if you don't have to.

Marx3

Ohh, now I get it :-) Yes, the totthed washer will be placed between the cable and the block :-)
I will take care not to mess with the dipstick tube.
btw the pictures were taken with an iPhone 5S. I used the editing feature on the phone to just crop the pictures a bit. This tends to "zoom in" a bit plus you guys cant see all the crap in my shop, surrounding the engine :-)

Octania

That's funny, I was going to suggest he remove that chrome pc of Taiwaneces and get a real one. Easy extract right now. Looks like that engine rolled around the BACK of a truck for a while.

Marx3

... ´94 Suburban actually. Just remembered :-) I hit a speed bumb to hard when I drove the engine home. That bump came out of nowhere!