Is there a place on the site or a site you can refer me to so I can read up on and figure out if a car I am looking at is original? orig. engine, trans, accessorys, etc.? I looked around this site a little and didnt find anything but may have not been looking in the correct spot. I have actually been a member here for a while, but Havent posted in a LONG time. thanks, Bob

 

For 1968 and later Oldsmobiles, a derivative of the car's VIN will be stamped on the engine and transmission, so you can determine if the engine and transmission are original to the car. As far as accessories, anything could have been added later, so the only way to determine what came on the car originally that I know of is to see the original window sticker or build sheet. The cowl tag on the firewall under the hood will have codes revealing some information, too, such as original paint colors, original interior color, and some options, such as tinted glass, drip moldings, and things like that.

 

ive got the vin and the info off the data plate under the hood. the engine # is the one on the oil fill tube?

 

The engine number is on the block pad just below number one spark plug. Should start out as 38xxxxxx.

 

Actually, the engine number is on the oil fill tube. The first number should be the model year of the car (8 in your case). The number Yellowstatue refers to is called the VIN derivative. It's a shortened version of your VIN (as outlined by Yellowstatue) and will determine if the engine in your car is original to your car.

Randy C.

 

OK thanks for the info. I will look for the # on the block pad. the number on the oil tube is 8526276.where would I find what the cowl tag #s mean?

 

http://datatagdecoder.com/_beta/form.html

The engine number on the oil fill tube really doesn't tell you much

 

I usually ignore the fill tube number because it can be removed and exchanged.