With AOL Hometown shutting down, Drew Senko's Oldsmobile VIN decoder is offline. I stumbled across this link from the GM Service organization. Very helpful.

http://service.gm.com/dealerworld/vincards/

 

That is VERY helpful. Thanks for unearthing it.

 

This one still works: http://www.v8cars.hu/oldsvin/decode.php

Norm

 

This is What my Vin pulled upYear:1972Division:OldsmobileSeries:Cutlass SupremeBody:Holiday Hardtop (2 door)Engine:350 (5.7) V8 4BBLPlant:Arlington, TexasSerial Number:183198My ?? is what kind of motor came in these cars that year ?? 442,403,455,350 and did some of these cars have the dual gate shift avail ???my does have floor shifter but my console was all ready gone.

 

Good thing you’ve stumbled across this link..its really helpful for me too..i hope mazda parts has this decoders too..

 

Thanks also. Just took delivery of a 75 Olds Delta 88 that was advertised as a 350 4bbl. Vin shows engine code "T" = 455 4BBl.....sweetens the deal even more !

 

Just be careful that the engine in the car now may not be the one it was born with.

 

thank you so much this helped tremendously

 

In '72 there was the 350 (standard displacement) and the 455 (optional) and yes the dual gate (W-26) could be ordered in '72. Hope this helps.
Scot

 

hey egknz What cars came with a 442 in them?

lol

 

There never was a 442 cid motor.

To be honest, I don't think I ever expected to have to say that to an Olds owner. :-)

 

On a somewhat related note, I think some of you may find this handy:

http://www.gmheritagecenter.com/gm-h...tion-kits.html

 

Excactly i hate it when people come up to me and ask me if there is a 442 ci engine in my car its one of my biggest pet peeves.

it funny when people ask if it has the 442 engine in it because i say the 455 yeah.

 

Good find Joe. Thanks for the links guys.

Subscribed to keep this in my favorites for future use.

 

I put in the VIN from my wife's grocery getter which is a Tahoe and it gave me FOUR whole pages of RPO codes (options) and stated that the rarity was one of two with the same options and one of six with at least those same options put out by Janesville, WI. Pretty neat stuff, Thanks Joe! There were some RPO's that I didn't understand though. Would you know where I could decode the codes?
Scot

 

 

Some AWESOME links posted in this thread ..... THANK YOU !!

 

Yeah, definatly worth saving!!

 

I thought I made a comment on this already , my post went away... oh well , good job!!!!

 

On the engine stamping pad, under the #1 cylinder. This is called a VIN derivative.

P1010400-1.jpg

The stamped information (if Olds 403) will be
3 (olds) 7,8,9 (last number of year) (letter code indicating plant) followed by XXXXXX (number sequence of original car)

 

As Allan points out, the VIN derivative will tell you the year of the block. It won't tell you the displacement, however. Olds blocks have a casting number on the small shelf above the water pump, next to the oil fill tube. The photo below is of a late 1970s 350 block. Of course, on 403 motors, there's a large "403" cast into each side of the block, where the freeze plugs are.

P1010399.jpg

 

Exactly.
The 403 should have a casting number 557265 or 553390. One other point of clarification...just in case. The 403 is a small block engine. Don't be fooled that the 4 in the 403 means its big block. Color on the 403 should be blue, although anyone with a rattle can spray paint can change that to whatever they want.

The 403 is really well marked on the side of the block to the rear of the motor mounts above the frost plugs as Joe mentioned. 403's also have a distinctive valve cover. Note that it uses less bolts to secure, and some of the flanged areas are not pierced to accept VC bolts.

Olds403FirebirdenginemountsLH.jpg

 

If you read all of the O.P.'s threads, you'll find out that this 403 has a points distributor, so if it really is a 403, it's apparently a frankenmotor. The original 403 valve covers used five bolts, but without more details on head casting numbers, etc, there's no way of knowing what parts are on that motor. It may just be a 403 short block with other parts from the original 350, or who knows what.

 

Hmmm, good 'points'. My vallium must be kicking in from all that caffeine earlier....

It would be helpful if he posted a picture in one of his threads that shows the engine.

 

I found and used this again today

VERY handy since most of my PN info stops at 1975

http://api.viglink.com/api/click?for...%2Fvincards%2F

 

It's worth noting that those VIN cards are regularly updated and cover 1972 through the current model year. They have also added pre-72 information, but unfortunately for Chevy only at this time. These come straight from GM Parts, so there is no question that the info is correct.