Hey SBC pros. need some help. I JUST bought a 57 Chevy 6400. It has a small block that was implanted at some point in its life but not recently. It is orange with the Chevrolet script across the drivers valve cover. has a generator, ram head exhaust manifolds, single BBL carb. casting number is 3970010 which is either a 302, 327, or 350. the VIN number is C8Z143718 which im unable to decode and that's what i need help with. thanks
Chevrolet stopped putting serial numbers on car and trucks engines after 1956.
Post a picture of the number.
Just out of curiosity does this number match your paper title...maybe the number was added when it left the Gov't and got titled for the first time or it's a re-builders number...
There should be a stamped number on the top of the engine block just ahead of the passenger's side cylinder head. A 2 or 3 letter (not number) code at the end of the ID is used to decode the size and original application of the engine. I believe it can also identify the year of manufacture in some cases. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
There are two basic issues which I think you are asking about. The Truck and the Motor. Probably need to decode separately.
We will have to be careful here with terms. VIN is usually a "Vehicle Identification Number" on a VIN plate on the cab and the same number on the Title. So is this what you are saying with C8Z143718 ? or what?
Sometimes there are partial VIN's on motors and other components of the truck. The frame will have a partial VIN stamped near steering box. The motor has casting numbers and Serial numbers. The casting numbers are cast into the head and the block and can help identify the motor. As Jerry says, there is a serial number usually on a machined pad in front of the passenger head. It is stamped into the metal and will need cleaned off to see. Don't sand it or grind it. This number will pin down the motor as to size, etc.
So far C8Z143718 does not make sense or conform to what I've found. So tell us what your definition of VIN is and where you see this number and clean and re read it again. If it is a cast or stamped number, clean it off and bee sure an "8" is not an "E" or "B" and so forth.
As you have discovered, the block was used from about 68/69 to about 1975 or ?. Good block. Could be the Truck version 327. Could be a 1968 car (C8) motor but need to know more info. Just curious: Is there a oil filler pipe sticking up in front of motor or do you fill thru the valve cover?
Since one of the pictures includes a vented valve cover with an oil fill hole, we can assume the engine is newer than the truck, but a valve cover is a bolt-on item so that's not definitive proof. Brand new replacement engines called "Target Master" were sold by Chevy dealer parts departments at competitive prices to most aftermarket rebuilt engines, so if there's not a conventional ID number on the machined pad, it's possible you've got one of them. I seem to remember them having an oddball number like the one you've posted. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
Some have "CE" meaning it was a replacement or warranty motor. That's why I asked if it was an "8" for sure. Counter Engine/Chevy Engine/Crate Engine/CE/Target Motor
Yes older SBC had a oil fill pipe up front. The casting number sort of dates it.
The fill pipe was in the intake manifold, not the block. That's also a bolt-on item that can make a "new" engine look old. Ditto on the early valve covers without any holes in them. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
Chevrolet stopped using engine serial numbers after 1956. The post 1956 stamped numbers/letters identify the engine assembly plant, build date and application codes. This coded number can't be used as a serial number because many engines could share the exact same set of numbers/letters.
As stated, look for the last two or three LETTERS on the pad on top right front of block. Two letters pre-1969 and three letters after. This will give engine size, hp, carb, transmission, and car it came in. If the last two letters are DZ I'll give you $2500 for it sight unseen. Here is what you are looking for:
Mike, I saw that you said that in another post. The internet and my memory say they had, what some call, serial numbers, stamped alpha/numeric, on the pad. Are you sure about stopping in 1956? The NastyZ28.com site, I always use, calls them "Engine number suffix codes". Goes way past 1956. This is the info we are all talking about. I call them serial numbers. Call them what you wish, the point is they give the info of the motor if the motor still has it's original parts. Year, CID, Application, HP, Engine VIN, BBLS, GM Body/Comments. Maybe serial number is the wrong word but the "stamp" is the subject. Your knowledge on this is appreciated.
Yes, actual engine serial numbers ended with the 1956 model year.
You are absolutely correct with the term "Engine number suffix codes"...nothing about this number makes it a "serial number" or a "VIN" as way more than one engine would/could have the same code...Example F1102YS built in Flint, on Nov 2nd, with the same application code for a 1967 327 Model C-10, 20 & 30. How many C-10 327 engines were built that day? I bet way more than one!
Hey sorry for the delay I got some updates and pictrues. I would be very surprised if the VIN on the truck had any relationship to the motor. It was originally an inline 6. I scrapped a little further and found more numbers. Front of block passenger side. V0921TWZ, and C8Z143718. Will post more soon.
I believe Evan's information is about as good as it gets. It will be a good starting point if you need parts. The intake could be from some other year/cubic inch small block engine. It will have a date code and a casting number, the carb will have a stamping number or possibly a tag. A whole lot of swapping takes place over the years, and as you stated it was originally a 6 cyl truck.
Fred
1956 3100 Pickup/Red/350/3sp OD/PS/Disc Brakes 1957 Bel Air Sport Coupe/Red/355/TH350/PS/Disc Brakes 2017 Silverado LT Single Cab SB/Black/5.3/6 Speed Trans 1947 Willys CJ2A w/F-Head engine
69 Camaro Z28 302ci, forged and nitrided crank, pink rods, forged pistons, special cam, 2.02 valves, special valve springs, windage tray, 4 bolt mains, and on and on. The 69 Camaro people will give their eye teeth for a genuine factory one. If you have one like this with the DZ engine and the rare RS version ( eye lids over head light) you're probably talking six figures.
