I was wondering if someone could shed some light on these letters and numbers stamped in the block just to the left of the distributor. It's a 216 engine, the stamping is DAA 5296 I. It's the letter I at the end,not a 1. Is this motor original to the truck???
That appears to be an engine that was originally installed in a car. Here's a snip from the Vehicle Info Kit from 1946 Chevy Passenger Cars. An engine from a 1/2 ton 1946 Chevy truck would have a DBA prefix on the serial number.
Kevin 1951 Chevy 3100 work truck Follow this saga in Project Journal Photos 1929 Ford pickup restored from the ground up. | 1929 Ford Special Coupe (First car) Busting rust since the mid-60's If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together.
Thanks Kevin for that information. Sounds like it's from a car, my son was saying that the front motor mount plate has the holes in it for a car, and someone must have drilled new holes in that plate when it was installed in the truck. So would the numbers 5296 be the production run numbers, and what would that I at the end of the string indicate?
Yes, the 5296 would mean it's the 4296th engine off the assembly line. No information on the "I" though. I think it's possible that the front engine plate had holes for both car and truck mounting, simplifying part inventory, but your son may be right about holes being drilled for mounting in the truck.
Kevin 1951 Chevy 3100 work truck Follow this saga in Project Journal Photos 1929 Ford pickup restored from the ground up. | 1929 Ford Special Coupe (First car) Busting rust since the mid-60's If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together.
