Hi all, I'm hoping for information on what would be the correct date code on the engine block for vin #J59S103992. Could a range of several months be correct or does it have to be one specific month?
Thank you very much,
Tom

 

I believe the rule of thumb is 3 months prior.

 

NCRS gives full points for up to six months before the car’s build date, if that matters to you, IIRC.

 

Typical lag time from casting date to final assembly of car is 3 to 4 weeks depending on the demand .VIN # 3992 DOB is about 2/2/59. so to be NCRS correct ( 6 months prior) the casting date to be correct would be up to early Sept. 1958.

 

I hope I am not diverging from your question, buy maybe this is an elaboration of what you are asking.

anything over 6 months and you are in disfavor of getting the NCRS judging points, if that is your goal.

but there are trucking strikes, engine foundry strikes, shipping delays, assembly plant strikes, and the first in / first out philosophy of any of these entities that can cause fluctuation on the date range.

if one can get the data, then similar engines in a tight date range should be installed in the same tight date range of those car's build dates.

also, NCRS judging points are not any guarantee that the engine is original. the many factors that document originality have to come in play above and beyond a cast date.

if a 6 months old engine is installed in a car, it may get its judging points, but I certainly would not pay original engine money for the car.

extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. Especially when an original engine premium is asked for.

 

NCRS allows 6 months prior, but that is NOT the nominal situation.

The nominal delta between engine casting date and vehicle assembly date is 1 to 4 weeks. Yes, there are plenty of examples of deltas longer than that.

3992 was born on 2/2/59 (as indicated earlier).

Noland Adams very limited 1959 information correlates VIN to engine assembly stamp as follows:

VIN Born Engine stamp Delta between engine assembly and vehicle assembly
2528 12/29/58 F1121CS (Nov 21, 58) 38 days
3711 1/27/59 F119CU (Jan 19, 59) 8 days
3992 2/2/59 F123XX (Jan 23, 59) 10 days
5367 3/13/59 F211CQ (Feb 11, 59) 28 days
5595 3/19/59 F107DH (Jan 7, 59) 71 days
5622 3/20/59 F311CS (Mar 11, 59) 10 days
7360 5/8/59 F428CQ (Apr 28, 59) 10 days
9355 7/29/59 F713DG (Jul 13, 59) 16 days

I think the 38 and the 71 day delays are anomalies, and not representative of typical factory production. I am estimating 10 days for 3992, an engine assembly day of Jan 23, 1959 makes sense. I would estimate an engine casting date a few days before that, so figure an engine casting date of Jan 21st, 1959 (A 21 9).

1 to 4 weeks is starting 1/5/59 to 1/26/59 (A 5 9) to (A 26 9)

 

Thank you all very much gentlemen, this is exactly the information I was looking for!
Tom