anyone that can help it would be appreciated

this engine is in a 78 with a 4 speed

left rear on block 3970010 which is a 350 2 or 4 bolt main from 68-79

right front of block looks like V0218CUT if i decoded it right
it means my engine was made in Flint on feb 18 for an AT trans car.
but how can i tell what year for sure since the number above just gives a date range?

just below that is 18S424383 which i believe is the serial number,
if it is then it doesnt match my vin number.
so can i assume this means the engine was replaced?

if im wrong and it is the correct engine then i will rebuild it to keep the car #s matching.
if it is the wrong engine for the car then it looks like a 383 stroker
will be in my future.

 

"CUT" was only used on 75 or 78 Corvettes, no other vehicles.

If the VIN stamping is different than your car, it ain't your engine. The 8 in the VIN code on your engine indicates that it's from a '78.

Somebody somewhere with that serial number might be looking for his engine

 

try mortec.com they got me my info in 20 min. the year is on the right rear and the vin # might be on the front right on the head mating surface

 

my car is a 78 so i guess its a 78 engine but the vin number doesnt match up although the other number matches up to a vette engine
in 78.
what would the odds be that it was a warranty replacement?

 

Zero if it has a VIN stamped on the block. There's almost no way of know what somebody did to the car 10-15-20-25 years ago....

 

Warranty replacement would have a "CE" stamp in place of the VIN stamp.

 

wow i guess its not the priginal engine then.
would be interesting to find out how it ended up with this engine
in it and when that happened.

 

I agree with Mike. The CUT engine suffix is an automatic tranny configured engine...you've got a four-speed installed. YOu don't indicate your vehicle VIN but the engine sequence is 24,383 with a build date of Feb 18 78. Therefore the assembly date of the vehicle is after that date. What's the build date code on your trim tag and/or what's the vehicle VIN sequence? Also...the 24,383 indicates it was installed in a vehicle and not a service replacement. As indicated the CE code was used for service replacements.

You really don't know that your 78 is even a 4 speed car. A VIN is stamped on the four-speed that either

1. matches the engine VIN
2. matches your vehicle VIN
3. Does not match either.

YOu do have several options if the origin aspects of your vehicle intrigues you.

1. Call GM, pay your $50 and get the retail invoice for your vehicle. That will tell you what the vehicle was equipped with from the factory.

2. Use the engine VIN derivative, complete the VIN series (use first part from your vehicle VIN) and do a search with DMVs (carfax) to determine what happen to the donor vehicle of your engine.

3. If the emission sticker is still present and you can surmise the extent of its originality...its code will dictate what engine configuration was originally installed in your 78. DU is the typical code used for both an L48 four-speed and automatic transmission car.

Hope this helps and keep us posted on your findings!