Build Date and Block Stamp Concern
 

Got a 1965 built Jan 7 / 65 .
Please see
http://cid-7a756cdbf3208cb5.skydrive...BF3208CB5!2785for pics
1965 327 cubic-inch with 3858180 casting number. The Date Stamp appears to be D2484 ????
1st , isn't there just one letter and three numbers and ours had
one letter and four numbers AND
the date if it has a D would be April and last number is 4 ( for 1964 ? )

That's not the casting date. The casting date is on the other side of the motor similar to where the casting number is on the left side.
It will be a single letter followed by 1 or 2 digits indicating the day and then a single digit indicating the year.

Jim

Added another Picture # 3216 of a Cast from the Passenger side of Block under Distributor . Is this the Date the Block was cast
http://cid-7a756cdbf3208cb5.skydrive...BF3208CB5!2785

If you look straight down between the distributor and the coil on the block just forward of the bellhousing you should see it.( at about 1:00 postiton looking forward) Like Jim said it will be a letter for the month, one or two numbers for the day and then should be a 5 in your case for the year. :thumbs:

Don

Sorry Corvetters . Must be blind . Took Coil and Plug wires and can Not see any other numbers . The link below
http://rowleycorvette.com/vettestats.html/
talks of a 1965 Block with the same casting numbers as ours 3858180 so pretty sure ours is correct
I have looked in the 2 spots suggested and took pics > no luck with a Letter and 3 Numbers ????
Any other ideas or does anyone with a 1965 3858180 block have an idea
Thanks for the help thus far
Bill

The vast majority of blocks for the 65 327 were 3782870 but there were some that used the 3858180 casting ( supposedly not many). I wouldn't think the placement of the date would be differerent but I don't know for sure. Maybe one of the experts will chime in on this. If that Rowley info is correct, the 180 block could be a letter, then 1 or 2 numbers for the day and then 65 instead of just 5 so it could be up to 5 characters.

Don

As I recall (and my memory sucks), the 8180 block was used on a small number of Corvettes in 1965. This block was cast at Tonowanda, so a two digit year code would be appropriate.

I believe that the D2464 is the casting date (April 24th, 64).

I also recall that the date code location on these blocks was different than we would find on other small blocks.

The engine was clearly assembled at Flint on December 29th.

There is good evidence to believe that a small number of 8180 blocks were cast at Tonowanda, then shipped to Flint for assembly. Something to do with a problem at the Saginaw foundry.

Now, as for the gap between casting date and assembly date...no real answer. I did see a 68 base motor car with an 11 month gap between casting date and assembly date. This was an unrestored original car, so these things did happen.

One other really off the wall thought is rattling around in my head. The 8180 block was so strange, and I vaguely recall a block casting date where A did not equal January, it equalled August.

Normally, A = January, B = February, etc. in casting dates. However, if A = August, B = September, etc., then D would be November. If this is the case (and please add a large grain of salt), then D2464 would be November 24th, 1964.

I am pretty confident in the D2464 being the casting date. I have very little confidence in D2464 representing November 24, 1964.

My guess would be a block cast on April 24, 1964, sent to Flint for assembly, and something going wrong that had the block end up in the heavy engine repair area, which caused the gap between block casting and engine assembly.

EMCCOMOS :: Thank you so much for the Input . Anyone else that I could PM to address my Concerns ?

By looking at the location of that D2484, that does not look like it would be the casting date and that really does look like an 8 and not a 6. If that is an 8, it can't be the casting date because for that block the last two numbers would be 64 or 65. Is the engine that your are looking at in the car or outside the car? Is the block perfectly clean in the area that the casting date should be?

Don

Date Stamp on Block
 

Hello Don : The Engine is in the car and I have sprayed WD40 on the Numbers Area . The Vin Number matches the Engine Stamp Number BUT the Block Build date is Confusing and IS THIS the Block build date .
ALSO , by the Block Cast Number 3858180 is GM in 1" Size and Next to Clock Symbol is T5 in 3/4" Size

For what it is worth I once owned a "180" block 365 HP vette. These blocks were cast in Tonawanda so they would have a 2-digit casting date for the year. All 180 blocks in 65 vettes were sent from Towawanda to Flint for machining and assembly and thus have an assembly date beginning with "F" for Flint. Most "180's" in vettes I think were cast in Dec 64 as only 100 or so were made at Tonawanda and shipped to Flint per some writings. I have seen several "180's" and most were assembled about Christmas time in 1964...I call them Christmas motors. Mine was assembled as F1223HH (Dec 23). Yours is F1229HU (Dec 29). My vin was 5874 and yours appears to be vin 6287. Here is the good part...the characters in your assembly date are just like mine. There is that funky "2" in your 23 that is in my 29. Send me an email and I will send you a picture of my engine stamp. Your stamp looks original to me. gvettn@gmail.com.
Gary

I'll try and take a couple pics of mine tomorrow to give you an idea of exactly where to look. PM me or email me with your email address. If your vin derivative matches your plate under the glove box, I would think you are just not seeing the proper place for the casting date. Sometimes they can be touch to see even if you know where to look.

Don

Block Build Date
 

As we are aware , D2484 can;t be the Block Build date since the 3858180 Block was only built from 1962 - 67 and the last 2 digits of 84 ( 1984 ) do not coincide

I can't honestly say that I've ever seen a block casting date in that position, but that appears to be what it is.

VettN and emccomas have given great descriptions and explanations of the rare usage of the "180" block in certain 65 Corvettes.

Also, regardless of the Flint/Tonawanda issue, in casting dates and numbers, A always represents January, B is February, etc. So, that block was cast in April of 64.

I have attached a picture of the block casting date in the postion people are trying to describe to you....up on the bellhousing flange near the distributor on the RIGHT Side of the block. If there's nothing there, then they used an "alternate" location.

Chuck

The HU suffix is 327, 350 hp, manual transmission and air condition according to my book. What does FU on the block pad stand for? Also i cant figure out L221?

The only two 327 blocks for 1965 was 3782870 and 3858180

3855962 396 big block

I also think that D2464 is April 24th 1964.

This according to my Vette vues fact book

Thanks
 

Saint > Thanks for PM Message
The L221 is from Chucks Correspondence ( Not My Pic )
By the Way , HU is correct . Our car is a 350 Hp , Factory Air (Convertible) , 4 Speed
The ONLY cast date on my block is a Clear D2484 which confuses the issue since D is April and our car was assembled Jan 7/65 and the last 2 digits are 84 ( 1984 ) and the 327 ci 3858180 Block only produced in Tonawanda NY from 1962-67

There must be another stamp I'm missing because the overall block and build makes sense > Since this car was built around Christmas in 1964 when Flint had Labour issues and were using the LU ( Limited Use ) 3858180 blocks from Tonawanda

By the Way , the HU is correct for our car . It is a 350 hp , 4 Speed , Factory Air ( Convertible ) AND to Clear up some Questions , I am going out to get some CLEARER and SHARPER Pics . I'll Lightly pressure wash and WD40 the stamps and add a New Link for my ( and Others ) Clarrification AND

THANK YOU TO ALL FOR HELPING US TRY TO MAKE SOME SENSE TO THE NUMBERS

MY BAD. :D

I should have been more clear. The pic in my post is AN EXAMPLE from my picture collection of a casting date in the normal and expected position on the top of the bellhousing, on the right side, near the distributor.

It's NOT a pic of Lickitty's car.

And to go a step further, those cast in dates are often poorly cast from the day they were made. I've seen some casting numbers and casting dates that are pretty illigible.

6's look like b's or 8's F's look like E's, etc,

NO doubt in my mind that the casting date on that block is 64.

Chuck

Maybe I missed it, but I don't see a photo of the block casting date (D2484) you're referring to; it should be located on the rear flange of the block, about 6" toward the passenger side from the distributor. As Chuck noted, I'm sure the "84" will turn out to be "64", as the production foundries didn't keep 20-year-old patterns and cores lying around. 8180 blocks are very rarely seen, but they did exist on some 65's. :thumbs:

Click on the picture link in the first post, John.

You'll see the casting date, on the LT (drivers side) bellhousing flange, at the bottom, perpendicular to the casting number.

Chuck

OK, found it - enlarged it, and it looks to me like "64". :thumbs: