I just bought a 72 SS and am trying to figure out if this has the original motor. Here are the particulars:

Block casting: 3970010 which I believe was a 70-75 350.

VIN: 1D37J2R540915 which indicates a 350 motor.

Stamp: K01 06 CKB The CKB indicates a 350 w/auto for 1972. I thought the K01 would be a date (November 1971) but I don't know what the 06 would be???

Also stamped is 121171411 (behind the alt on the deck). I do not know what this number is. Should it match the VIN???

The trim tag is:
ST 72-13637 R 24064 BDY
TR 704 A52 14 14 PNT
02C697

I read that as a silver car with bench seat built in March of 72, but what is the 697 after the build date???

Any help please oh wise TCers

Bob

Bob,

I'm not sure what the 'K' is (could it possibly be a 'V'?), but 0106 means January 6th. The letter preceding 0106 designates the plant where the engine is assembled, and I thought most small blocks were assembled at Flint, MI, which is a 'V' code.

The other number on the deck under the alternator should contain the last six digits of your car's VIN if it were the original engine. In this case, your original engine should have been stamped '12R540915'. Obviously the engine has been replaced somewhere in the past.

The book I am reading these codes out of indicates that the K represents McKinnon Industries as the plant. Flint had a different code. McKinnon, January 6. The CKB indicates a 72 passenger car with Auto. What are the chances that someone replaced my motor with another that was assembled two months prior to the build date of my car and with the correct three letter code?

In another post I read that the stamped 121171411 would decode as
1 chevy
2 model year
1 Assembly plant
171411 VIN number

The number '697' correlates to a number on the build sheet used for tracking purposes.

The stamped 121171411 (behind the alt on the deck) is bothersome. I know that this number should match the VIN but it doesn't have any letters in it at all. Does anyone know what this number would be from? The CKB code would be correct for the car.

It has no letters for the assembly plant because that plant code is 1 for Oshawa. 121171411. 3rd digit in VIN derivative is plant code, 1=Oshawa; 2-St Therese, both in Canada.

You have a 1972 Chevelle built in Arlington Texas with a transplanted engine from a 1972 Monte Carlo with the last 6 VIN of 171414 and built in Oshawa Ontario Canada assembly plant. In 1972 the VIN sequence for Chevelle's started at 500001 and went up. I have build sheets that show this.

Not your original engine and not correct for your car to match the VIN code J. Your OEM engine had a 4-bbl carb L48 and this one was a 2-bbl carb L65 per my sources (Chevrolet). The Chevrolet parts Catalog says CKB is a Monte Carlo only engine in 1972 with a powerglide. FYI-Monte Carlo is part of the Chevelle line (like El Camino is).

Hi Guys,

I read this post and found a slight problem.

El Camino posted this

"121171411. 3rd digit in VIN derivative is plant code, 1=Oshawa; 2-St Therese, both in Canada.

You have a 1972 Chevelle built in Arlington Texas with a transplanted engine from a 1972 Monte Carlo with the last 6 VIN of 171414 and built in Oshawa Ontario Canada assembly plant"

121171411

Would break down like this

1 = Chevrolet Motor Division
2 = model year 1972
1 = assembly plant code for Oshawa Ontario
1 = start of sequential unit number (not a Chevelle/Monte Carlo as they use a 5)
74111 = last five digits of the VIN number of the car this was installed in.

I believe this engine is out of a full size passenger car. How I know its not a Monte Carlo is this, the car ahead of my 72 Malibu was a 72 Monte Carlo (from the Oshawa plant)and it is just one digit lower than my VIN number.

Also this is a Canadian built engine as the code
K01 06 CKB

breaks down like this

K = McKinnon Industries (St Catherines Ontario Canada Engine plant)
01 = month of the year January
06 = day of the month
CKB = engine application code

Don't have any reference books handy, but according to the Team Chevelle 72 engine code page CKB is not a Chevelle engine. So I'm not sure what Chevrolet model used this engine.

Hard to answer these questions completely from where I am without my reference materials.

Thanks Mike. It's just bizarre that they transplanted an engine built two months prior to the build date of my car.