I am looking at a '71 chevelle SS454 with build sheet. It is a 4-speed car, but the trans is not original. The engine is a 512 block and was cast in December, 1969. The engine pad reads T0831 CPA, which tells me that the engine was assembled on August 31st and the CPA code matches the LS5 4-speed build sheet. Here's my concern. There is no vin# stamped on the engine pad. The vin# seems to be stamped by the oil filter with one small exception. The stamping is 11 111606, the vin# of the car is 136371L111606 and the build sheet has 111606 in large print in the top right hand corner. The car was built in Van Nuys. I felt that there should be an "L" stamped where the empty space is. Would you consider this a matching number block? I have owned two matching number 1970 396 cars; one from Atlanta, the other from Arlington. Both of these cars had the vin stamp on the engine pad. Thanks!

Originally posted by Dwayne Martin:
Would you consider this a matching number block?IYes it is

Did you type that correctly? A 1969 date coded block in a 1971 model?? I believe that you have a 1970 Chevelle this would seem more correct.

Yes, I typed it correctly. The block was cast 12/10/69 and then assembled a littel over nine months later on 8/31/1970. This was a very early '71 model. That was one concern. The other was that there was no "L" in the vin# stamp by the oil filter.

Dwayne,

I don't think anyone is going to question the missing 'L'. Could be the 'L' in the gang stamp was just a little bit shorter than the numbers, or the irregularity of the cast surface was such that the 'L' made little or no impression. You have the build sheet, so that means a lot.

Originally posted by Dwayne Martin:
Yes, I typed it correctly. The block was cast 12/10/69 and then assembled a littel over nine months later on 8/31/1970. This was a very early '71 model. from what I've heard and read, everybody loves to see the casting dates within a "certian time" of engine assembly but that just wasn't always the case. If you have an early build 71, i think you're still on the money. You've got the buildsheet and the last six of the VIN.....you've got the motherload.

Not to toss a wrench in the works but a cast dated block 8 months before it's used is a bit suspicious. Do the stampings of the ID and the partial VIN look right (except for the missing "L") size-wise and font-wise?

The car is not local to me. At this point, I haven't physically seen the block yet. I'm going by what the seller is telling me. Wouldn't it be hard for someone to stamp the block in the rough cast area by the oil filter? If the block were re-stamped, wouldn't it be more likely to be stamped on the engine pad since there is no vin# there?

I picked the car up this past weekend and have looked at the block very carefully. It has not been decked, still has the factory broach marks. The date and engine suffix on the engine pad look correct. The vin# stamp by the oil filter looks just like the vin# stamp that I have had on the engine pad on other chevelles; same font and size. The engine is out of the car, so it is very easy to see the numbers. I am convinced that it is the original block. I wonder if the "L" was left out because there were so many "1"'s in the vin# stamp and someone got confused.