Author Topic: Need Help with Partial VIN Engine Stamp (Read 16517 times)

dtep · « **on:** November 15, 2014, 04:14:22 PM »

I'm thinking about buying a '69 Z/28. The engine was assembled in Flint in late December of 1968 and the car was built in Norwood in February 1969. Everything makes sense except the partial VIN on the engine block. The VIN matches, but it is prefixed with either 4EC, 4EO, 4E0 or 4EG. I've looked all over the web and through the Camaro White Pages book, but can't find any clues as to what this might mean. Thoughts?

z28z11 · « **Reply #1 on:** November 15, 2014, 04:51:18 PM »

Need a pic. Distance between engine assembly date and the February build for the car seems a little large, but stranger things have happened. Unusual prefix to be sure, if it's really a DZ.

Regards,
Steve

dtep · « **Reply #2 on:** November 15, 2014, 11:52:58 PM »

Here is a picture. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be paranoid about the VIN or not so I blanked out a few digits. Thanks for any help anyone can provide.

ZLP955 · « **Reply #3 on:** November 16, 2014, 01:47:08 AM »

Are you saying the VIN on the driver's side upper dash is 124379N590xxx?

z28z11 · « **Reply #4 on:** November 16, 2014, 01:56:58 AM »

With that VIN, it is early February (02A ?) - not too long after mine, a late January build.

I know that Norwood was stamping above the oil filters by late December - I have a 12/30 L78 block that is above the filter, so I know that some (if not all) were the same way at Norwood.

Font on the stamp looks pretty good, though - hard to tell about the pad deck with all of the scraping that went on around it. Jury's still hung for me -

Regards,
Steve

dtep · « **Reply #5 on:** November 16, 2014, 02:19:18 AM »

ZLP955 - That is the VIN on the dashplate, give or take some x's.

Z28Z11 - Actually, the cowlplate shows 02A, which is early February. I read the same thing about the stamping moving above the oil filter too. I haven't seen the car yet, but when I do, I'm going to look to see what is there.

I can't remember where I read it, but I saw something that said that if a motor was replaced by a dealership, they would stamp the block but put a dealership number on the front of the VIN. Has anyone ever seen that?

z28z11 · « **Reply #6 on:** November 16, 2014, 02:29:51 AM »

Fat fingered me, not proofreading what I write - I corrected the date to 02A. My X77 is 01C - MSO was cut 1/28.

I had a picture of a DZ block stuck somewhere with a prefix code similar to this, can't remember that date of the block, but it seems the code was EGS or ECS - but I can't locate it. I'll keep looking -

KurtS · « **Reply #7 on:** November 16, 2014, 04:01:15 AM »

Not a great pic, but the DZ stamp looks real.
The "VIN" is not factory.

No need to be paranoid about the VIN - what would someone do with it?

dtep · « **Reply #8 on:** November 16, 2014, 04:36:17 AM »

KurtS - What do you see in the VIN stamp that tells you it is not factory? I'm not questioning your judgement, just trying to get educated about these things.

ko-lek-tor · « **Reply #9 on:** November 16, 2014, 05:10:06 PM »

V1230....born the same date I was!

bcmiller · « **Reply #10 on:** November 16, 2014, 06:30:43 PM »

I am interested in seeing the complete engine pad area without anything blurred out.

dtep · « **Reply #11 on:** November 16, 2014, 11:02:11 PM »

Here is the complete engine pad.

mickeystoys69RSSS · « **Reply #12 on:** November 16, 2014, 11:48:04 PM »

That is the worst grind and restamp job I have seen.

dtep · « **Reply #13 on:** November 17, 2014, 12:52:52 AM »

mickeystoys69RSSS- That's discouraging. I was thinking that they used a wire wheel on a grinder to clean off the rust and that is what made the arc pattern. I also see the arc in the rust on the left as well as some of the roughness of the casting close to the VIN stamp. Maybe I'm being delusional, but I'm trying to decide whether to get on a plane to go see this car or not. I'm not sure that the current owner is physically able to check the oil filter area for a factory stamp which might give me more information. Ugh!

KurtS · « **Reply #14 on:** November 17, 2014, 01:35:51 AM »

The spacing and font is way off on the VIN. And the format.

dtep · « **Reply #15 on:** November 17, 2014, 02:06:48 AM »

Rats. I'm not feeling any love for this stamp!!

I think I will still go see the car because he also has a 68 RS/SS. I'll check above the oil filter myself. (Backstory: My wife let me build a garage to work on cars so I told her I would get a 68 Camaro for her first.) This dude must collect cars with ugly engine stamps. Has anyone ever seen anything like this? It does match the VIN and has the right prefix, it just looks like it took three tries to get the job done.

ko-lek-tor · « **Reply #16 on:** November 17, 2014, 02:10:10 AM »

RE: Pad Stamp. wonder if that is the way a machine shop might have I.D.ed it?

KurtS · « **Reply #17 on:** November 17, 2014, 05:59:02 AM »

I'd guess that someone added the VIN to a DZ block from another car.

The 68 pad looks fine, but it's a 327 car, not an SS.

dtep · « **Reply #18 on:** November 17, 2014, 08:45:12 AM »

KurtS - You are right, the 68 is a 327 car. The owner's claim is that it is an RS with an SS appearance package.

Thanks to all for your advice/opinions. As you can tell from my post count, I just joined this group. I'm very impressed with the knowledge base both in the site and in the people. I'll be spending a lot of time here.

KurtS · « **Reply #19 on:** November 17, 2014, 08:58:20 PM »

There is no such thing as an SS appearance package on a Camaro.... Yup, badges can be added by owners.

z28z11 · « **Reply #20 on:** November 19, 2014, 06:23:04 AM »

Quote from: ko-lek-tor on November 17, 2014, 02:10:10 AM

RE: Pad Stamp. wonder if that is the way a machine shop might have I.D.ed it?

My thought, too - I've known machine shops to stamp pads to ID blocks after machining or cleaning, or by the owner's request (old days) - I'd get hostile if a shop tried to do that to one of mine in the present, as would anyone.

Regards -

69 Zee · « **Reply #21 on:** November 24, 2014, 04:00:31 AM »

That's a horrible VIN restamp on the DZ block. By the spacing and character alignment, looks like each character was stamp individually instead of using a gang stamp. Like others have said, probably done by a machine shop.

dtep · « **Reply #22 on:** December 24, 2014, 04:13:45 AM »

I bought both of these cars and after 48 hours of seat time in my truck over the last week, they both reside in my garage!! When I went to look at the cars, I couldn't get a good look at the oil filter area on the Z/28 as the car was sitting in the trailer where it had been for the last eight years. I did look at the date stamp on one of the heads through the oil filler hole and the date stamp was E290 which I believe is May 29, 1970. I also found a stamp on the transmission that I think was P7A11 which would be a 1967 transmission. So, at first glance, it looks like the Z/28 has all the right parts, but probably not the original parts for that car.

I need to start on the 68 to get it ready for my wife to drive next summer so I'll be spending a lot of time searching this site looking for vendors and information.

1968RSZ28 · « **Reply #23 on:** December 30, 2014, 09:04:31 AM »

Quote from: ko-lek-tor on November 16, 2014, 05:10:06 PM

V1230....born the same date I was!

Happy Birthday Bentley!!!

Paul

69Z28-RS · « **Reply #24 on:** December 30, 2014, 03:36:48 PM »

Quote from: dtep on November 17, 2014, 02:06:48 AM

... This dude must collect cars with ugly engine stamps. ...

More likely... he just 'makes the ugly engine stamps' himself.....

OH.. and Happy Birthday to you Bentley!!

pjbizjak · « **Reply #25 on:** December 31, 2014, 03:48:40 AM »

If I remember right I once read that VIN's were ganged stamped but the stamp numbers were'nt a 'matched set'. Some were a little higher or lower causing an uneven VIN.

Pete 04A Z

dtep · « **Reply #26 on:** January 05, 2015, 10:49:23 PM »

I'm going to have to pull the motor to get a good look at the area around the oil filter on the Z/28. But that will not happen for a while, because I first need to get the 68 ready for my wife to drive this summer and worse, I had to go back to work today. :-(

News:

Author Topic: Need Help with Partial VIN Engine Stamp (Read 16517 times)