eBay VO127DZ no VIN w/ - A 17 8 - Cast date??

[kforce]

eBay item:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330308332947&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:MOTORS:1123

Claims standard bore '69 302 4 bolt -VO127DZ- NO VIN on the pad and a picture of an "A 17 8" cast date.

Or is it a "9" that just looks like an 8?

E-mailed me with claim of number stamped by the oil filter mount "...ending in 007"

[kforce]

Guess this belongs in ORPHANS.

[KurtS]

Pad looks fine.
And no, it's fine here. The Orphan board is only for parts with known VINs stamped on them.

[dannystarr]

Hey guys, if I had to guess I would say it's a nine. Look at the size of the TOP of the 8 in relation to that number. It is way smaller. In fact it would just about fit inside the top of that number. So from a non-pro guy, I would bet money it's a nine. It also sweeps around like a nine, like a six upside down. ? Again, just my thinking on it........Danny

[samanatoo]

Do all the number "2"  stampings have that faded short bottom.  I see that in the pic and on my Z and also on my 70 vette350/350HP front pad.

[69Z28-RS]

that's interesting.  The assembly stamp looks good, but the cast date 'looks' like an 8 to me, unless it's an upside down 9...    and it should not be a DZ stamp from January '68.    If the '618' block correct for the Jan '69 time frame?  I'd be brushing that date code to see if were for sure an 8 or a 9....

[JohnZ]

Do all the number "2"  stampings have that faded short bottom.  I see that in the pic and on my Z and also on my 70 vette350/350HP front pad.

You can't make originality determinations on that basis. When the set-up man at Flint V-8 made up the machine code gang holders each morning for that day's run (usually 30-40 different gang holders based on the day's suffix schedule), he grabbed 2's out of a bin that probably had fifty "2" dies in it, purchased from different suppliers, each with different degrees of usage/wear on them. At the end of second shift, that day's gang holders were torn down and the individual dies went back in the bins - there was no single specific font style for each character. You can only logically compare the characteristics of stampings with the same suffix that were done the same day.

[1968RSZ28]

When the set-up man at Flint V-8 made up the machine code gang holders each morning for that day's run (usually 30-40 different gang holders based on the day's suffix schedule), he grabbed 2's out of a bin that probably had fifty "2" dies in it, purchased from different suppliers, each with different degrees of usage/wear on them. At the end of second shift, that day's gang holders were torn down and the individual dies went back in the bins - there was no single specific font style for each character. You can only logically compare the characteristics of stampings with the same suffix that were done the same day.

Thanks John, now I understand how and why there are stampings like the photo below...

Paul

[samanatoo]

Thanks John for the explanation and thanks for the help on the 64 vette tooo