just wondering if anyone would know what the date code on a 186s engine should be mine says h 8 9 , but the build date of the car is third month 1970 gts ht Monaro please any answers

Edited by user Monday, 15 October 2018 8:11:58 PM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

August 8th is the block cast date.

It is the cast date of the block, not the date the engine was assembled. The engine may have been assembled and first run in February 1970. Or the engine may have failed when first fired and then put aside with others to be fixed and later fitted to the car. Or the block may have had problem during machining and then put aside to be fixed and used later. Or the engine may have been used for some other purpose and then used in a GMH Company car, then sold off as a used car once the warranty ran out (this was common practice). GMH never threw anything away, they always used everything that was useable. In the end cast dates on engine parts mean very little.

My HK V8 GTS was assembled in July 1968 but its engine was cast in October 1967, and assembled on 24th October 1967. I have seen HK's built as late as December 1968 with 1967 built 307 engines. If you bought a Chevrolet Impala or Pontiac Parisienne from GMH in 1969 or 1970 its engine will be cast late in 1967 or early 1968. These are extreme examples but it happens.

Is it definitely the original engine to the car?

Edited by user Tuesday, 16 October 2018 7:07:35 AM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified