My sandman is dated 10mth 1975 I want to fit the correct engine so the numbers match.
I believe that having an engine block dated 4mths earlier than the vehicles build date is fine..(please advise if this is not the case).

But does anyone know how close can the build date of the block be to that of the vehicle ?

I only ask this as there is a 308 on eb@y dated 19j5 (19 nov 1975) and i was unsure if this is too late for my Van?

Cheers

Vanman

that block would suit fine, being about 4 weeks prior to your van, anonymous is correct with the date thing too

(i) isnt used in the date codes, it is skipped to avoid confusion with 1

Edited by user Monday, 10 August 2009 2:46:55 AM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Hey Vanman

I think I met you yeserday at the cobram swapmeet.

We were talking to peter from moyhu?? Really good bloke to deal with.

Stephen

Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint.

[email protected]
http://gallery.oldholden.com/69HT_MUNRO/

69HT_MUNRO Yep mate thats me...I will hopefully drop round and see peter later on this week...

quote:

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davequey74 Posted - 10/08/2009 : 8:56:54 PM if it was a 75 the engine would be red, 85 it would be blue or black

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I understand the colours but what happens if it has been blasted or acid dipped and painted sometime over the last 30 odd years.. I think I need to know the first two letters to confirm

quote:

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Originally posted by vanman
My sandman is dated 10mth 1975 I want to fit the correct engine so the numbers match.
I believe that having an engine block dated 4mths earlier than the vehicles build date is fine..(please advise if this is not the case).

But does anyone know how close can the build date of the block be to that of the vehicle ?

I only ask this as there is a 308 on eb@y dated 19j5 (19 nov 1975) and i was unsure if this is too late for my Van?

Cheers

Vanman

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Just a few quick comments.
In reality, 4 months earlier in the cast date is a fair amount of difference but is quite possible. Somewhere between 4 days and 4 weeks would be better but much bigger gaps could happen. As the engine isnt original to your van Id try for as close as possible beforehand. HOWEVER, the difference can also be plant dependant, and the actual engine number can vary widely across plants and differ by many months for consecutive numbers. If you ever get a chance to look at pages from original maintenance or build records and look closely at engine number trends you can see how much variation there is, plus how engine numbers close to each other can be installed in different plants months apart. So in short unless you know your original engine number you cannot even get close to making it "match" with another engine. Therefore you might as well use any engine of the same capacity as the original, if you get one close to the previous few weeks in casting date to your build date even better. In my opinion casting date is even less important as an engine number close to your original as the only "matching" numbers combination is the original. Remember though that QT650000 might be original to your van but QT650001 might have been put into a vehicle in another plant 2-3 months earlier or later (most likely itd be not QT but QL650001 or something other than QT).

And James, all HJ onwards blocks have the thicker rear casting, not just TH blocks.

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