No partial VIN on blocks

[melav8r]

I own block V0109DZ which came out of 19L518297.

Umm, do you realize this car is still out there?

Well I've owned the block close to 10 years, where's the car?

I was contacted by the owner of the above car a while back.
Unfortunately for him, the blocked was decked, the partial vin which was on the front pad is gone, the DZ stamp is still somewhat legible and distinguishable as "V0109DZ".
What value, if any, would having this block back in the original car be?

[x77-69z28]

it would certainly have a value. not sure how much, but if it is THE original motor, it should go back in it. all the date codes would obviously be correct.

[Stingr69]

Just for the sake of information - I have seen a block from an early '69 commercial chassis (large) truck that did not have a partial VIN derivative stamp. I do not know if the VIN derivative stamp requirement applied to large truck chassis vehicles or not but this one never had a stamp.

The process of stamping a VIN derivative on the rough cast bellhousing area only applied to engines that had the alternator installed in front on the passenger side. That was the only reason to move the VIN derivative stamping operation down to the bellhousing area. The labor required using the previous method to pull the alternator off, stamp the upper pad, and re-install the alternator on the line was the reason the procedure was changed for the vehicles where it made sense. Not all vehicles were stamped that way.

-Mark.

[Petes L48]

The engine and trans partial VINs were stamped before the alternator was installed, so it was not a matter of having to go back and remove the alternator but more of a consideration of being able to read it once the alternator was mounted.  Norwood used the pad up to around December 68 and Van Nuys varied between the pad and oil filter area thoughout the model year.

http://www.camaros.org/drivetrain.shtml#PadStamps
   

[melav8r]

it would certainly have a value. not sure how much, but if it is THE original motor, it should go back in it. all the date codes would obviously be correct.

As I previously mentioned, the partial vin was stamped on the front pad and I did record the vin number.
However, after I informed the owner that the block had been decked and that the partial vin was no longer visible he didn't seem too interested in re-joining it with the car.
Unfortunately for him, I'm the only witness who can attest to the vin stamping.

[Stingr69]

The engine and trans partial VINs were stamped before the alternator was installed, so it was not a matter of having to go back and remove the alternator but more of a consideration of being able to read it once the alternator was mounted.  Norwood used the pad up to around December 68 and Van Nuys varied between the pad and oil filter area thoughout the model year.

http://www.camaros.org/drivetrain.shtml#PadStamps
   

Engine build date/suffix stamp was stamped at the engine plant when the engine was assembled (before the alternator was installed) but the VIN derivative was stamped later just as the car and powertrain was being mated. There isn't any reason to "read the VIN derivative or the engine suffix/date stamp later". You certainly can't read it on the side of the block down by the bellhousing once the engine was installed so that doesn't hold water. Engine and transmission were both VIN derivative stamped at the same station with the same gang stamp. Jerry MacNeish says the alt was removed and replaced on the early '69 cars before the change and it makes sense to modify the process to save labor if you think about it. I have to believe him unless we get a better story or some reason to believe otherwise.

-Mark.

[JohnZ]

I don't think we'll ever know why Norwood elected to change the process sequence for the engine VIN derivative stamping operation and move it from the pad to the oil filter area after four months of '69 production. The engine was bare-naked when it arrived from the engine plant and there was wide-open access to stamp it on the front pad (the alternator was installed at Norwood, not at the engine plant), so they must have made some sort of rearrangement of operations on the engine dress line such that the VIN had to be stamped after installing the alternator instead of before the alternator.

[McKenzieDave]

08D Partial VIN by the oil filter.