Hey everyone, got a quick qestion for the numbers guys. A few months ago I bought a 400 for my '77 to replace the junk 351 that was in it (truck had a 400 originally). I was just wondering if I could pass it off as a date code code correct engine. It's a '77 truck block, with a date code of 7A10, which through my research, means it was cast Jan. 10, 1977. Would this be a correct casting date code for a truck built in July? BTW, its a Cleveland Foundry block, so the cracked water jackets shouldn't be an issue if my research proves true. I just need to know if the date is right. If it isn't, it's not a deal breaker by any means, it would just be nice to know. It's going to the machine shop tomorrow regardless of weather it's correct or not. Thanks.

 

Casey,

One of my other passions is mid-year Corvettes ('63-'67). In the Corvette world, "numbers matching" is a big deal in terms of value and having ones car judged according to NCRS (National Corvette Restorers Society) standards. Again this is in the Corvette world, but there are several books that have actual date codes of engine blocks and assembly dates of engines. Chevrolet put casting dates on blocks, cylinder heads, intake manifolds, etc. To me a "numbers matching" car means that every dated part on the car is correct.

A very well known (and in my opinion sleazy at best) seller of Corvettes will list cars as "numbers matching". However if you read the fine print, to them that means only the numbers that can easily be verified. A good friend of mine bought one of their "numbers matching" cars. Well, it had the correct casting number of the block, but the block's casting date (hard to read) was several months after the cars assembly date. additionally it had the wrong cylinder heads and several other parts as well.

My impression is that our Dentsides will not (at least in my lifetime) appreciate to the level that Corvettes have and that Ford owners in general are much less **** about that stuff.

Having said all of that, the NCRS considers the numbers matching standard to be within six months. That's because there have been documented examples of original cars with that much difference between the block's casting date and vehicle assembly date.

 

If 6 months is good enough for the NCRS, it's good enough for me. I would like to think our dentisides would be worth big money someday, but yes, highly unlikely. Besides, I would never sell mine for any amount of money, its worth more sentimenally than monetarily. I wasn't all that concerened if it matched or not, it was more of a curiosity thing.