IDing/Dating a Cleveland

[L.C.Gray]

Got my barn find complete 4V Cleveland drug home and getting a look-see at it now.

Pretty dusty/dirty outside from sitting in the back corner of a shop for many years but took off a valve cover and it's almost spotless inside. Topside of head painted silver. Has fixed rocker arms. Has aftermarket valve spring retainers and I think aftermarket springs. Has a "3 94" stamp on one end of the left head that I suspect is when they were worked in a machine shop somewhere. There's casting tag marks of "1176" and "L5319" (in a circle) on the top of the right head under the valve cover. I thought I'd be able to see a casting number for the head on topside, but I guess they're on the bottom side of the ports. They do have the "4" on the corners with no dome, but I'm not sure I have faith in the dome marking theory. The retainers and springs have me thinking its been cammed.

On a pad on the left rear bank of the block it has a partial VIN on it of 3F 182037. I'm guessing that's a 1973 Dearborn based car, but I don't know how to decipher it being just a partial number.

What I'm seeing so far is looking like I've found a built up runner, but I still have a lot of evaluation yet to do to see what I have. Can anyone help with the numbers I've found so far?

 

[jbojo]

The block only has a partial Vin 3F = 1973 Dearborn 182037 is the sequence number.

Look for a casting of:

D3ZE-AA this would be the 351 4v CJ heads

D1AE-6090-AA 351 2V Used in 71-74

D1AE-CB 351 2V Used in 71-74

If you wanted to know what car it was in you can get a Marti report for the car. Just tell them its a 3F and the 182037 car built. They will be able to produce the missing Vin numbers.

 

[4Vforever]

Ok to date code the heads there will be a casting tab with a number for year eg: 0,1,2,3,4 for 70,71 etc. Then next will be a letter for the month eg: A,B,C,D etc, meaning A for January, B for February and so on, except they didn't use I in the month casting, so if your letter is higher than I (September) then that month is a J and so on after that. The next two numbers are the date, 01,02,18,26 or whatever, which is pretty self explanatory. These casting numbers are between the front two rockers on the right hand side closer to the intake side and between the back two on the left hand side. As for the block, it'll be above where the starter bolts on to. One number should read D0AE-L or D2AE- CA, this is the casting number, the number above that is the date code which read exactly the same as the cylinder heads. Hope this helps you out.

 

[L.C.Gray]

Ok, based on that... the best sense I can make of what I saw was I was reading the 1176 upside down.... looking at it from the other direction would make it 9L11...

So that would be 1969 November 11.... right?

 

[4Vforever]

Ok, based on that... the best sense I can make of what I saw was I was reading the 1176 upside down.... looking at it from the other direction would make it 9L11...

So that would be 1969 November 11.... right?

That is absolutely correct, so it looks like you've got a set of closed chambered 4V's. With a bit of luck your 73 casting block might from a Q code, so then you'd have a 4 bolt block too. Best of luck with it.

 

[L.C.Gray]

Looked at L/H head and it has a 9J11 date code on it. That would be 1969 September 11. Funny that they're 2 months apart to the day and wound up on the same engine.

I still haven't had a chance to get to the block codes yet.

 

[L.C.Gray]

Finally got to the block numbers.

D2AE-CA

3A23

So I have a 73 block, possible 4 bolt, cast January 23 1973.

 

[4Vforever]

Good stuff, now just pull the sump off to see if you have a 4 bolt block, if it's not there's nothing wrong with a 2 bolt block when it comes to Clevelands, still a few tricks you can do to strengthen them up.