Thread: Need i.d. stamp help!

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Hey i cleaned and cleaned and cleaned the id stamp and all i can read is V03198? 20150608_121435.jpg
tried to get the best pic i can. Any help would be appreciated

What is it?
That looks to me like a tyre on the left; is it the final drive of a lawn tractor of some description?

Its on a car. Thats the stamp on the front passenger side e between the valve cover and the alternator

V= Flint
03=March
19=19th day of month
Rest of information is unreadable.

What is the engine currently in?

The number you're showing is part of a Suffix number that identifies the build characteristics of the motor. There should be either two or three letters following the numbers, but it appears that someone has filed them off. The VO319 part of the number would be Flint, Michigan, March 19th. The 8 is confusing. Could it be a "B" ? At any rate, the numbers should be followed by a series of two or three letters, that's what's missing.

The only reason I can see that someone would alter the Suffix code would be to try to pull the wool over the eyes of an unsuspecting buyer and try to make claim that the motor is something it is not. I would have no problem adjusting the attitude of such a person with a baseball bat, as I absolutely hate liars and cheats.

The block casting number is cast into the block at the rear, driver's side of the block, just in front of the mating surface where the bellhousing bolts up. Use a wire brush and solvent to clean up the number so you can read it. If it's in a vehicle, it may require using a strong flashlight and a telescoping mechanic's mirror to see it. That number will generally tell you what the motor started life as by the cubic inches, years of mfg and other details.....
http://www.speednik.com/files/2013/0...asylum-com.jpg
Chevy Small Block V8 Casting Numbers - Mortec

Sometimes it is possible to use acid to reveal a stamped number that has been altered like your Suffix number has been. I might be tempted to brush a little battery acid on the tail end of the number just to see what happens. Law enforcement finds altered numbers like that. I'm not sure what kind of acid they use, but the details may be in some of these articles.....
Evidence Technology Magazine - Raising the Numbers
http://scholarlycommons.law.northwes...0&context=jclc
Crime Scene Training - How Crime Labs Restore Obliterated Serial Numbers
Can a ground off serial number be recovered?

Thanks Glenn, I was still formulating my answer when you typed.

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Thanks techinspector1
i checked the casting numbers they read 14016379
So it looks to be a 350
which is wierd why the other number are ground out because it was sold to me as a 350.
Strange

Casting number shows to be an 86-92 350 with either 2 or 4 bolt mains and a one piece rear seal
Shows useage in cars, trucks, AND boats. Pretty much everything. Uninformed folks sometimes
grind on the suffix code because they have some strange idea that it is traceable to the VIN. NOT!
Suffix code only describes the platform and options the motor is installed into.....