Dates on engine components and Accessories

[70CitrusZ]

Hi,
I am wondering if there are rule of thumb date spreads for trying to put together properly date engine components.ie: since the alternator is a component added after engine drop, could it be dated later than the build date of the engine, but before the assembly date of the car?
Mark

[Mr70]

Yes.
The engine was stamped using a gang-stamp holder & a deadblow hammer,with a prefix application code and date of that day it was deemed a seperate running unit from the engine assembly plant..i.e.Tonawanda,Flint.
The Distributor was the only special component installed by this time,and the engine was soon shipped off to the vehicle assembly plant,awaiting installation at the beginning of the line.
At the beginning of the engine dress line was a sea of racks full of engines and transmissions like in line L-6 & small-block V-8's from Flint,and big-block V-8's from Tonawanda,plus manual transmissions from Saginaw and Muncie and automatics from Toledo,Cleveland,Warren,and Willow Run facilities.In the engine schedule area,the operator grabbed the next Broadcast Copy from the printer,verified the sequence number,noted the engine code required for that car and moved an air-powered overhead hoist on traveling bridge rails over the correct engine rack.The specified engine was hoisted out of the rack and transferred to the next hook on the overhead engine dress line conveyor where the throwout bearing,(on manuals),was greased and installed,along with the clutch fork boot.Another operator on the other side of the line repeated the process with the specified transmission,which was then installed and bolted to the engine on automatics,then an air tool was used to rotate the flexplate and the converter bolts were driven,followed by the lower cover.
The VIN derivative numbers were stamped in the next operation on both the engine pad and the transmission, using a gang-stamp holder and a deadblow hammer.From here on,ALL the detail dress items were added like plug wires,coil,engine harness,battery cables,carburetor,
pulleys,alternator,starter,fan and clutch,A/C compressor, power steering pump,transmission cooler lines and fill tube,A.I.R. pump,diverter valve and air manifolds,drive belts,dipstick and tube,oil filter,engine and transmission mounts,PCV plumbing,vacuum fittings,fuel pump and fuel line,radiator hoses,and if applicable,the transmission-mounted 4-speed manual shifter and linkage was installed and adjusted.(3-speed manual floor shifters were mounted on the cross-member and adjusted later on the Chassis line). Engine oil and transmission lube were added,and the completed engine/transmission assembly was conveyed to the Chassis Line for installation into the frame.The engine line inspector wrote the engine,transmission,and carburetor codes on the Broadcast Copy and put the sheet in a box for pickup by a scheduling clerk...(needed for the creation of the P-O-P at the end of the Final Line).

[70CitrusZ]

So, If my engine stamp is dec 67, I could have a jan or feb alternator or starter if my car was assembled in march/april, but I would need a november distributor.
So my basic engine castings would be pre-engine stamping date, and accessories could be before or after engine build date?

[Mr70]

"So, If my engine stamp is dec 67, I could have a jan or feb alternator or starter if my car was assembled in march/april, but I would need a november distributor."
You could have a distributor on your engine dated up to,but not after the date of your engines running assembly date,which is Dec.67,to be considered correct.
I wouldn't go earlier then 3-4 months max though.*


"So my basic engine castings would be pre-engine stamping date, and accessories could be before or after engine build date?"
You got it,and none of these should exceed your vehicles cowl/trim tag entire assembly date on the firewall.*


*There has been a few documented exceptions to this.

[70CitrusZ]

Cool,
I think I got it now, thanks alot..
Mark.