1965 Starfire engine dates?

[Guest Oldsman]

I have a '65 Starfire with the 425 UHC engine. The car was originally sold to the first owner in March of 1965 according to the paperwork. The engine date stamp (located on top of the block by the distributor) reads 303 which would be October 31 in 1965.

Could an engine be built five months prior to the assembly/sale of the vehicle? Any info will be appreciated. Thanks.

[rocketraider]

Driveline components were typically made 3 weeks to 3 months ahead of the car, but 5 months wouldn't be excessively ahead. Look on the body data plate underhood and you'll see a "TIME" code which will look something like 03A or similar, which in this example is first week (A) of March (03). Since the car was sold in March 65, my bet is that you'll find a 01_ (January) or 02_ (February) time built code, which would put the engine casting date right in line with the car's build date.

Nice catch, BTW. 65s have the sexiest tail of any Starfire, which becomes a problem when you need to replace any of it <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />.

[66400]

Is that number stamped or cast in the block? If its a cast in number it just signifies the day the block was cast, not the date of engine assembly. So it would seem reasonable that there would be a time span between the casting date of the block and the final assembly of the complete car. Remember the end of the year has a lot of holidays to slow production down(Thanksgiving/Christmas/NewYears).

Henry

[Guest Oldsman]

The engine block date is a casting and not stamped.

Thanks for the info.

JEK

[Guest Oldsman]

Glenn,

The body tag reads: 1C The third week of January. Thanks!