Engine Stamps - what should they be?

**hilly** · 07-06-2010, 03:15 PM

I'm just chasing some information on what my engine stamps should read as. Ive trawled the net and can only really find info on the date stamp.

My HX is 5/77 build 308 4spd.

so the date stamp should be

xxE7 or Ive read a month or so before. But the other sandman at home has an engine built in the same month as it was so im leaning towards that.

Its just I have a hj motor and I'm trying to keep an eye out for something more original.

Any help/links to info would be much appreciated

**ozbox** · 07-06-2010, 03:37 PM

its called a date code....should be a minimum 2 weeks before the build date on the tags and up to a maximum of about 5 weeks....

**hilly** · 07-06-2010, 04:04 PM

Thanks ozbox.

How do i tell what day my sandman is made on? What about the engine number itself? Is there any particular no or just QTXXXXXX.

**ozbox** · 07-06-2010, 06:26 PM

really to pin it to a day is very hard,there is various date codes on components around the car..instruments sometimes have them,heater boxes have them,steering columns have them and various other parts have them...and from collating all these bits to the month on your compliance plate you may figure it out...

ive been piecing my hq sandman together from a rolling shell since 2001..it only had its diff front suspension and gaurds and front doors..ive collected all the parts individually and tried to use date coded parts and heaps of nos with the largest and most crucial date coded part being the engine..i never thought i would find one but now i have so the build will begin in summer hopefully..

**hilly** · 07-06-2010, 07:55 PM

nice.

yeah its definitely going to be a mission finding a date correct engine. hopefully ill get lucky.

**jennie285** · 07-06-2010, 09:47 PM

Hilly
have a look at the forum thread, "In need of some opinions on this van" on page 4, if you can't find it I will try and write something in it to bring it to New Posts....there is a conversation about the 308 motor we have and the engine numbers are there, and there is a reply about what date this motor is and what it came out of.. and I think it could have been a HX....anyway read it and see what you think.....

**hilly** · 07-06-2010, 11:01 PM

yeah i just had a read. i thought the statesman had a the 11qt. i think ill stick to the few weeks principle. it will make things harder to find but there you go. Seems to be the same for the old mans monaro and bros van when i had a look.

So if anyone has a 308 like im looking for

let me know. (shameless plug)

**ozbox** · 08-06-2010, 08:04 PM

11 prefix is statesman...

**Frosty** · 29-01-2014, 02:24 PM

Is engine stamped VR66178 correct for a 253 Sandman built 10/79?

**Dick61** · 29-01-2014, 02:59 PM

[QUOTE=Frosty;73970]Is engine stamped VR66178 correct for a 253 Sandman built 10/79?[/QUOTE

No, afaik VR is a WB commercial engine number or a Commodore QRXXXXXX or ZRXXXXXXXX would be more appropriate, although, if you don't have the original build sheet or Dealer Delivery paperwork to show the original engune number for the car you can only ever get a "date appropriate" engine. This means an engine built in the correct time frame for your car, and unless you have the original engine and provinance, any other engine is as good as another