A friend from work(has a '92 Z28 L98 that has been in the garage for eternity now) pulled the casting numbers off his block and said that he thought it seemed a little strange... because the block numbers didn't match to the digits in his VIN. The previous owner had told him the engine had been swapped before but he never had reason to believe the previous owner till now.

Here's the Casting Number from the block - 14093638. Not far from it on the block, it says 'GM 5.7L' so it's still a 350 but apparently not the original engine. Are these numbers enough to pull up valid information on what type of engine it is, or is there something else he should look for to find out exactly what the motor is? All I can find is that it's a GM 350 made in production from like '86 - '94 or something... anyone wanna help out?

 

Hard to tell... Can you pull the valve covers off and get the cylinder head casting number?? Might yield some more specific information...

 

I know the car has new heads on it... has stock L98 heads from '89 Trans Am. See, it's a toughy to map this engine out.

 

The casting # isn't what matches the VIN. Part of the VIN is stamped onto the serial number pad, which is a machined surface on the block deck in front of the passenger side head.

That is a proper casting # for the type of engine (same one I've got, actually). The casting date would give a better indication whether or not it's the proper manufacturing date for the originally installed engine.

What difference does any of this make?

 

The number you gave for the block is a block from a 1992 camaro. I know this cuz i just recently purchased an engine from a 1992 camaro z28 and ur number matched mine. the heads should have the last three of the casting numbers something like 193 thats what i have anyway.

 

I remember seeing a number 193 or something. So pretty much it's just another '92 Z28 L98 in his '92 Z28 car then? Haha, that doesn't make much sense. Car has less than 100k miles and already had engine swap?

 

If the heads are centerbolt L98 iron heads, the casting number should be 14101083..

 

193 heads did not come on L98's. Should be 083 as thirdgen88 said.

Engines were replaced early, sometimes under warranty, for various reasons. Over-reving, inadequate maintenance, inadequate antifreeze, or something actually wrong with the way the engine was built. Unfortunately, the engine put back in was not always like what was supposed to be in there, especially if the work was done by a shop not under warranty (in spite of what they charged for the job - "Camaro engines are more expensive than Caprice engines", they say, as they put a Caprice replacement engine in the Camaro). I, in ignorance, purchased a "low-mileage" '87 LB9, only to discover it had been rebuilt with dished pistons, one LO3 head, and oh, by the way, the block was cracked, which probably precipitated the rebuild in the first place.

Only way to know is to check everything out before you buy. Even then, you're likely to find surprises later.