454 date code year of manufactur
 

Good Day Folks,
I have a 454 in my 72 c10 that was in it when I bought it. I want to tune it but find out I need to know the engine mfg date as tuning specs have changed over the years. I have found the mfg date on the front of the engine passenger side it is T0106TRK and the casting number is 3999289. I for the life of me can’t find the date code which will allow me to decipher the mfg date. Can someone tell me where the heck this number is, or the date the engine was manufacturd? I looked everywhere I can with an inspection mirror and come up empty.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Bill

Re: 454 date code year of manufactur
 

From the suffix code TRK .... per nastyz28.com

TRK 1973 Truck 454 240 LS-4 VIN Z, L, 10, 20
TRK 1978 Truck 454 250 LF-8 VIN S, fwd
TRK 1981 Truck 454 210 LE-8 VIN W, AR, 20, 30

Re: 454 date code year of manufactur
 

You may want to check the head casting numbers to narrow it down a little bit more.

Re: 454 date code year of manufactur
 

Look here.

http://www.mortec.com/location.htm

Re: 454 date code year of manufactur
 

It’s found back behind the distributor on the ledge by the bell housing bolts to the block.

Thanks a bunch. All of you. Is this a great club, or what!!
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Re: 454 date code year of manufactur
 

Ok! I think I have all tha numbers to figure out what date and mainly the year of mfg. of my 454. I have T 106TRK off the front of the engine. I have the casting number 3999289 and an engine/date number off the back of the engine T 01M3.
Can someone please tell me how to decipher them or do it for me so I can know the year of engine mfg.
Saying thank you in advance,
Bill

Re: 454 date code year of manufactur
 

Are you sure it's an "M"? Sounds like it could be a 73..... sometimes there is old oil/grease that makes it hard to decipher the code. The first "0" could be a "D" as well. the first letter would tell you the month, the second two should be the day, and than a casting mark. After the casting mark, there should be the year. Trevor

Re: 454 date code year of manufactur
 

I am sure The 0 is a 0 & the M is an M. The last digit truly looks like a 3, but I will say it looks a tad misshapen, but I just can’t figure what else it could be. Any thoughts from you would be greatly appreciated.
Bill

Re: 454 date code year of manufactur
 

Well the months only go up to 12= 12th letter in alaphabet “L”. Days follow next, and can go to 31. Your block was used from 71+after phasing out the “512” blocks in muscle cars. Your motor could be a 73 or 78? I don’t know what to tell you without seeing your code date. Trevor

Re: 454 date code year of manufactur
 

Hi Bill, you've pretty much got this figured out. But here are some details as well as a way to be sure on the year.
First your casting number 3999289 is for a 1972 to 1978 454 truck motor.
Next your engine ID number T0106TRK decodes as
T = Tonawanda Engine plant
Assembly date
01 = January
06 = 6th day of January
Application code
TRK = TRK was used in 1973,1978 and 1981. Your casting number(3999289) is for a 1972-78, so we can rule out 1981.
Meaning your engine is either a 1973 or 1978 454. The T in TRK tells us that it is a truck motor.
So now were down to whether your engine is a 1973 454 truck motor or a 1978 454 truck motor.
Next is your date code and here's where the confusion comes in. Everything Trevor told you in post #8 is correct. In post #7 you listed a date code of T 01M3. There must be a misread there somewhere. Here's why.

A date code should be a letter for the month, then one or two numbers for the date. Then the head of a screw, then one or two numbers for the year.
Example: A13 for January 1st, 1973 or A173 also for January 1st, 1973. January 11th 1973 would be A113 or A1173

The first digit is for the month. January is A, February is B and so on. December is L and you have T which in not possible for a month code. You did leave a space between the T and the O or 0 so there is a possibility that the T is for Tonawanda. Some Tonawanda castings got a T(for Tonawanda), most didn't. I would need to see a pic to know for sure. But that's not going to be necessary.
Next you have a O or 0. Again not possible for a month code(there is no O letter possibility) and not likely for a date code as it would be 01 and Tonawanda just used 1 for the first day of the month. Next we have the M which is really not possible because the only thing that should be in that area is numbers. There is a casting mark(it's actually a casting of the screw head that held the date code plate to the mold core) that should be in that spot. After the screw head or M is your year code. You have stated that it is a 3. That would be for 1973. Meaning your engine is a 1973 454 truck motor. With a application code of TRK = 454ci, 240 hp, Auto trans. But we want to be sure that the 3 is not a 8. 3's and 8's are the most common misread. Especially with casting numbers. So let's be sure it's not a 8. We can check that a different way.
Look at the pad where you found the stamped engine ID number(T0106TRK). If there is no partial VIN stamped in the pad, then the engine is a 1973. If there IS a partial VIN stamped in the pad, then your engine is a 1978. The 1973 Truck blocks did not have partial VIN's stamped on the pad and the 1978 truck blocks Did have a partial VIN stamped on the pad. So just looking for a partial VIN on the engine ID pad will tell you if your block is a 1973 or a 1978.
1973 truck blocks have no partial VIN's stamped on the front pad.
1978 truck blocks do. TRK in 1978 = 454ci, 250 hp, Auto trans

Never mind all that stuff before the very last digit of your date code. It's a mess anyway. T is not possible for a month code, letter O isn't either. 01 wasn't used on a casting date but was used on stamped dates. You said that the M was clearly a M but honestly..No.(smile) Look at it again and see if it could be a cast imprint of a flathead screw. We really don't need any of the digits in front of the last digit in order to get the year anyway. Last digit 3 = 1973 or 8 = 1978.
If you want to post a good pic of the complete date code, I would love to see it, just so we can try to figure out what you got going on there.
Hope this helps and explains a little more about the date codes.
Bruce

EDIT: Trevor, you beat me to it. I took a long time to prepare my post(smile) We really do need to see a pic in order to get the month and day figured out.

Re: 454 date code year of manufactur
 

Man-o-man guys I did screw up on the last number. After several dings and cuts getting my hands up in there with an compact mirror. I picked up an inspection mirror. I also soaked an old tooth brush with a cleaner and got my hand up in there and scrubbed the numbers.
It’s now a whole different story the numbers and letters are CM10 T That still doesn’t seem to correspond with what you are telling me. What the heck am I missing here. I’ll bet I starred at these numbers for 5 min before writing them down and sending this thread.
Maybe at 74 I should pack away my tools and buy something all ready finished. Nah.... I don’t think so!!!!!

Re: 454 date code year of manufactur
 

Bill, are you looking on the bellhousing mounting flange? Opposite side from where you found the Casting number(3999289). Sometimes it could be on the same side.

You really don't need the date code at this point. Your block is either a 73 or 78. Go back to the pad where you found the T0106TRK number and see if there are any other numbers there. like 18Z100001. If there are NOT any other numbers there, your block is a 1973. If there are more numbers there, your block is a 1978.

Re: 454 date code year of manufactur
 

I found the T0106TRK on the block just below the passenger side head. I just checked and that series of numbers are all that’s there. So it must be a 73 engine. I record all this in my book so the poor next guy that owns it will have it.
Thanks again to all of you who stuck with the old man through this, it’s what makes this forem so successful and I greatly appreciate the help.

Re: 454 date code year of manufactur
 

We're happy to help Bill.