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BLOCK CASTING NUMBERS AND SYMBOLS
Chrysler engines may be identified in several ways. Obviously, no one will mistake a slant-6 for a Hemi (at least we hope they won't), but identifying which slant-6 or V8 a particular engine may be takes a little more investigation. One way is to locate the large casting number on the side of the block. Each engine displacement had a unique, or set of unique, casting numbers on the block. A 318 will never share a block casting number with a 273 or 340, nor will a 383 share a block casting number with a 361 or 400. A casting date also appears on the driver or passenger side of the block. The dates are in easy-to-read formats such as: 3.15.69 or 3-15-69 (which means, of course, March 15, 1969). This casting date is the day the block was cast at the foundry. Also on the side of the block is a symbol that looks like a clock, and it is, sort of. This symbol may be on either side, not necessarily next to the casting date, and it tells you the hour of the shift it was actually cast. The pointer in the symbol points to the hour of the shift it was cast. So, what shift was it cast on? Along with the casting date and clock, there's a Day/Night shift indicator (a D and N with a pointer aimed at one of the letters) that denotes the shift it was cast on. In summary, block casting numbers and symbols will tell you what year and displacement the engine is, and also what day it was cast, down to the hour of the shift it was first poured into the mold!
G/RG SLANT-6 BLOCKS
CASTING # C.I.D. YEAR GROUP
2202843 170 G
2205630 170 G
2264478 170 G
2463230 170 1965 G
--- 198 G
2202857 225 RG
2205528 225 RG
2463430 225 1966 RG
2806830 225 RG
A/LA SMALL BLOCKS
CASTING # C.I.D. YEAR GROUP
2465330 273 1964-66 LA
2536130 273 1965 LA
2466090 318 LA
2536030-318 318 1967-75 LA
2566080 318 LA
2806030 318 1967-74 LA
2780930-340 340 1968-73 LA
3577130TA-340 340 1970-71 LA (Trans Am)
3418496-360 360 1971-74 LA
3870230 360 1975-UP LA
2264230 318 1960-66 A
2468230 318 A
2532630-318 318 A
B BIG BLOCKS
CASTING # C.I.D. YEAR GROUP
2120229 361 B (Industrial)
2205712 361 1958-66 B
2468130 383 1959-71 B
3614230 400 1971-72 B
3698630 400 1973-78 B
4006530-400-12 400 1976-78 B
RB BIG BLOCKS
CASTING # C.I.D. YEAR GROUP
1852029 413 1962 RB (Max Wedge)
2120529 413 1959-65 RB
2205697 413 1959-65 RB (Pass.car)
2468030 413 RB
2406730 426 1963-65 RB (Wedge)
2468330 426 1964-71 RB (Hemi)
2658836 426 RB (Industrial)
2536430 440 1966-72 RB
3698830-440 440 1973-78 RB
ENGINE CASTING NUMBERS CONTINUED...