No engine VIN

[E60coyote]

I’ve read everything I can find on this topic but I’m still unclear what it means that my engine has no VIN. I was told by PO when I bought the car about a year ago that it had the original engine. It’s a ‘76. I know I should have checked...  Thoughts?  Is there another place to look for VIN?

[joysterm]

It is likely a factory replacement which I believe were identified with an X at each end of the boss as opposed to a + for factory original blocks.

There are casting markings on the intake side of the block that will indicate the date it was cast.

[E60coyote]

Thanks. Looks like ‘84. The head is stamped with E21 75 so that is likely original but the block apparently is not. What does factory replacement mean? 

[Conserv]

21 hours ago, E60coyote said:

Thanks. Looks like ‘84. The head is stamped with E21 75 so that is likely original but the block apparently is not. What does factory replacement mean? 

 

Yep, if that’s a “1K” in the oval frame, the block was cast October 1, 1984. The letter “I” was not used to represent months because of its resemblance to the number “1”, leaving “K” as representing the tenth month.

 

The other place the factory sometimes stamped their remanufactured engines and blocks is on the narrow ledge at the top rear of the block. Below is a photo of one such engine.

 

The factory made no efforts whatsoever to keep heads and blocks together after they arrived as cores. Rather, it appears that many factory-remanufactured engines were outfitted with new heads. Since aluminum heads have always been prone to cracking, corrosion, thread damage, warping, etc., I suspect — but have no proof to confirm — that it was often easier to simply drop on a new head.

 

In the instance of your car, assuming you’ve got an E21 2,0 head, with month and year date — count the nubs surrounding the “75” — on or just before the car’s manufacturing date, the owner purchased a remanufactured short block and retained the original head. The second photo shows the original E21 2,0 head, cast April 1976, from my April 23, 1976 ‘02.

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

Edited July 5, 2019 by Conserv

[Mike Self]

from the original picture, it appears as if the original number was machined off, as the freshly machined area appears to be smaller than the original machined boss that held the motor number, and slightly lower, as if something had been ground off with a milling machine.

 

mike

[NickVyse]

10 hours ago, mike said:

from the original picture, it appears as if the original number was machined off, as the freshly machined area appears to be smaller than the original machined boss that held the motor number, and slightly lower, as if something had been ground off with a milling machine.

 

mike

 

yes, by the factory and you can see the two X stamped at either end under the grime. When you bought a remanufactured engine from BMW it was just that, and was on an exchange basis, so your old engine went back into the mix, had the number ground off and was rebuilt for the next customer.