engine and drivetrain Help with Factory Rebuilt Engine Identification

[eastsidebimmer]

Hi all, I have a line on an older factory rebuilt engine and I'm trying to verify the provenance before finalizing the deal. Is anyone familiar with the older style markings on the factory rebuilt units? I think the newer crate engines from BMW come with bar codes and DOT-R stickers...this one is maybe from the mid-1990s? I've also heard of factory rebuilt units being stamped with XXXXXXX over the engine numbers. Anything look out of sorts in these pics? Thanks for any extra info you can provide

This is what I know:

E12 Head with 87 casting date

Block is stamped with the following letters/numbers where the VIN would normally be:

21

170ZA 10 0

[Mike Self]

they may have a key to the factory remanufactured engine numbers. I would guess that one of the numbers refers to when the engine was remanufactured, another to its vehicle of origin and a third number would be the engine's serial number--and possibly how much the block had been bored.

Just a guess, but MT should know...their "new" 73 tii had a similar number on its block IIRC.

mike

[jgerock]

Ben -

What about the casting marks on the side of the block under the exhaust manifold?

[Conserv]

On 5/1/2010 at 9:58 PM, eastsidebimmer said:

Hi all, I have a line on an older factory rebuilt engine and I'm trying to verify the provenance before finalizing the deal. Is anyone familiar with the older style markings on the factory rebuilt units? I think the newer crate engines from BMW come with bar codes and DOT-R stickers...this one is maybe from the mid-1990s? I've also heard of factory rebuilt units being stamped with XXXXXXX over the engine numbers. Anything look out of sorts in these pics? Thanks for any extra info you can provide

This is what I know:

E12 Head with 87 casting date

Block is stamped with the following letters/numbers where the VIN would normally be:

21

170ZA 10 0

 

 

The decoding of this information was included in a BMW Technical Reference Information bulletin, originally shared to this forum by JohnH:

 

http://www.bmw2002faq.com/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=129207

 

Thus,

 

21

1707 A 10 0

 

Is:

 

(1.) a factory-remanufactured exchange engine ("A"),

(2.) for a U.S. "1974-75 from 1975" 2002 ("21"), the awkward "from 1975" language may indicate applicability to 1976 California-spec cars,

(3.) completed in October ("10") of

(4.) 1990 ("0") -- assuming the 1987 head was installed with and not after the engine's remanufacturing, or else 1980 would also be a possibility, and

(5.) having serial number 1707 (resets monthly, I believe).

 

As Jim mentioned above, additional information might be gleaned from the block's casting date:

 

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

Edited October 15, 2016 by Conserv