I have a question about the block casting numbers and the numbers stamped into the deck surface. I realize this is the red-headed [censored] stepchild of the Mopar family, the slant six,but I was hoping somebody would know what it all means.

On the freeze plug side of the block it has 2806830-4 toward the front, with 1364: AAWJ near the center, and a large BH near the back.

On the deck surface it has a string of stamped numbers and letters that are really hard to read: 74W 198 9 4586

I got this engine for pretty cheap and it has supposedly been rebuilt not too many miles ago. When I took the oil pan off the distributor gear was chewed up in the bottom of the pan, but otherwise it looks good. I just need something to stuff between the frame rails of my D100, and since I already have the mounts, bellhousing, etc. I thought this might be the cheapest way to go. But before I order any parts I'd like to know what it is.

It's a 198 cu in slant six.
Same block and pistons as a 225, different crank and rods.

Thanks, a 198 is what I figured and that's fine for my purposes. Do the other numbers mean anything?

Well, I know that the pistons go into the block two by two.

The Slant Six or Leaning Tower of Power is beloved at least in theory by Mopar nuts everywhere. Even though the first thing we'll do with a Slant Six is remove it and give it to someone else.

2806830-4 is the block casting number. books say it's a 1968 - 1970 block.

If it was a V8 there would be an easily discernible casting date close to the casting number something like 5.26.69

Chrysler also used Julian dating systems and someone else will have to explain that.

The AAWJ is some sort of foundry mark, found on many differing cast pieces, not necessarily Mopar. All cast pieces have some sort of mark that means something to the foundry because it'll help them track down the bad ones if there's a flaw in a particular run of castings. I have a feeling that BW is another one of those.

Chrysler used two different kinds of stamped in numbers. The one that means the most to me is the engine ID number. It tells you the model year, what plant the engine was assembled in, the engine size, the date the engine was assembled, and the sequence number of the assembly that day. Also there will be different codes for things like undersize bearings or oversize lifters, whether it has a cast crank, and whether it was a Regular or a Premium fuel engine.

The other stamped in number is normally the VIN or at least part of a VIN.

The only thing I can tell from your stamped number is that this particular block was built as a 198.

The Slant Six guys have their own digital stomping grounds and will be a much richer source of information.

R.

Thanks a bunch! I was going to build up a 360 for the truck, but I already have the flywheel, engine mounts, bellhousing, Z bar, and exhaust for a slant six in the D100, so it'll be easier to just toss in a set of rings and some gaskets to get this thing rolling.

www.slantsix.org

Pull the distributor and see if the gear has been replaced already. It is fairly easy to break the gear putting the distributor in, especially an old hard gear.

New gears are easy to come by, and if you get really lucky you can stumble onto an iron one.