For a RR built at the end of April in 71, what would be a good cast date for a 383 block? Thanks

Are you trying to find one that could be made "numbers matching"
Any block with a casting date before two to three weeks before the SPD to allow for machining and transporting the engine to the assembly plant would make since to me
Same thing on all the other parts on that motor

Years. Months. Weeks. Days.

Pick one.

Without your original block, there is no way to know what dates it had.

I recently helped a friend rebuild a 1971 C-body 383 that had a 1969 casting date.

Stan

No, not trying to cheat, just wanting a correct time frame.

If you are looking for something that visually appears correct, I'd recommend going for the correct stamping on the distributor pad, not the block casting date.

What would that be?

G 383 HP & a date on the pad under the distributor

if you want to get crazy - get a '71 383HP with a VIN stamping from the same plant as the subject car: "1G123456" or "1R102030" etc.

here's a '70 "F 383 HP"

I recently acquired a 71 383 and it had a cast crank, did all 71 383's have cast cranks or just the non-hp blocks?

Your going to want to find a G 383 HP block with an EAD {eng. assembly date} approximately a month or two before your SPD.

I don't understand the purpose of this.
What are you trying to tell people?
If it isn't the original motor,
what difference does it make at this point?

Everything I have done, I have tried to have things with the proper date codes. Just for my own satisfaction.

Most of the 1971 2 barrel motors had cast cranks, why I do not know

My original 440 Assy date is 2 weeks before the SPD

Only 2-barrel 383's got the cast crank in '70-'71. Why? Money, why waste more expensive forgings on a lo-po motor.

The original engine in my T/A had a final assembly date of April 22, 1970.

It had a SPD of 417, so it was built later than 'hoped for' when the order was first entered into the system.

It had an April door sticker, so I know the car was actually assembled after April 22 but before the month of May.

Some of the glass in it was dated way early, June of 1969.

But to have that type of detail, you have to know what it came with.

If not?

No way to know.

Impossible questions to answer result in answers impossible to make.

The original 383 for my Super bee ASSY date is 1 day after the SPD on the tag ... both are original pieces ... it can be all over the place and the later in the musclecar era the longer the gap could be???

Casting date has to be before the ASSY date obviously , I have seen as close as 3 weeks myself, some have been closer. Hemis are all over the map and I know of a 71 6pk car that ASSY date was months before SPD.

It's never going to be original so get whatever you can that is before ...