Hey guys working on a car i picked up for my wife, it's a 72 340 Demon was an export car as i was pulling it apart i noticed a large difference between the build date and the casting date on the block and just assumed it was an engine swap car. today i am out in the shop with a buddy and we got to looking at the vin# and it matches the car! the block is a 1-15-71 and the cart is 4-72 this is a big stretch to me is this possible? or likely? the other thing i find odd is the pistons are 4 valve relief and look to be low comp which does not work with a 1-15-71 block but could very well be for a 4-72 340. is it crazy to think they had blocks kicking around that long before they assembled them? any insight would be great.

no "first in / first out" inventory controls were used

if a block or pallet of blocks got buried, whenever they were rediscovered they'd be sent into further production

from what I've seen, '72 was an odd year with many big variations date-wise, maybe new procedures being put to use, cleaning up former messes

the block casting has not much to do with the final assembly, what is stamped on the front of the block below the driver's side head?

HM340R xxxx xxxx ?? cast crankshaft ??

Mopar during that period of time was just lucky to keep the production lines running. They were almost broke and had lots of quality issues so I doubt they paid much attention to inventory control. It wasn't run like a Toyota factory.

can you share the fender tag info? VON = E3xxxx ??

What part are you looking for?LM29H2B or the sequence #

any info you are willing to share, to help answer your questions

if the Demon still has its original door sticker - it will show when the car was actually completed: MDH (MonthMonth DayDay HourHour)

the engine number, below the head, will show when the engine was assembled

if it was an EXPORT ordered car & delivered NEW "stateside" the VON will be "E3xxxx"

or was it an order originated in Canada?

What Dan said plus;

It wasn't just block castings that sat around for long periods of time, complete engine assemblies also got used long after their assembly dates. I wouldn't say it was the "norm" but it definitely happened.

front of block under drivers head is M H 340 P 38118062

M = Mound Road Engine Plant
H = 1972 Model Year
340 = CID
P = Premium fuel
Day 3811 Assembly date is Monday, January 3, 1972
The rest is the build sequence

M H 340 P 38118062

M = Mound Rd DETROIT, MI engine assembly plant
H = 1972 model year
340 = cu.in.
P = premium fuel (is this clear? low compression '72s are usually R = regular fuel ?)
3811 = Mon. 1/3/72 (is this clear? 1st cast crank was scheduled for 3911, Wed. 4/12/72)
8062 = 62nd cast crank 340 assembled

it is a P. this motor has been toyed with for sure as it has a forged crank but cast pistons the odd thing is the bearings are date coded 71 the timing chain is dated 83 so someone was in there. as for some of the other stuff this was an export car it has an odd euro serial# plate on the fender well and it has the I on the fender tag and the story is that a service man brought it back from Germany.

Thanks for the info so far Gents!

I will recheck the 3811 part it is a bit tough to see. probably get back on here tomorrow.

So while putting the engine in today i checked the Von it is E35229 i have no idea what that stands for?

I also have the door sticker on the door still i would post a pic with the last couple of # blocked but i have not posted a pic on here in 10 years!

I believe the E3xxxx VON indicates it was ordered from over-seas & scheduled for delivery stateside when new - the serviceman's plans & the car's delivery status could've changed or it was shipped to Germany at a later date

did you get a good look at the assembly date? 3811 VS. 3911

i will check the date and try to post some pics tonight.

Ok so on the front of the block for sure MH 340 R 3911862 was really hard to read so i sanded off the paint and used a sharpie to get some definition the bottom of the r is faint but it is there and so is the 9 instead of the 8 so that seems to make more sense.