plymouthasc Posted July 15, 2013 Report Share Posted July 15, 2013 Someone in France emailed me and asked for help identifying his engine number. I don't have the answer to his questions. Anyone on the forum know? Is there any possibility the original engine number could be as shown in the attached photo? It looks like BN 73036CA. If it is not from the car, what might be the source? I realize these engines came as new engines, marine engines, industrial engines, etc. Any help for this restorer in France will be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg g Posted July 15, 2013 Report Share Posted July 15, 2013 Well here is what I see, and its probably not going to help much. Its not a US Plymouth code as they all started with P till 58/59. It being painted blue rather than silver suggests that it is a rebuild or a build up new block from somebody like Jasper. The little round boss just to the front of the number looks like it has the remnants of a rivet in it which would suggest that there was at one time a tag that telling what the engine was. the size stamping on the freeze plug also suggest after market as I do not recall them ever being size stamped from the factory. The good news is the number looks like it is fresh to the block and not an over stamping. This suggests that it is a new block. Chrysler did sell unstamped block castings to rebuilder's. They were supposed to assign a number to them as they built up the block from parts. Looks like he will need to tear the engine apart and do some measuring if he needs to rebuild it again. If he is just looking for accessories like generators, starters and such, he just needs to find Mopar stuff that will fit his application and mount them. He can probably get some kind of a start by pulling the plug in the head above #6 and inserting a piece of wire and getting a stroke measurement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadkingcoupe Posted July 15, 2013 Report Share Posted July 15, 2013 1939 Plymouth engine # would read P7 or P8 and then there would be a STAR which would denote USA production followed by the serial number. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthian Posted July 17, 2013 Report Share Posted July 17, 2013 Thank you for the precious information. There is only two 1939 coupe business in France ... I mesured my header which is 23 1/4 ". My problem is not to have a perfect number, but to know what parts I have to bought. I understand I have to measure strocke to confirm the engine type. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourleaf Posted July 17, 2013 Report Share Posted July 17, 2013 Thank you for the precious information. There is only two 1939 coupe business in France ... I mesured my header which is 23 1/4 ". My problem is not to have a perfect number, but to know what parts I have to bought. I understand I have to measure strocke to confirm the engine type. There are search forums for engine identification. Not sure about France, but it would be worth a shot. Also did you check for any other numbers around the block? This may guide you also! The Ford casting number always starts with the 'Decade' letter'. Ford started using this structure in the late 50's with the first letter being 'B'. Not sure if its a Ford, because ford casting numbers are usaully 3 groups of numbers. Let us know what you find out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadkingcoupe Posted July 17, 2013 Report Share Posted July 17, 2013 Thank you for the precious information. There is only two 1939 coupe business in France ... I mesured my header which is 23 1/4 ". My problem is not to have a perfect number, but to know what parts I have to bought. I understand I have to measure strocke to confirm the engine type. Is that a 1939 Plymouth P7 or P8? P7 had the floor shift and the P8 had the "NEW" for 1939 column shift? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthian Posted July 17, 2013 Report Share Posted July 17, 2013 Sure it is a P8 : I have the colomn shift. I will try to put pics on my site (engine, etc...)... I will clean the bloc to make it free of rust and seek all the numbers .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg g Posted July 17, 2013 Report Share Posted July 17, 2013 If the block is for the p7/p8 it should be a 201 cu.in. 3 1/8 inch bore, 4 3/8 stroke. A 217 cu in will be 3 1/4 with 4 3/8 stroke. A 230 cu in. 3 1/4 bore and 4 5/8 stroke. If the engine has been bored, the over size should be stamped into the tops of the pistons such as .020. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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