Block and components colors

[Son of Marty]

No sweat Steve. I'd be interested in whether the difference is due to different years or different molds used in the casting process, I'm sure on of the numbers on the block casting relates to the plug used  packing the mold but don't know which one it would be.

 

[Beantown]

Now that I really look at them,  there are a bunch of differences.  Machined block is 1269506 looks to be from 1981 and the black non-machined block is 1278464 looks like 1982?  There are a couple of flanges on the back bottom by the flywheel that the machines block does not have...

[Conserv]

20 hours ago, Beantown said:

Now that I really look at them,  there are a bunch of differences.  Machined block is 1269506 looks to be from 1981 and the black non-machined block is 1278464 looks like 1982?  There are a couple of flanges on the back bottom by the flywheel that the machines block does not have...

 

We don’t yet have a clear understanding of the casting numbers: 1269506 and 1278464. Casting numbers are not engine numbers — which are stamped into the engine number or VIN boss — and may or may not bear a relationship to part numbers. Generally they don’t. We still need the engine numbers (VIN’s) from these blocks to see what vehicles they first appeared in.

 

And, yes, the block with the 1269506 casting number was cast on May 6, 1981 (“6E” within an oval frame and “81” outside the frame) and 1278464 appears to have been cast on March 14, 1984 (“14C84” within an oval frame). This suggests that the 1269506 block was originally intended for an e21 and the 1278464 block was intended for an e30, unless one or both of them were replacement engines.

 

So how about those stamped-in engine numbers?

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

Edited October 31, 2019 by Conserv

[Beantown]

Sorry for the delay,  I will get the correct numbers tomorrow...

 

Thanks!

[Beantown]

Here are the two block numbers.

[Conserv]

My VIN decoder can’t handle these two engine numbers: it says 2603453 is a March 1988 Euro-spec 320i (e30) with a 2-liter M20 engine and 5372767 is a December 1977 Euro-spec 528i (e12) with a 2.8-liter M30 engine. Both are certainly wrong with respect to the two blocks shown here.

 

In the meantime, I’ll stick with my story, based on the casting dates:  the 1981 engine with a casting number of 1269506 is an e21 engine, likely a 1.8-liter; and the 1984 engine with a casting number of 1278464 is an e30 engine, also likely a 1.8-liter.

 

Perhaps somone here has a VIN decoder that works differently from the one I used!

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

Edited November 1, 2019 by Conserv