The Official 356Talk Forum

While cleaning up the many oil distribution blocks I have acquired, I found these 6 are completely different from each other. Some are stamped on opposite sides, one has a 616 with a little man stamped on it (like the aluminum rockers), others end in "2", "3", and "4". Also some have what appears to be two aluminum rivets.

Is there a way to date these? And do the different ending numbers (2,3,4) mean anything?

I think the one on the far left with the "616" stamping on the bottom and nothing on top is from an early 3-piece engine with the 5-bolt ring seal (1956-1957).

Some of the smaller numbers may be from the jobber who did the castings. The little rivet marks may be from the knockout pins used to remove the part from the mold although they are normally not along the parting line of the mold. Tom

It looks like the the little "rivets" are small aluminum plugs that seal the oil galleys after drilling during manufacture.

The "little man" is the symbol for fragile -- don't tighten too much or it will crack.
The fox head symbol is the manufacturer: Fuchs of wheel fame. You can see a wide parting line and smooth surface indicating forged parts. Many versions ? a couple of vendors made thousands for all three piece case engines up thru 912. AFAIK, any of those versions will work fine.

Thanks all. So, sounds like the stamping and numbers Just got more involved as time went on (kind of like ULO reflectors).