I have a 1972 240 where the VIN number matches the Engine number.

I bought a 1971 240 which came in thru Mexico during the LA dock strike in 1971 and the VIN number does not match the engine number.

Was that common in the early Z's?

Rancher

 

I don't think the engine number is the same as the vin. The tag on the door should match the tag in the engine compartment and the engine number on the tar should be the same as the one on the block. The vin is also stamped on the firewall just above the tunnel in big script.

 

The VIN is unrelated to the block number. If your's match it's a complete fluke. As theramz stated the block number can be found on the engine bay tag.

 

I was going to say that the engine number NEVER matches the chassis or VIN#.
But then I remembered that as they say, "Never say never!"

Jim Frederick of Z Mecca fame has original engine #L24-02079 in his HLS30-00016,
which is the oldest known Z engine still in operation. Our HLS30-00013 has engine
#L24-02085, and so on. The gap between the two numbers gets wider and wider
as you go thru the 240Z production run till it ended in about 7/73. In 40 years of
Z ownership, and a few of those years in sales then managing parts for Bob Sharp,
I personally have NEVER seen the chassis and engine SN match.

But remember I said, "Never say never"? There is a VERY remote chance that some
previous owner might have come upon that engine, saw that it matched the VIN,
and thought it would be a cute thing to do the swap. But for all practical purposes,
when we call a Z a "numbers matching" car, we mean that the chassis # matches
on both data plates plus on the dash and firewall; and the number on the block above
#5 cylinder matches the number shown on the data plate on the R/F strut tower.

All Z Best,..............................Kathy & Rick