may have figured out how old your SR is

[hurddawg]

I got my S13 blacktop today and while I was drooling on it I noticed that dates were stamped on the intake manifold.

The engine came with a J4 ecu so it should be a kouki 180sx type-x engine from like 97-98.

The first stamp I saw was located on the bracket that holds the inbound fuel line, between the #1 and #2 ports. It was dated '96-11-22. Which coresponds (sp?) to the ecu.

The second stamp was on the intake mani as well but located where the #1 intake port meets the plenum. It was dated 8-12-09. In Japan there are two ways to count the years. Years like we do here in the US, eg 1991, 1992, etc. The second way is the I guess called "the number of years in the era". Current era in Japan in Heisei, and the current Heisei year is 15. So going back to the date 8-12-09 is August 12th 1997. Again matching up to the ecu.

For those that are thinking why the dates are different, the parts are not manufactured at the same parts factories and parts are manufactured at different times, etc hence the difference.

So anyone with a redtop or a blacktop S13 check it out. See if you got any stamps on yours. I'll see if I can get a pic of mine.

[I H8 UR DSM]

I dont think people are concerned with the manufuctured date, as much as the date the car was sold, and motor started being run. Parts are usually manufactured on a schedule, which wouldnt have anything to do with the date the car was assembled, and more importantly, sold from a dealership. You can buy oem parts not (old new stock) and it have the same date on it. But thats sure newer than the one that came with the motorset : )

[Wuss]

Even still, thats a better gauge then any. Parts manufacturedates can generally be "accurately" estimated to the age of the motor if you just consider the downtime between a part being made and the car being sold.

Generally, I wouldn't think that a part would be made any earlier then 1 year prior to the car being sold. ( of course this is an assumption, but I think a fairly safe assumption ) It wouldnt make sense to make parts for upcoming model more then a year or so before the actual release of the model.

At the very least, you know the worst case scenario of how old your motor is. At least he knows his wasn't made prior to the manufactur dates for the parts.

[hurddawg]

well i guess in my case its more feasible to figure out my year the engine is. Since it seems that the kouki engine was produced from 96.5 to 98 (something like that). So by looking at the oldest date i had it gives me an idea that it is at least a 97.

I was mostly worried that since i had the J4 ecu that i'd get spark to only 1 coil pack and would have to get another ecu.

also i was just thinking was, in this case at least, by looking at the nov '96 stamp should indicate it was a 1997-spec engine.

p.s. i was looking at the 8-12-09 stamp again and it could be a 3-12-09 stamp. the "8" is smudged a bit.

edit: I found another "stamp". it was engraved in the thermostat. Date was Nov '96.