which is best- c.e. or date correct motor?

[TimG]

Even a true, verified CE motor could have a casting date way later than the build date of the car. It could also have a casting number that would not be correct for the car. You could, in fact, receive no points due to late casting date, wrong casting number, no VIN derivative and no assembly derivative.

What if a person bought a new '68 Corvette built in October of '67? It may have been purchased in December of '67 and the original motor went south 11 months later, in November of '68. The dealer gets a CE warranty block and that block may have a '69 part number on it because the factory is now kicking out '69 equipment. The casting date may be September of 1968, 11 months after the car was built and probably more than one year later than the original motor was cast. CE verification or not, this motor will receive no points for the engine. In this case, I'd rather have an August 1968 replacement block with the correct casting number and sell the CE block to a guy with a 1969 Corvette.

[firstgenaddict]

I'm with Chuck... a decked dated block is the last option IMHO... decked blocks are an unknown... if you can find a correct suffix block that would be the best... if it happens to have no VIN derivative it is a bonus... they are few and far between though... and for Gods sake if you do find one without the VIN please don't stamp one... that is