SU carb body date stamp code; anorak warning

[abowie]

There is an alphanumeric date code stamped on the top of the inner flange of the SU body.

Does anyone know how to fully decipher it?

I know that "T11" refers to November 1960, and that F1 and F2 are January and February 1953 respectively.

Does anyone have the whole chart?

[265bhp]

Hi Andrew
Am sure this was discussed and explained more in the 3.8 Factory Fit thread...
Best
Jonathan

[abowie]

HA!

"Post by Ian Howe » Wed Jun 18, 2014 6:57 am

Dating SU carburettors

On the back of the carbs, on the metal flange that butts up to the insulator and gaskets, is a code. 'U' being 1961 and 1-12 being the month. The date codes counts forwards and backwards from ''U' :

T - 60
U - 61
V - 62
W - 63
X - 64
Y - 65
Z - 66"

[abowie]

But.. :-(

From Roger Payne..

"And please note, the E-type forum listing provided is NOT correct on many fronts with the letter-codes V, W, Y and Z not being used at all. Indeed this year-coding system started at A = 1945, with a few letter skipped, eventually getting to S = 1959, then restarting again at A = 1963.

I have shown an accurate Date-Code listing in several forums over the past 10-15 years, but it would seem not on The E-type Forum being more pre-occupied with matters XK, albeit I have and love E-types as well………………"

[Philk]

It would be good to get a dating table included in the Forum Knowledgebase - particularly if we have incorrect information elsewhere on the forum. I have not been able to locate the other tables that are mentioned in the previous post.

[mgcjag]

The post that Ian Howe put up in in the factory fit section viewtopic.php?f=4&t=2006&p=41444&hilit= ... 564#p41444
So we have 2 sets of colicting information....i assume that Burlan may be able to give a definate answer for those that need to know.....Steve

[Philk]

The post that Ian Howe put up in in the factory fit section viewtopic.php?f=4&t=2006&p=41444&hilit= ... 564#p41444
So we have 2 sets of colicting information....i assume that Burlan may be able to give a definate answer for those that need to know.....Steve

Hi Steve

Good to get it into one place. My car was manufactured in June '64 and has A12 dated Carbs on it. As such, these are either the correct carbs if we go with one of the dating lists or they have been replaced with a later 1967 set if we go with the other list. Given other components on the car are dated correctly (wiper motor, starter motor etc), I'm inclined to run with the list which states that certain codes were not used but it would be good to get it confirmed since this puts another tick in the originality box.

Regards

Phil

[abowie]

The definitive answer from Roger Payne.

"G'day Andrew,

My listing of SU DATE CODES is all my own research work, all part of major resercah projects I have done into SU Fuel Pumps, and SU carburetters…………

I have an extensive library/collection of 1930s through to 1970s SU Technical and Spare Parts Literature, and amongst all of that there is only the one reference to their actually being a DATE CODE stamped on Carburetters…………

So I don’t have anything definitive from SU as such, nor have I found ANY other reference of reliable substance in any other publications, and indeed when I first cottoned on to these stampings actually being a date code I did quiz a number of SU Experts (claimed and actual) worldwide, but no help at all, albeit two did say they had heard some reference of an SU Date Code.

So what I have is as follows – its always an ALPHA NUMRERIC code, with the ALPHA denoting a code for YEAR, starting from A = 1945, and the NUMERIC code 1 to 12 denoting respective MONTH.

The full list is as follows, with some letters not used, and two anomalies that although I have theories to explain, I have nothing definitive from SU to support nor contradict my theories….

A 1945
B 1946
C 1947
D 1948
E 1949
F 1950
G 1951
H 1952
I not used
J not used
K 1953
L 1954
M 1955
N 1956
O not used
P 1957
Q rarely seen, but not a year code, something else?
R 1958
S 1959
T 1960
U 1961
V not used
W not used
X 1962
Y not used
Z not used
A 1963
B 1964
C 1965
D 1966
E 1967
F 1968
G 1969

As above – the only factory SU reference I have is that X = 1962
The earliest code I have confirmed from physical sighting/evidence is C = 1947, so I have just assumed A = 1945 and B = 1946.
The letter Q is a mystery, but I have seen it, and as above I have a few theories as to its significance, but I don’t have any factory PROOF, so at this stage I just acknowledge Q does exist, but not sure what it denotes…..
But all other letters have been reliably confirmed, and the fact that I, J, O, V, W, Y and Z are NOT used has withstood the test of time (some 20 years I have been researching this), albeit you can never say with 100% confidence that something DOESN’T EXIST – who knows, maybe exists for some other reason than a year code, such as my still unexplained Q. I have not been able to see/confirm anything later than G = 1969, so something to do one day, as Series 2 E-type and 420G were still getting HD8 carburetters which were otherwise all date coded, and I haven’t looked at HS or HIF carburetters – my interest predominantly with the H series and HD series…..

And these codes have been only confirmed on Jaguar original SU Carburetters and Fuel Pumps, I have no opinion re SUs as supplied to other marques.

And note, I am only referring to this Alpha/Numeric DATE CODE – not the other numbers/letters that can also be found sometimes stamped on the top surface of the mounting flange……

Regards,

Roger"

[paulsco]

This confirms the date of the carbs on my 65 FHC, which I had some suspicion may have been from an earlier car.

C4 6; (I thought it was C46), but Andrews information seems to confirm 1965




Paul

[Philk]

It's great to have the full list here. Even better to know that mine are date coded a few months before my car's production (not surprising given these carbs were used across a number of manufacturers).

I note from the picture in the previous post the number "6" after the date code. I wonder what that is for since I have the same number present.

[abowie]

It's great to have the full list here. Even better to know that mine are date coded a few months before my car's production (not surprising given these carbs were used across a number of manufacturers).

I note from the picture in the previous post the number "6" after the date code. I wonder what that is for since I have the same number present.

On some cars they stamped the ID number of the needle fitted, however as yours should have UM needle that doesn't seem right as a "6" needle is the standard for the MGA.

[265bhp]

Interesting
My 63 car has X6 and X7 carbs...with 2 of them also having an additional 6 digit

[Philk]

Having checked again, all three of mine are A12 with a "6" after them. Given the HD8 carbs were used by other car manufacturers as well as Jaguar (e.g. Austin Healey, Aston Martin and Rover to name but three), I'd be a bit surprised if anything was stamped on them other than the most generic of information that would be common across all of their installations.

I've just looked up the MGA mentioned above and I believe they had H4 carbs fitted on the pushrod engine and H6 on the twin cam.

[Heuer]

Aston Martin DB5/6; Bentley S3 T, Healey 3000, Rolls Royce S3, Daimler, Rover V8 and Jaguar - quite a rarefied list!