I bought a 40's Flathead (I think) with a rusty frame and no engine serial number. More on the frame later.
Maybe the engine serial number was removed, but if so, it was done well, as the area still has a normal appearance (In my humble opinion).
To make things worse, the belly numbers are corroded, and the FIRST digit, which should be the first number of the year of manufacture, is very faint.
I think that first number is a 4. Any ideas?
Note that there is still some olive drab on the case, which would be normal for a WLA engine.
It was rumored that this was a bike that never made it to WWII and might have been a parts bike.