have you found the production numbers inside the cam chest on the rear wall to the front of the torrington cam bearing, not sure if all Shovels had them but my 78 & both my 79's had them, you can work out what day it was made, which daily production run, model code, CC's etc,...a lot of information there ...

 

YUP! I haven't decoded them, though. 1481253026

 

that makes it,.. the 026th bike built, on thursday september 10th 1981 & its a 1340 shovelhead.....
Example: 1588 321 007

15 = Engine Designation
1 = 1200cc Shovelhead
7 = 1000cc Iron XL
14 = 1340cc Shovelhead
15 = 1340cc Evolution
16 = XR-1000
17 = 883cc Evolution XL
18 = 1100cc Evolution XL
19 = 1200cc Evolution XL
20 = 1340cc Evolution, California (1988 - *)
21 = 883cc Evolution XL, California (1988 - *)
22 = 1200cc Evolution XL, California (1988 - *)

88 = Model Year

321 = Day of Production
001 = Jan. 1st 182 = Jul. 1st
032 = Feb. 1st 213 = Aug. 1st
060 = Mar. 1st 244 = Sep. 1st
091 = Apr. 1st 274 = Oct. 1st
121 = May 1st 305 = Nov. 1st
152 = Jun. 1st 335 = Dec. 1st

007 = Number That Day

 

K as the second letter on the trans case is a bit earlier than I was expecting but that’s okay. It and the other characters appear consistent with factory stamping. Under the trans you may find casting number 34709 80 and a circle E hallmark. There may or may not be a casting date code nearby.
Eric

 

Bottom of the trans:

 

On cases with casting number 34709 80 the lone 1 is common while others have a lone 2. The 213 is also common but I don’t know what it indicates. Sometimes a date code is above the casting number and sometimes it is to the left but other cases such as yours have no date code.
Eric

 

I cleaned the cylinders today. They turned out pretty good

 

While doing this clean-up and repair, I've noticed good used shovelhead parts are getting harder to find and people are real proud of them. I have to watch how I spend my money so waiting for the right parts at the right price is the thing to do. I've found a lower tree for a BT narrow glide, a nice set of rocker boxes and other stuff. at what I see as reasonable.

 

Hear you on the OEM parts, got a couple sets of heads and a shelf full of 4 speed transmissions appreciating much better than my retirement portfolio currently.

 

The weather changed from Wyoming back to Texas so I was able to get out and get the heads cleaned up. I noticed that the bolts on the rocker boxes were not very tight. The gaskets came off in one piece. I went back and looked at the head gaskets and noticed a vein of oil around the passage and remembered the bolts came out easier than I remember they should. Someone has been in this top end since it was rebuilt back around 97. So it is.
I got a nice set of rocker boxes for a great price to replace the ones that were modified for hex head bolts. I mocked up the motor to see what it will be. It's been a long time since I've been this deep into a shovel.

The beginning

The end