A: Almost all motors from the factory start with the "P*" (P-star) stamp. Exceptions are the "KD*" (see following), and the blank 3rd piece replacement pieces which were sold as replacement parts and installed by service centers and shops.

Q: What does the "KD*" before my engine number mean?

A: The KD means, roughly translated, "Customer Service", in other words, your engine was rebuilt at the factory--almost as good as new! We have no statistics as to how many KD engines there are, but they are not uncommon, especially on European Delivery cars, which were frequently taken by their owners back to the factory for service, or the engines may have been sent by European Porsche Dealers to the factory for rebuilds.

Q: What do the other stamps my engine number mean, and how can I find out ?

A: There are the "type number" stamps, the "case casting" stamp, and, internally the "date stamp". Details about the date stamp and how it relates to the case casting stamp can be found in Harry Pellow's book, "The Maestro's Little Spec Book". The type number stamp is usually of the form 1600 or 1600S, or 616/#, where "#" can be an number of one or two digits. For more details about Porsche 356 engines, see the excellent Porsche 356 Engine Site.

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