Original engine or not?

That block sat around the warehouse a while before it was machined and installed. July 70 for 71 model year.
True. I have read that as a rule of thumb, most matching number parts (including the engine), should be dated no more than 2-3 months before the car's build date. BUT that exceptions could occur. I've read many accounts where dates on parts would be well outside that 2-3 month period. I always wondered if judges accepted those exceptions, or if the owners struggled to prove it was the car's original part.