Original engine or not?

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.

I had a 68 cast 383 that didn’t get assembled until 1971, I always wondered what happened to that block, must’ve been waaaaay back in the corner.