"Maltese Cross" and non standard sizes from factory?

[macdrew77]

I have heard rumors of a "maltese cross" being stamped on a block in order to identify an engine with non standard size crank/bearings/something. Is this a fact? I ask because I am pulling apart a 1990 TBI 360 which I believe to have never been apart. I discovered the rod bearings are .010 under and was wondering if anyone can identify these bearings as factory originals? And stamped on the block near the dizzy hole is a sort of cross. Now this cross is not what google shows as being a "maltese" but maybe this is what signifies a non standard engine?

 

[72bluNblu]

Maltese cross was .001 undersize on either crank or rod bearings. And they were actual Maltese crosses, see this thread

Does this number mean anything?

Went way back too, here's one on a Desoto hemi...

 

[mechanicmark]

Thats 'about' the time the engine line went to mexico. There were 'enough oil pump/bearing failures' in that era.[at first]. I remember letter stamps used, for size. A lot of these engines were hammered back together under flat rate pay.

 

[Dartnut]

I has a '71 440 HP engine that had a maltese cross with an X beside it on the front pad, and when i opened it up to refresh it and measured everything, #2 main bearings were 0.010" overersize and the rest were std.
I put it back together with the proper bearings and had to buy one that was 0.010'' for #2 and the clearances checked out perfectly.
My machinist said the crank was perfect with no taper or out of round when i took it in to be polished but he wanted to grind the crank 0.010'' on all of the mains and i insisted on leaving it alone.
I ran that engine after that for years without any problems.

O.P.:
I haven't seen that stamping on a block before, so i don't know what it means.

 

[67Dart273]

This is documented in the service manuals. There are several instances of "special" sizing, including undersize bearings, AND ONE OR MORE oversize lifter bore. I have a 340 block, "that" I believe it's the "diamond"

Go to MyMopar and download a service manual, FREE. Some of those, there are due to the efforts of a few of the guys on here

 

[70Duster440]

Examples....