model year help?

[Chappell Customs]

Hey everyone! I'm new to this forum and sorry if i posted in the wrong area...
Looking for some possible model year info on a bullet model i recently picked up for a project.
I was told it was a 1973, But i'm not sure exactly what it is. Also not sure how to tell if its a 500 or a 350? It doesn't run (almost no compression) so i will be rebuilding the engine. So any specks on piston size for 500's or 350's would help too before i start ordering parts.

The serial numbers on both the frame and engine are the same, also its a right side gear bike. serial numbers are both 3B456470H
any input would be greatly appreciated.
heres a pic of the bike, it's not really as good as it looks in the pic, everything is just set on there... and mostly rusted.

[ace.cafe]

That photo angle just happened to be about the worst possible angle for determining the 2 most obvious defining characteristics.

However, from what I can see, it seems to be a 350.

The year could be almost anything. They all look about the same for 50 years.
I don't know the age of the engine number, but it strikes me as a fairly early number that might be from the 70s.

[barenekd]

If it's a '73 or close to that vintage, it's definitely a 350. The Indians didn't start producing 500s until '89. It could possibly have been upgraded to a 500, but it would be unlikely.
You don't mention where you are, but we kinda have to assume India because they didn't start exporting until '75 and that was very few machines.
Bare

[rotorwrench]

The numbering system for the later Madras/Chennai MFG machines is kind of funky. The 3B would indicate an 83 but also could be 93 or 2003. There was no decade identifier in the system. I think they started the number digit with the B thing in 1982 beginning "2B" and later in the early 90s they added an alpha month identifier. This would make the machine a 1983 model and other items on the bike look to be of that vintage as well.

The info can be found on the REOC/UK web-site or at least it used to be. They get a lot of enquiries about the India made machines.

[Chappell Customs]

You don't mention where you are, but we kinda have to assume India because they didn't start exporting until '75 and that was very few machines.
Bare

Thanks for the input everybody, and sorry about the pic angle, Its all i had available when i posted.
Im in California, not a lot of old enfields here to compare it to. I build custom bikes, and this is just another project, but definitely my first enfield. Check out our site chappellcustoms.com
I'm sure i'll be back here asking more questions about this bike once i start to get into it.

[Chappell Customs]

didn't they switch from right to left side gear around a certain year? Could that help put this in the age range?

[t120rbullet]

didn't they switch from right to left side gear around a certain year? Could that help put this in the age range?

The Indian 350 Bullet standard used right shift all the way to the last one in 2010.
All the ones that were legally brought into the US were converted to left shift. A good amount of them were converted back to right shift because the left shift bodge was horrible.