yes, it is on the passenger side of the block about where the cyl 4 is. It contains the date of manufacturing, first digit is the year (for you should be 6 or 7 for 96 or 97), then the month, after that there are 2 letters for the engine type and 2 more digits for the day of manufacturing. There is another place for a 2 letter code to the left of the distributor which gives you an indication if oversized pistons and cam bearing bores or undersized bearings were used, if it's missing then there are all standard size (P is for piston connecting rods, M for main jurnal, B for cylinder bore and C for Cam bearing bores).