Ok.... another engine question

[Chuck R.]

I posted ealier about a 350 power plant I was pondering putting in my 68.

Well.... the 350 is a #39000710 block with a four barrel, period. The fella said it was in a truck and was recently re-built and was real strong...Yeah, that's what I'm thinking too, how strong is strong!

Is there any tell tail signs that would tell me what year this 710 block belonged to?

I'm not about to be throwing bucks at a 165HP chunk of cast iron.

Thanks,

Chuck

[William C.]

Re: Ok.... another engine question

What is the engine code stamped on the pad at the front of the engine, What is the casting date?

[Craig S.]

Re: Ok.... another engine question

Chuck - no matter what the block originally came from, unless you really know what internals were included with the rebuild, what heads, are they matched to the cam, compression of the pistions, intake, etc etc the value us very hard to establish. Blocks are pretty much just blocks, the power (and durability) hence value are all about the rotating and breathing components...Craig

[Chuck R.]

Re: Thanks for the insight

Well DUH... the date code would have narrowed it down a tad wouldn't it!

As I'm talking this deal through from a distance, I SHOULD have asked for the code but didn't.

Your absolutley right, anything could be goin on in there parts wise but I'm being told that it's stock and just freshened.

You folks are very patient and I appreciate your tollerance.

Excuse me while I make a phone call for a date code

[Bob R.]

Re: Thanks for the insight

Chuck,
Try to get the suffix code off the front right pad of the engine. This will help identify the type of vehicle the engine was installed in originally. The Block number you have was used on all 350 cu in. engines from 1969 to 1980 used in all types of vehicles.

[Duke W.]

Re: Ok.... another engine question

Keep in mind that the 165 HP 350 from 1975 was internally nearly the same as the 350/300 from 1969. The only internal difference is compression, which was lowered from about 10.25 to 8.5:1 to support low octane unleaded fuel.

The power rating method changed from SAE gross to SAE net and the combination of net rating and lower compression would reduce the rating to about 210 to 220. The additional lost 50 HP is due to the single highly restrictive "bead bed" catalytic converter and the heated intake air.

Duke

[Joe L.]

Re: Ok.... another engine question

Chuck-----

The block number should be 3970010, not 39000710. That block was manufactured in both 2 and 4 bolt main configurations, but the 2 bolt can be easily converted to 4 bolt if that matters to you. For 69-70 a lot of these blocks were 4 bolt. For 1971-79 only L-82 and some trucks got the 4 bolt.

The block suffix code will tell a lot about how the engine was ORIGINALLY configured.

One important thing to check for is the cylinder heads. The casting mark will seperate the "good heads" from the "not-so-good heads". You want heads with a "double hump" (unlikely, as these were not used after 1970), "parrallelogram on top right of a rectangular base", "right triangle on top of rectangular base", or "twin peaks". The preceding heads have reasonable performance potential. If you have these heads and reasonable compression ratio (around 9:1), then with a good cam, intake manifold, and carburetion, you can make 350 hp easy.

[William C.]

Re: Ok.... another engine question *NM*

[Chuck R.]

Re: Joe you are correct

The casting number was 3970010 as opposed to my 39000710. Sorry, I was typing too fast for my own good.

I'm heading over to personally look this beast over this weekend, so I can see just exactly what's what.

Hey, by the way hows your project car comming?

As always, thanks for your help Joe,

Chuck