I think I have a rare engine....

[buzz]

Hey there, I am new here. I have an old model A that I bought and just started to play with. In looking over the numbers, I think it is a 1960 290HP fuel injected engine. we have been tossing it around at the forum listed below. All the numbers are listed here so please have a look and tell me if we are on the right track. thanks a million.

http://www.clubhotrod.com/t4255-15-1.html

Buzz

http://www.clubhotrod.com/t4255-15-1.html

[Joe L.]

Re: I think I have a rare engine....

Buzz-----

If the engine suffix code found on the engine stamp pad is, indeed, "CS", then the engine block is almost certainly a 283 originally used for a 1958-61 Corvette 290 or 315 hp FI application. There may also be a VIN derivative on the stamp pad if the engine was originally installed in an earlier-build 1960 to 1961 Corvette. If there is no VIN derivative, then it was likely originally installed in a 1958, 1959 or very early 1960 Corvette.

If there is a VIN derivative, the engine would be VERY valuable to the person that owns the Corvette that it originally came out of (if the car still exists and you could find it). Otherwise, the engine BLOCK would be somewhat valuable to a person with a Corvette for which the block's casting date is appropriate.

Basically, what's valuable here is the casting number, casting date, and "CS" stamped code for someone who happens to need it for a C1 restoration. The 283 block, itself, is no different than the 283 block used in Chevrolet passenger cars and trucks of the period as well as Corvettes. The casting number and casting dates would not, of course, be unique to Corvettes; the "CS" suffix code IN COMBINATION with the casting number you have is unique to Corvettes.

[buzz]

Re: I think I have a rare engine....

This is what I have in a nut shell. on the pad, F0502SC and then stamped next to it 107596. Head casting number is 3782461 (I think these are later heads from 327 model). Date code on the passenger rear is D290 and Casting number of the block on driver side is 3756519.

I would really like to know more about the other number on the pad. Is it a VIN (partial)? If it is..is there a way to document the engine and where it came from. And if so is there a way to track current owners. I think it would be great to get this to its original car. What a story!

[buzz]

Re: I think I have a rare engine....

OK, I looked up the VINs for the 60 vettes here

http://corvetteactioncenter.com/specs/1960/60id.html

If I look at this right, I bet the 6 digit number I have is the last 6 of the sequence as the other numbers are the same. that makes sense to me, anyway. So I bet the VIN of this car was 008675107596, if it is truely a 60 model. Is there anyway to tell? OK, now is there any way to check and see if the car still is around?

Thanks
Buzz

[Joe L.]

Re: I think I have a rare engine....

buzz-----

The "107596" is the VIN derivative. Combined with the block date code, this would indicate that this engine was originally installed in the 7,596th 1960 Corvette off the assembly line and this car was a 290 hp FI model (if the suffix code is actually "CS" and not the "SC" that you typed). The engine was assembled on April 29, 1960 at Flint, MI. The Corvette would have been built somewhere around May 16, 1960.

There is no way that I know of to track the current owner other than advertising in publications that the current owner might read. Assuming, of course, that the car currently suvives.

[buzz]

Re: I think I have a rare engine....

you are absolutely right on the CS, sorry. there is no question on that..the markings are nice and sharp on the pad for both numbers. Well, cool. I am learning. Everyone on the hot rod forum suggested running an ad in Hemmings under corvette parts for sale. Since the engine is in my car and running, I don't know if it has been bored or anything like that. And the other guys were warning me that those heads have a history of lots of cracks. I just was getting a lot of blow by and was thinking of doing a valve job. that is what started this whole thing to begin with. I actually, had plans to eventully change the motor for something else anyway. maybe I will just pull it and set it to the sice so I don't spin a bearing or something just bopping around. I wonder what it is worth...

[Rob M.]

Re: I think I have a rare engine....

The car, in question, not registered in the C1 Registry...




The C1 Corvette Registry

[Joe L.]

Re: I think I have a rare engine....

buzz-----

I have no idea of its dollar value. It's only real value, as I say, is for the car it came out of, in particular, or another 1960 Corvette which it could be correct for. Given the fact that it has a VIN derivative stamped on the pad, the real value is only to the car that it came out of. If someone were to use it for another Corvette for which the casting number and date would be considered correct, the value of the "CS" suffix code would be effectively negated by the fact that another car's VIN derivative was stamped on the pad. If one were to remove the VIN derivative, then the "CS" would go, too. Then, it's just another 283 block.

In the 50's and 60's 283s, especially "Vette engines", were highly prized for use in "hot rods". That value has waned considerably, though. 283s are not the performance engines of the past 20 years. The easy availability of 327s and, especially, 350 cid engines makes the 283s pretty obsolete for hot rod applications. A 350 cid engine out of a passenger car, mildly worked over, will produce as much horsepower and lots more torque than even the hottest 283 ever installed in a Corvette.

Nevertheless, I'd preserve the engine. If the car that it came out of could be found, the engine would be worth a lot to the owner of said car. Plus, it's an important piece of history that deserves preservation and, hopefully, a reunion with its original car.

[Ian S.]

Re: I think I have a rare engine....

I think I saw an ad in the Driveline for an investigator that can trace if a car is currently registered in the U.S and provide history of it's past owners. Maybe that would be worth a shot. Has anyone here ever used this service with good results?

[Clare Carpenter]

Joe is right

Buzz, Cool story. Glad to see you are thinking of setting aside this old 283. Maybe the car is still around.

[buzz]

I think I have a rare engine....

Hey, Is there any way of telling if the transmission is original to the engine? What numbers should I like for?

Buzz

http://www.clubhotrod.com/t4255-15-1.html

[Joe L.]

Re: I think I have a rare engine....

Buzz----

The transmission that you described is a Muncie transmission. No Muncie transmission was EVER originally used for a C1 Corvette, so the trannsmission could NOT be original to the engine.

[Joe L.]

Addendum

Buzz-----

One other thing that I should have mentioned earlier is this:

The most likely reason for the engine that you have having been "available for transplantation" into your street rod is the "demise" of the Corvette that it originally belonged to. Unless that car was somehow "salvaged" along the way and "reborn", it's likely that the car became the "donor" for a lot of other C1 restorations. In order for "donor" parts to be available for restorations, some of the cars originally built must die (permanently). In other words, "some must die so that others can live".

The second most likely reason that the engine might have been "available for transplant" is that the car that it originally belonged to was stolen and stripped of it (and, likely, other parts). This was a very popular fate for Corvettes of the 50s and 60s. In that case, the car may still be around having likely been re-fitted with another engine. However, if that's the case, then the engine in your car would be considered "stolen property", whther you are aware of it, or not. It's VERY unlikely, though, that even if that's the case, it would ever be discerned by any law enforcement agency at this "stage of the game". But, it's NOT impossible.

[Terry D.]

Re: Addendum

Buzz

One other reason your car could have this engine is during the 60's a lot of older, 61 on back, Corvette's had their engine removed and replaced with a much stronger 327. During the late 60's at one time we had three or four older 283's sitting around from engine swaps. Ironically we sold these to guys building street rods.
Terry

[Dave Suesz]

Sad story in my area...

Just a few years ago a newspaper article. Apparently, in the 70's a guy in the area bought a C2. Some years later, had a total restoration done ($$$). In the 90's decided to sell the car. In the process, somebody ran the VIN. Car was listed as stolen. Authorities confiscated the car, returned it to the legit owner, who was still around. How owner #2, who lost his investment, had a title and registration, they never explained.