66 low horse 427

[Mark Nolan]

hi gang,

i found one! a block heads and all and, it's only about 20 miles from my house! a low horse 66 427 sitting on a wood pallet that would (theoretically) match my coupe. mine's a big block car but it's final assembly date was April '66.

the block's date casting is september 65... is that within the realm of possibility for matching up date wise? would a block be "on the shelf" for 5-6 months before being installed?

i've seen similar threads on this but, can't remember what the NCRS might call reasonable.

I found one at Carlisle over the weekend that was within a month but it was already bored .60 over and needed more... didn't anna hit water ;-)

any advice?

mark nolan
burton, ohio

[John H.]

Re: 66 low horse 427

Mark -

From a judging perspective, it's a month outside the 6-month "window" between the casting date and the car's final assembly date.

[Jack H.]

But....

if you leave everything alone (stamp pad, Etc.) and simply rebuild the donor block that's near you, you'll wind up with 'half credit' on the judging field! The engine block is worth 350 points and judging rules take a 175 point deduction for a correctly configured cylinder case with proper casting number where the casting date is incorrect. The finer details (numbers on stamp pad and broach marks) aren't even judged in these cases....

So, with a 175 point loss, that's (175/4500) a 3.8% scoring loss meaning it's still 'possible' for the car to achieve Top Flight (94%) if everything else is clean OR, with a little bit of milage driven credit you could easily recoup the deduction. You'd need to drive the car +380 miles to a meet to do this.

This puts you on the horns of a dilema in terms of restoration econmomics if the nearby local block is fairly priced. You'll have to call a Board of Director's meeting, look in the mirror and ask yourself what your objectives are for the car (solid driver car that 'can' achieve Top Flight vs. an all-out 'trailer queen' restoration gunning for Mark of Excellence) and make the decision trade-off between time, money and restoration pride. This may NOT be an easy decision!

[Mark Nolan]

Thanks!

Jack and John,

Thanks guys... Missed it by a month!

Have to do a little thinking. I've never had a "trailer queen" and don't plan on it so, I have a hunch I'd be able to make up the difference.

I'll go see them this week and see what I can do price wise.

Thanks again for the advice and info.

Mark Nolan
Burton, Ohio

[Gary Wilkerson]

Re: Thanks!

If the block casting date is within the acceptable window, what happens if the block has been decked? If the raised casting date is correct does the stamp pad matter?

Gary

[Craig S.]

Re: Thanks!

Gary - the pad originality and stamping counts for the other 175 points Jack mentions, verifying original broach marks, and then the stamping information. If it is cut off, then the point you are at is half credit for the engine per Jack's post...Craig

[Gary Wilkerson]

Re: Thanks!

Craig

Thanks, I understand now.

Gary

[John H.]

Re: Thanks!

The pad in total is worth 88 points - 25 for the engine plant stamp, 25 for the assembly plant VIN derivative stamp, and 38 for the pad surface/appearance.

[Craig S.]

Re: Thanks!

Thx John for that correction...I was just doing math from Jack's post based on the 350 pts vs 175, guess I missed something else and overstated the pad points. Thx!...Craig

[Jack H.]

Re: Thanks!

The key is it's a multi-step process:

(1) Correct block casting number & configuration? 350 points to deduct.

(2) Correct block casting date? 175 points to deduct.

(3) Verify stamp pad numbers (early vs. late cars with/without VIN derivative. 50 points to deduct.

(4) Last--verify stamp pad broach marks. 38 points to deduct.

The thread was working with a pre-defined item (correct cast number block but cast too early for the car). Hence, we were at step 2.

Yep, the stamp pad is worth 88 points total, but there are a number of possibliities (correct engine plant stamp, wrong or missing VIN stamp; no stamps; all incorrect stamps; totally blank pad--with or without broach marks, Etc.) at this level and you don't get there without steps one & two being OK in the first place....