62 Block - Yeah or Neah?

[Joe S.]

A 62 I just picked up had what appears to be a rebuilt block included with it. THe block appears to be correct from a numbers standpoint, but I would like opinions on whether somebody restamped/numbered it.

It has the correct casting number and date (H91 - August 9th, 1961). The car is Vin #53 and build on 8/15 or 8/17 depending on which b-day calc you use. The Assembly date is the 15th.

The heads appear to be correct 461's with G11 dates on them (July). The intake is also correct with an H11 date).

The block was painted black years ago and stored. I cleaned off some of the black paint for hte pictures. The brooch marks look identical on both left and right sides and they run back across the top deck surface. Not just at the stamp pad. It has DORMAN freeze plugs in it so I assume the rebuild at some point. I also don't recall seeing the large recessed hex-head plugs under the timing cover. That's why I wondered if it's the real deal.

Thanks,

Joe..

One pic posted and others linked.

[William C.]

Re: 62 Block - Yeah or Neah?

Looks good to me.

[Mike E.]

Re: 62 Block - Yeah or Neah?

Looks good to me, too!!!! Wasn't that car just for sale on ebay, or was that another early car? Early cars are tough to restore, because only early parts will work. Good luck on the car!

[Norris W.]

Re: 62 Block - Yeah or Neah?

I'm sure the two guys above know a bunch more about dates and sequences than I do, but...... it's possible to have a block cast, assembled less than a week later, and put in the car the same day or two days after assembly (depending on which calculator)???? Seems a little tight at a glance.

My 62 fuel motor is still disassembled........... now I'm gonna have to go look.

[Dennis C.]

Can & did happen... DC *NM*

[Mike M.]

Re: 62 Block - Yeah or Neah?

looks like ya hit a home run, joe. mike

[Joe S.]

Re: 62 Block - Yeah or Neah?

Thanks for the insight guys.

Mike Ernst: Yes, the car was on eBay. Limited info and terrible pictures. I never buy a car on eBay without looking at it first and I've bought a couple. But I looked at this and decided for the money it was a no lose situation. I did not even know if the motor and other parts were correct and really didn't care. I just finished an 81 Resto-Rod (FrankenSport) and planned to just use this body for another one.

When I went to pick up the car and see it for the first time, I found out that everything was there and a restoration had been started around 15 years ago. There were many new correct (NOS?) GM parts. When I realized I had the what I thought was the correct engine, heads, intake, carb, exhaust, correct and rebuilt tranny, rear differential, all chrome, and other parts, I decided the car should not be cut up and resto-rodded. That's why I first wanted to make sure the numbers on the block were right to help in the decision making.

The biggest issue was the frame has had a number of repairs to it but I already found a pristine frame from a 61. I did not purchase it yet because I'm going to pull the body off next week and inspect this one more carefully before swapping it out.

The car also has a one piece nose made by LEgenday Corvette (out of business I understand). I don't know how correct it is but it has all the separate panels and bonding strips. I understand it was a jig built front end and was done similar to the original. IT looks great and was installed (I believe) correctly.

Thanks again,

Joe..

[Norris W.]

Re: Can & did happen... DC

Brings up another couple of interesting points (interesting to me at least). First, condition of pad and what to do when rusty. I've got this on my mind because this thread got me to go dig out my '62 fuel motor and compare the dates to the one in question here. (E252 cast date, F0613RF assy, 13100's VIN)

Anyhow, I'd forgotten how rusty the pad is, so I'll do another post on how to clean without ruining.

I think there was some discussion on this once before, but I can't find it now, or recall the opinions, but I've seen a 2870 block assy, that I know to be unmolested that has an assembly code ending in R (no E or F)and NO vin number sequence on the pad. I've always been of the impression that this was an over the counter shortblock assembly that could've been either 340 or 360 horse by adding an E or F (had domed pistons and right camshaft), but seems like somebody was strongly convinced that Chev wouldn't have delivered a shortblock with assy. date. This has come up again in another context and I'd sure appreciate having my memory refreshed.

[Kevin M.]

Re: 62 Block - Yeah or Neah?

Joe,

What kind of lift is that?

Kevin

[Joe S.]

Lift

It's a Rotary Mid-Rise. Great for everything except under the middle of the car. Very handy for putting a rolling chassis together.

[Norris W.]

Re: Can & did happen... DC

Several attempts post picture. Using links from Image Shack that every other website frequented seems to swallow produced dreaded RED X. Computer in grave danger of flying object through monitor. Blood pressure elevated. Patience exhausted. Fold, quit, give, uncle.

[Tracy C.]

Re: 62 Block - Yeah or Neah?

Way to go Joe!!!

[Dennis C.]

R Suffix is a '62 Corvette owner's dream come...

...true if they are trying to duplicate a Corvette engine - that was born as a passenger car motor (w/no VIN derivitive) with a single R suffix. The possibilities are almost endless if you carefully turn it into an... RC, RD, RE, RF

[Jack H.]

Re: Can & did happen... DC

Since the stamp pad was left unpainted, SOME minor surface oxidation is expected during judging. But, the target remains to make parts look as if they were freshly delivered....

So, if there's a LOT of rust, it needs to be cleaned off. Try some Naval Gel and a toothbrush.

[Richard M.]

Re: 62 Block - Yeah or Neah?

Joe,
Great find. I was watching that on ebay, yes....#53. Very interesting package. I was wondering about the engine as he didn't elaborate with photos of the #'s etc. Looks like you got the home run! Congratulations! I believe anything was possible on the line. Maybe Flint delivered a shipment of engines, and that one was the last out of Flint, then the first one in the assembly plant then dropped off to go into #53. Anything goes I'd say. #53 was built the first week of production right? Only 443 were built in August, around 19 or 20 a day by the data we use today. I'd imagine the first few day were slow working out the bugs, then they ramped up, so it's very possible that your car was built later than the time we figure based on the final monthly #'s and the julian calendar.

So I found #483(the 50th car built in September) a few months ago hidden away from an owner of 35 years. Here are a few pics of the original engine, yes cast just 3 days before assembly. Cast H251, assy 0828. The car was built around Sept 6, 1961 which puts this one out the door about 9 days after the engine assembly. I'd say they got the bugs out of assembly by then and moved them out fairly quickly. BTW, my son and I cleaned the cast date area and pad you see in the pics when we went to inspect the car. They had 45 years of grease and dirt on them!


Rich Mozzetta