What... My engine is wrong?

[Rod M.]

Re: What... My engine is wrong?

I have purchased all the 61 year related materials on the NCRS website yesterday.

I am also about to purchase another engine block from a supplier in the DriveLine since it seems my block is of wrong manufacturing location.

If this 1/8 square bolt is correct for Flint only, then I can save a couple thousand bucks and use what I have. I realy would like the experts to assist, while waiting for the manuals. IS THERE ANY OTHER WAY TO TELL IF THIS BLOCK IS FROM TONAWANDA? besides the pad stamp? For all I know this is not the correct pad stamp.

The search continues

[Rod M.]

Re: What... My engine is wrong?

I have purchased all the 61 year related materials on the NCRS website yesterday.

I am also about to purchase another engine block from a supplier in the DriveLine since it seems my block is of wrong manufacturing location.

If this 1/8 square bolt is correct for Flint only, then I can save a couple thousand bucks and use what I have. I realy would like the experts to assist, while waiting for the manuals. IS THERE ANY OTHER WAY TO TELL IF THIS BLOCK IS FROM TONAWANDA? besides the pad stamp? For all I know this is not the correct pad stamp.

The search continues

[Patrick H.]

Re: What... My engine is wrong?

I have purchased all the 61 year related materials on the NCRS website yesterday.

I am also about to purchase another engine block from a supplier in the DriveLine since it seems my block is of wrong manufacturing location.

If this 1/8 square bolt is correct for Flint only, then I can save a couple thousand bucks and use what I have. I realy would like the experts to assist, while waiting for the manuals. IS THERE ANY OTHER WAY TO TELL IF THIS BLOCK IS FROM TONAWANDA? besides the pad stamp? For all I know this is not the correct pad stamp.

The search continues

Rod,

Why not take digital pictures of the casting date and the stamp pad, and post them? Post pics of other details of the rear mounting flange of the block too. Then everyone can see them and evaluate.

Either that or you can bring it to Bloomington this weekend and give us beer and pizza while we look at it.

Patrick

PS. If you're not in a hurry, don't be afraid to spend some time looking for the correct block. There may be one that shows up for less $ than a dealer.

[Rod M.]

Re: What... My engine is wrong?

OK here are some pictures for all to see. I took pictures of all the numbers I could and the 1/8" bolt in question.

[Patrick H.]

Re: What... My engine is wrong?

I'd say that the date code and the T pretty much nail it down as a Tonawanda block.

So, now the hunt is on for a correct one for you. As I noted previously there are likely many sources. Check the Driveline, Hemmings, etc and don't forget about Bloomington and Carlisle.

Patrick

[Rod M.]

Re: What... My engine is wrong?

And the pad stamp looks like this along with this other set of numbers.

[Joe R.]

Re: What... My engine is wrong?

Lets look at the dates again. A block cast in the Towanada, New York plant would be cast L260 meaning, as you think Nov.2, 1960. Now, if the block was cast at the Saginaw, Mich. plant it would be cast L260, meaning Nov.26, 1960. The Towanada plant dating, would use the last two digits of the year in it's date casting. Saginaw would only use the last digit of the year in it's date casting. In a small block Corvette, all blocks were cast in Saginaw and assy. in Flint. That means the date in the front pad showing the assy for a Flint built engine would read like this, F1209D. The "F" standing for Flint, the 12 standing for the month(Dec) and the 09 standing for the day of the month. The "D" is a code telling us what horsepower and car, the engine was originally built and installed in. The cast date we studied earlier, has already told us what year it was cast, so we can assume what model year the engine was made for. If there is a "T" at the begining, it means the engine was built at the Towanada plant. I hope this helps.

Hi Rod:

I realize that all of this detail is coming at you rather fast, but Dave Katterheinrich's response quoted above contains, I think, the answer to this mystery. The only place I differ with Dave is that I believe "L" means December.

To re-state what Dave is saying, there were two engine plants (Tonawanda and Flint) that made engines with the correct casting number for your car. For Tonawanda, L260 means December 2, 1960, but for Flint it means December 26, 1960. On a 1960 Tonawanda block the engine code stamped on the front will start with a "T," but on a Flint block it will start with an "F." There are other minor differences between the two blocks that help to make a definitive determination.

In an earlier post you said the stamping on the pad starts with a "T." So, I think you have a Tonawanda block that was cast on December 2, 1960.

Unfortunately, all Corvette blocks were cast at Saginaw and assembled at Flint. So, while the block you have has the correct casting number, it appears to be from the wrong engine plant.

I'm not sure how the standard deductions work for Tonawanda blocks, but I suspect that this block would get either a full deduction (350 points) or a 50% deduction (175 points), depending on how the judges interpret the Judging Reference Manual. I suspect it would be a full deduction.

Since you can lose a maximum of 270 points and still get a Top Flight, I think it would be unwise to use this particular block for your restoration.

However, if you can find a Flint block with the correct casting number, an acceptable casting date, and original pad (even if the block is from a passenger car), you will get 300 out of 350 points for the block, regardless of what is stamped on the pad. That points handicap is not too hard to overcome for getting a Top Flight if the rest of the car judges well.

[Richard P.]

Re: What... My engine is wrong?

Rod,
It looks to me like you have a Tonawanda block that was cast on Dec. 2, 1960. It was assembled on Dec. 9, 1960 and is a passenger car engine that started life as a 170 HP with powerglide. This info is from the book Chevrolet by the Numbers 1960-1964 by Alan L. Colvin.

[David K.]

Re: What... My engine is wrong?

Joe, you are right about the month. I ran out of fingers and toes converting alpha letters to numeric.