just read the block casting numbers on my 1983 Z28 and they are 14810207 but i cant find the numbers anywhere. the car has said to have a 5.7 350 engine, according to the reg docs,.??????????????????????

We can be fairly certain that it's this block, like (as far as I know) ALL 83 Z28 blocks.

14010201...305...80-85...2

Which of course is a 305, not a 350. So no matter what it "was said to have", it's a 305. Casting numbers don't lie.

There seems to be a real problem with that.... 305s have this habit of miraculously changing into 350s during sale negotiations; and then, just as magically and mysteriously, as soon as the money changes hands, they revert to being 305s again.

I hope somebody didn't charge you extra for the "350" lie.

Actually I went back and looked, there's a 14010207 block from trucks in those years, that is a 350. So if you're POSITIVE that it's a "207" and not a "201" block, then somebody might actually have swapped a 350 into it.

But if that's the case, then it's anybody's guess what the rest of the motor might be. Since it's possible to bolt just about every set of heads for small block Chevy, every exhaust, every cam, every intake, etc. etc. etc. that's ever been made onto any other small block Chevy, there's absolutely no way to make even a reasonable guess what a swapped motor might be built up out of. You'd just have to get the part #s or measurements or something off of every piece, to know for sure.

thx RB. i have been doing some investigating and have found out that the 14010207 was also in camaro's between '80- '85 although i am fairly sure that the casting number was 14810207 i will double check tomorrow. The car was given to me by my dad and it was imported from america to germany to engalnd, where i live, and its a case of trying to piece together what the engine is. Also it was definatley a 207 block as that was written on either side of the block. the block was blue if that helps any?

There were no 350s in Camaros from 82 to 86.

If it was blue, it didn't come from a 1983 car. The last year of blue blocks was about 1980. They were black in 83.

Sounds to me like it might have come from a 80 or 81 car.

sorry made a mistake meant to say that the web site stated the engine was in passenger cars from '80-'85 not in camaro's. sounds like its definately not the stock motor the car was made with. this is a nightmare i cant even find out what bloody engine is in it .The car is booked in for a rolling road session next week where they will tell me what BHP the car is putting out will i get a indication what the engine size is by the amount of BHP?

Good news/bad news good new is the 14010207 block was used in the corvettes. If yours did come out of a vette it should have forged flat top pistons in it and a windage tray. Now the bad news. It should have a set of 624 heads on it. If its out of a vette and stock. I wouldnt expect to much out of it untill u ditch the heads and get a decent cam in it..etc

That will tell you even less than the casting numbers.

Out of curiosity, what passenger cars had 350s in the early 80s besides the Corvette?

You could make a little better guess what it is if you look at the head casting numbers.

You can also look for the engine suffix codes on the front pad of the block deck surface under the alternator.

Casting numbers don't mean much. A single casting number can be used over many years and in many vehicles. All the casting number is good for is to give you a rough idea what block it is.

Pull the numbers off the pad in front of the passenger head. Those numbers will tell you a lot more about the original block. If the numbers are still there, they're usually full of paint, grease, oil, dirt etc. If the block has ever been decked, the numbers will be gone.

Last year for blue blocks was '82... '83+ is black. Just some trivia for you

On your third post you caught that? I'm keeping an eye on you old man!

Okay guys i've been on mortec and i am going to try and find the codes that are stamped around the engine. Could you keep an eye on this post cheers.

okay more numbers for you lot. looked again and that engine code may well be 14010207 and not an 8. the casting numbers on the head( under the cover) are 462624 also A21 is on the head as well. under the alternator i found the code V0129ZAK and then under that code in smaller print was 1as417421 ,the first and fifth 1's were slanted,. Any ideas people

V = Flint engine plant
0129 = Jan 29
ZAK = 1980 350 L48 rated at 190 hp. Originally out of a Corvette

you have a good foundation to work off of, just tear into it and give it some new goodies and she will scream!!! Hahahaha

Well, it's a 350, at least.... I don't know about any "good foundation" beyond that. Some of the worst heads (624 casting), the next-to-the-worst cam (929), the LG4 exhaust that the car came with probably; so it's most likely making somewhat less than the already anemic 190HP that it did in its orginal chassis.

It's always amusing to watch people get stars in their eyes over the magic "V" word. As if somehow, some mysterious magical essence of being wafts up out of the fiberglass and settles into the cast iron, and somehow endows the cast iron with properties greater than the same cast iron would have if it hadn't been exposed to fiberglass. I can assure you all, it doesn't happen. A smogger L48 is a smogger L48, no matter what sheet metal (or fiberglass) it might have been originally wrapped in.

But, that's not to say, that it isn't a good thing. It's still better than the LG4 that the car came with. And of course, if you take off all the parts that are responsible for its pitifully low HP output (keep in mind, the L69 - a 305 - in the very next model year, put out the same HP) and throw them in the trash, and get better ones, you can create something that will run circles around what it is now. And the parts that you could get HUGE imporvements out of an upgrade without really digging into the motor, assuming it doesn't need that, are the EXHAUST, all the way from the heads to the street, every single piece as a complete assembly all at once, BUT NOT FOR LG4, get the stuff (headers, cat, cat-back) for something like a 88 350 TPI; the cam; and of course the heads.

Thx guys for all your help. i am currently getting a straight through exhaust system put in, is this wise ?,. I am going to get the car on the road first and enjoy it for a while then i am planning on changing the heads,cams ect. any idea's of parts that would perform well in the engine. Also it is a std auto box so is that strong enough to cope with the extra power that the aftermarket parts will add

IMO No, too loud. I like the sound of my Flowmaster American Thunder system. But to each his own.

Get a set of headers and a cat back such as the American Thunder as previously suggested first, before anything else.

What are the emission laws like there?

Can anyone tel me a good web site to look up an engine block number! I got an engine for free and I would like to know what it is! It has 3 freeze plugs on each side and the bores are about 4 1/8 wide! the no. on the rear top is 2999290. Thanx -Jeff-

www.mortec.com

4-1/8" bore sounds like a 400 block, and 3 freeze plugs would also indicate a 400 block, but the '290' casting doesn't ring a bell for me??

Are you sure it's a Chevy?

I found out about that block. I just typed in the block # into the "Windows live search" box (3999290) - ( yeah, I typed it in wrong the first time) and up popped a whole list of blocks with that #. It's a 402 big block!! How cool is that?!?!?! Anyone want one! Thanx for the help guys! "Keep the shiney side up" -Jeff-

Just a baby. Throw it back and let it grow up.

Nobody builds BBC's under 500 cubes these days. . .

Yea....'Cept those crazy Colorado folk eh?

402 is just a factory .030" over bored 396. Nothing special except to collectors. Even then they usually don't want anything under a 427. Like the 305/350 debate. It's all about bore size.

I was young & foolish back in '97. . .