Is this an L98? If so, what year? What do the markings mean ?

 

Means it's a GM 5.7L block, doesn't tell you anything else. Find the casting number, casting numbers on the heads, and the stamping in front of the passengers head and maybe you'll have enough to say what it is.

 

The guy said it has iron heads. So it's not the Corvette 113 heads.
Are there any ID # on the block indicating what year it's from?

Is the L98 block different from the truck blocks without TPI ?

 

Every GM production 350 block between ~1987-1998 is going to be pretty much the same. The casting number will narrow it down a bit, and the stamped pad in front of the passenger's head will tell you the year, and a partial vin of the car it was in originally, assuming it's still there. The head casting number will tell you what heads it has. The 5.7L GM stamp tells you pretty much nothing of any value.

It's a 350. If you want to know more, you need to get the rest of the numbers.

 

http://www.mortec.com/castnum.htm

 

Are they worth anything ? It needs a rebuild.

 

The 5.7LG tells you it's a 350.

The little screwed-on tag that's cast in says C178 I think. (hard to read the last digit) If so it was cast on the 17th day of month C (the 3rd one, March) in a year ending in 8. Probably not 78 since they didn't put the metric displacement on them back then; could be 88 or 98, most likely guess would be 88.

L98s in these cars were all made out of block casting # 638. The earliest Vette ones used other casting #s. Since you don't show that, I can't comment further.

It's been painted a foreign color. This is a VERY BAD sign.

There may be a stamping code on the pass side deck at the front, on a sort of "pad" right above the pass side water pump leg. That, if still present (more on that later), might tell you something about what car the BLOCK came from. Won't tell you ANYTHING about the MOTOR that is sitting in front of you.

The paint job probably means it's been torn down and "rebuilt". I'd put the odds against it being whatever it started out life as, as somewhere near about 99.9999%. Hence, its "origin" is now completely totally utterly altogether OBSCURED and IRRELEVANT. Cast iron has no memory. The things that turn a BLOCK into a MOTOR include the pistons used in it, the cam slid into it, the heads bolted on it, etc. During a "rebuild" EVERY SINGLE PIECE of that is separated from the BLOCK and either thrown away or sent down separate refurbishment paths in the case of heads, and the resultant MOTOR that gets slapped together afterwards could become almost ANYTHING. Thus it is possible for example to turn a BLOCK with a stamping for 76 Impala with a 2-barrel carb, into a 700 HP race motor; or equally, a 375 HP "LT-1" BLOCK into a $1200 "rebuilder" special with dish pistons, a 929 cam copy, a pair of the crappiest 882 heads or the like, and so forth, and thereby create a replica of a 160 HP truck motor except even further downgraded by way of the added usual .020" deck clearance. However, during a "rebuild", it's possible that the deck has been resurfaced, in which case the stamping codes will be gone; in which case, the BLOCK is merely whatever you see sitting in front of you.

AFAIK all of the TBI 350s (L05) also used that BLOCK casting. Those were absolutely identical in every way to the BLOCK from a L98, that being the point of a part # in the first place, except that the majority of the ones used in L05 applications didn't get the finish machining for the roller cam setup except by accident. Same casting, different processing afterwards.

Before buying it, since it's already been "rebuilt" at least once, I'd STRONGLY recommend paying less attention to "L98" and more to the condition of the cyl walls. Above all, how far did they bore it out last time around. If it's .030" over, it has hope. If it's already .060" over, it's garbage. Then, right behind that, does it have the roller cam prep. Again, if not, you don't want it.

Frankly, I'd suggest passing on it, and instead, go get a junkyard 350 out of a 96-2000 truck. Pay for one guaranteed to be in running condition and save yourself the cost risk and headache of "rebuilding". It will come with Vortec heads; you can either use those to good advantage if that's consistent with whatever you're trying to do, or sell them to recoup cash you can use for other things.

 

I don't like or trust machine shops, so no, it's not worth the time to carry it home.

Any way I look at it, overhauling a 350 is a minimum $1,000 bill at the machine shop, just for the bottom end. Figure another few hundred to rebuild heads. Then there are the minor details like assembly... Or you can buy a completely rebuilt assembled Vortec 350 truck engine - like Sofa recommends buying used - right from GM for ~$2,000. I'll never mess with a chunk of scrap iron covered in grease, or toothless hillbillies charging me "shop fees" and "EPA fees" again.

 

Thanks for all the responses. I shall pass on it.
I was maybe thinking for originally sake.... but guess not.