just bought a 350 real cheap so i didn't ask what year it was how do i find out ?

 

Post the block numbers that you will find on the bellhousing.

 

ok correct me if i'm wrong but, I have a 350 short block and not a th350 trasmision so there is'nt going to be a bell housing right? anyway i did find some numbers 3970010 if any body could shine some light on this that would be great thanks much jason.

 

The number you posted is the one that matters. There's no real need to be concerned about exactly what year it is, only what "vintage".

It's a 70s block, very common from 69 to about 79. It came with 4-bolt main caps installed sometimes, mostly 2-bolt though. It's one of the more common 350 castings. It's a perfectly good starting point for a build-up, as long as it doesn't have either of the 2 Problems: the starter bolt hole pattern being drilled too far from the crank, or lifter bores that don't point at the cam.

Both of these affected large numbers of 70s blocks. The starter one is in about 1/3 of them, the lifter one in about 20% that I've run into. The starter thing will cause it to make a horrible grinding noise, spin over very slow, eat flex plates and starters, and will get worse if you add shims. The other one will make it eat cams within a few thousand miles. If you bought it real cheap from somebody who used to have it in his car and replaced it, and there's nothing visibly wrong with it, I'd bet money it will have one or both of those issues. Investigate it carefully before you sink a bunch of money into it; like look at the cam that's in it for unusual wear, etc.

Other than that, and subject to the usual things about blocks like no cracks, it's not .060" over already and needs boring, etc., it should be just fine.

There's a casting date mark near that casting number; it will be 4 characters, something like 2E12; that example would be the 12th day of the Eth month (5, May) of a year ending in 2 (probably 72). A motor with the date I gave would probably have come out of a 73 vehicle.

 

I found this info at the Mor Tec Inc site:www.mortec.com
Block Casting#
3970010....302.....69....4...Z-28 Camaro
3970010....327.....69....2...Trucks and industrial
3970010....350...69-80...2 or 4

You'll probable have to match your cylinder head numbers also to be more accurate which motor you have. Also check if you have a four bolt or a two bolt main ,that will narrow it down some.