I have a 350 motor that i suspect is older than the 84TA its bolted to. Is there away to get the engine serial number while the engine is still bolted in the car ?

Im desperately trying to find information on how to bring the car up to smog levels. The guy i bought it from says that its an engine taken out of a 350 El Camino.

 

1. No 84 TA came with a 350.

2. AFAIK, the last El Camino 350 was built before 84.

3. If the TA's flywheel / flex plate is the original one, the only possible years the motor could have come from that wouldn't be older than the car are 84, 85, & 86.

Concusion: Odds are probably 100 to 1 or greater that the motor is older than the car.

If this is going where I think it is, namely that you're in Calfornia and you want to take some sort of action against the seller for selling you a car that by definition can't pass inspection, it's not a real good idea.

A better idea would be to identify why it doesn't pass inspection, and deal with it. The year the block was cast has nothing whatsoever to do with any of that, you can be sure.

What exactly is this motor? (heads, cam, carb/FI, emissions devices installed, etc.)

 

Hi, figured it would come down to this. This is an Carb'd 350. Im a gm newbie, so i have to ask why cant i just remove the AIR system from a donor car and connect it to my engine ? The 84TA came with AIR injection, and i would guess it was a non computerized system is this correct ?

 

PS... the guy i bought it from did say the engine came from either an 84 to 86 El Co

 

More details would help.

Where are you? What are the requirements where you live? What's on the car now?

 

Hey! sorry let me give as much detail as i can.

I live in smog hell (california) <--- enough said
There is a badass chevy 350 with a carb in the car now
no evidence of smog equipment, except for the air injection lines on the manifolds. I just wanted to know if i could go grab a complete system from the junkyard or something. I just need it to pass smog so i dont have to tow the darn car everywhere

 

I will attach some photos when i get home

 

That's what I thought....

When I lived out there, I was in an "enhanced" area, North SD County. So I had to deal with it too.

You will have to install every single device of every sort that came on that car. That means the right computer-controlled carb and distributor; every sensor, valve, switch, wire and hose; the ECM will have to be there and operating correctly without codes, i.e. the SES light comes on when the key is turned on, goes out when the engine starts, and remains out for the duration of the test; it will have to have a cat, with the AIR line hooked up; etc. etc. etc. And of course it has to pass the sniffer tests.

So yes, you will need to come up with the smog pump and air mgmt valve off of a somewhat similar car.

There are no shortcuts that I know of, unless you can find someone willing to risk losing their Smog Check operator license (license to print money) and doing jail time, to falsely certify your car.

 

Hehehe what a project! I dont have a repair manual for the car, but i will pick up one today. Im going to check and verify that the ecm is actually there and active. I do have the electronically controlled carb, but heck wont do much good if the computer aint there.