I have a 1979 350 four bolt main bored .030 over how can i find out if it has a high nickel content????

 

ugh, don't even worry about it...

 

why I was just wondering, these arent hard to find or anything....lol, even better that i picked it up for 50 bucks

 

Take it to a metallurgist if it matters to you.

 

Hello, I believe the best 70's 350 blocks are the 3970010 - They have a high nickel, and a high nickel and tin block. Take off the timing chain cover. Under the cover will be some casting numbers. If it doesnt have any of the following, the block isnt anything special. If it has "010", then its a high nickel block. If it says "010" and "020" Its a high nickel, and tin block. The high nickel/tin blocks are getting HARD to find in a 4 bolt. I have a nice one in the garage waiting to build it up someday...

The other very common casting number for the 70's 350 is 3970014. I dont believe any of these came in a high nickel block.

 

hot dog! It's my lucky day! I happen to have an 010 block!!!
anybody else have one of those?

 

According to people who were employed on the production floor of the casting plant, that "010 / 020" business only applies to the first couple of years they used it; like from 68 to 70 or so. Those numbers were made into the plate master piece that they made the sand mold from. After that, when putting together a master for a sand mold, they quit paying any attention to the numbers, and just grabbed whatever one they could find and used it (since it didn't make any difference to anybody back then); so the vast majority of the blocks after 71 or so that have those numbers, aren't the high whatever blocks, and there are quite a few of the "better" blocks, that don't have the numbers at all. Then at some point they quit using the other alloy altogether but continued using that sand mold master section because it was still floating around on the floor. They never replaced it with one without the numbers because nobody in the organization actually cared one way or the other.

And on top of that, it doesn't make the slightest bit of diference to the finished product (the engine you actually build out of the block).

In other words, all that "high nickel" and "high tin" folklore, is mostly no more than a bunch of spank-off, with no connection to any "superior" properties of the block. It's right on up there with "from a Vette".

 

Read. Learn. Be happy.

Block castings - NastyZ28.com

 

I always heard that high nickle blocks resisted cylinder wear extremely well, and when it came time to do a rebuild would require a smaller overbore to make round again.

 

But what do you think your odds would be getting a high nickel block. Most are probably being bought up for number matching vehicles and are probably bored to its limit anyhow. And if you did find it how much do you think you will pay for it? From what I understand the only high nickel block you really have a chance getting your hands on is a bowtie block or any aftermarket block for that matter.

 

This is a good example of a high nickle block. This is around the era that they were originally made but its still no guarantee but a very good chance it is.

eBay Motors: 1969 69 Camaro SS Z28 Corvette 3956618 4 Bolt Block (item 4632930236 end time Apr-28-06 19:08:37 PDT)