3970010, K11 24 CKT 161428609 was told its a 72 lt1

My computers slow and can't identify it by searching google. Can someone help me out?

 

Probably a rebuild; suspect a 929 replica cam and 882 heads.

The "codes" on THE BLOCK only tell what engine THE BLOCK was part of WHEN IT WAS NEW. It tells ABSOLUTELY NOT ONE WHIT WHATSOEVER about what THE ENGINE (a very different thing from THE BLOCK) IS NOW, also a very different thing from what it WAS when new.

No matter what the "code" on the block is, the odds of whatever it is now resembling however dimly or remotely what it was when new, are so tiny as to be quantum mechanical. (lots and lots of zeroes to the right of the decimal point before you get to the first number other than a zero) Meaning, there is no information contained in them. One thing I have learned over the course of near 40 years of close association with BLOCKS, is that their memory is REAL SHORT of what the wrinkles on the sheet metal - or even fiberglass! - they were first wrapped in looked like; and that ALL BLOCK CODES ARE EQUAL once you strip off all the parts that made THE ENGINE out of them, like pistons, heads, cam, and so on.

3970010 is probably the single most common 70s 350 casting. Altogether ordinary and commonplace. Treat it exactly the same as you would any other 70s 350 block. WHich means, the things THAT MATTER about it, are NOT the "codes" stamped in it. The IMPORTANT stuff is things like core shift, machine work accuracy such as The Starter Bolt Hole Problem, The Lifter Bore Problem, The Bell Housing Dowel Pin Problem, whether the decks are parallel to the crank CL, whether the mains are straight, whether the bell housing flange is perpendicular to the crank CL, whether the cyls are perpendicular to the crank and pointed directly at their rod journals, whether the head dowel pins are in the right place, and on and on and on and on. And of course, overall condition like how worn are the cyl walls and how far have they already been overbored, is it cracked, are all the bolt holes good, and so forth. "Codes" OTOH are worthless and without value or application. That is, you can't look at them and go, well this block came out of a 73 Impala so it needs this, but that one over there came out of a 76 Monte Carlo so it needs that, and this other came from a 78 Z28 so it needs something else and of course this last is "from a Vette" so it .... is looking for a sucker to reel in (72 LT1). The codes tell you nothing that will help you make an informed decision. They are a distraction from effective research.

 

CKT
1972
350
255 hp
4 barrel carb
automatic transmission behind it

 

I know what a 10 block is. It has the stock bore 4 valve reliefs on the pistons and a factory forged crank so it could be one I'm more curious than anything.

I'm sorry but all block codes are not equal. Talk to the circle track guys and someone who builds motors for classes that require stock blocks.

Thanks for your input. I know what you mean about the whole "vette" motor comment its the most sickening thing to hear related to gm vehicles. I've started just walking away from people who say they have one in they're ride etc.

Anyone know what the date codes mean? Don't have a reference to go on and its too late to call someone.

 

Thanks. What does ckt stand for?

 

It's called a suffix code. All the GM engines have them. It will tell you more information about the original engine than simple casting numbers. Since your block has the stamped in numbers, the deck surface has never been machined.

K1124 is a date code
K = St. Catherines, Ontario engine plant
1124 = November 24

161428609 is the last part of the original vehicles VIN number
1 = Chevrolet
6 = 1976 which doesn't match the suffix code but the engine could still have been made in 1972. Maybe it's a badly stamped 3 instead of a 6
1 = Oshawa assembly plant so the car was made in Canada
428609 = sequential number which started at 100001

 

Thank you so much. I should know this stuff used to study my dads old chevy power books with all this info when I was a kid lol.

Do you know if an Lt1 in the second gen z28s came in front of an auto? Somethings telling me they where all 4 speeds but I'm probably wrong.

 

nvm found the info I was looking for

 

All stock blocks (of the same dimensions) are equal when it comes to power potential. The only reason the circle track guys have that type of requirement, is to keep them from slipping a 400 in there, and that sort of thing. Kind of like the classes that require 882 heads: the reason they do that is NOT because 882 heads are so "great"; it's to keep everybody equal in that area using a simple, impossible (almost) to fudge, impartial, low-cost standard.

And of course, the "numbers matching" people have their own agenda, but again, nothing to do with power output. To those guys, the block they need for whatever they're doing, has extra value, but not because it's "better" in some way.

Everybody always wants to imagine that their block is "special" somehow, or that their engine would somehow be enhanced in some undefined way if they were to discover that their block has some romatic pedigree. Every block that every seller sells to every lop-eared kid therefore somehow morphs into "LT-1", "from a Vette", "69 Camaro", and so on, as if making that claim somehow "improves" the value of the block. The fact of the matter is, if the bore is 4", it will make the same power as any other 4" block with the same journals, given equal parts and machine work. Spending mental effort on that is just a distraction from concentrating on things that DO matter, and should be avoided exactly like avoiding spending money on chrome "dress-up" engine parts when on a tight budget. Just as useless.

 

Cool story. All factory blocks are not created equal. Of course they have the same potential but some are less prone to cracking etc have minor differences.

I know what you're saying about people trying to imagine their blocks being special you see it with every other ad. I was interested in this motor because it has the trw pistons, forged crank good rods and showed little signs of wear and tear. I could care less about what it came out of just thought it would be interesting to know.

 

Yes of course that is true; however that information is not contained in the suffix codes or even the casting #. It's an individual property of the individual block, which can be determined only by careful inspection and measurement if at all, or by simply taking the risk of building it and seeing what happens. Most of the "minor" differences are covered by things like core shift, the various 70s QC Problems of the sort I listed above, and of course the scars left on it by its history. The "codes" tell none of that. They simply contain no useful, actionable, directive, decision-making information, that will help choose a "better" one for a given build, or guide a builder in choosing a course to follow, or otherwise be of any real value. For REAL information, it's best to forget about them since they are merely a distraction that diverts attention away from examining the REAL distinguishing characteristics that might make one block "better" than another. Excessive focus on them is an unmistakable mark of a n00b that refuses to learn from those with more experience. The casting # tells what it was born as (which of course DOES make a difference such as roller or not), and from there, each must be treated as an individual with its own imperfections, tolerances, and history.

A good idea would have been to talk about those things instead of the suffix codes. Nowhere in this post do I see those REAL things mentioned (assuming they actually exist). If they do, and it's not just more seller monkey-spank like the 72 LT1 bit, then ... well the suffix codes REALLY don't matter any more, because NONE of that stuff would have come in the motor with that code. It's all "foreign" to the original build.

 

Condition before casting number