Hey yall, Ive got a question and need some help. Im new to this site to, so please forgive my lack of etiquette..
So, a friend of mine bought a 350 from a guy who had it in a jeep for a short period of time. The guy who had it in the jeep had no idea what it was, just that it was a 350, and ran like a raped ape. Well, when my friend bought the engine, he tried to do some research on it, but was kinda confused by the engine. it has no vin, no block stampings, nothing. it has 2 markings- the "43 GM 14016379" casting code on the bell-attach, and a oval golden brass tag punched into the front of the block, reading clv-1 G 70623. He got ahold of a few buddies and to the best of what anyone could tell him, its a Hi-perf 350, balanced and blueprinted direct from gm for boat racing, which would mean its made to run 5000-7000 rpms all day for pulling skiers.. I was just wondering if anyone knew or could find out a little more about this for me.. thanks.

 

None of the stampings mean ANYTHING AT ALL, unless you can prove FOR ASBOLUTELY CERTAIN that not one bolt has ever been turned. Which is ABSOLUTELY POSTIVELY IMPOSSIBLE, since it has a "rebuilder" tag on it.

If you can't, then, it's the sum of its parts.

Block casting number is about the least significant thing that describes how good an "engine" is. They're pretty much all the same when it comes to power output.

Get the head casting numbers, piston part numbers or COMPLETE measurements (dome/dish volume, # of valve reliefs, and ACTUAL MEASURED "compression height" or deck clearance), and the cam part # or FULL specs (lift, duration @ .050" and "advertised" whatever that happens to be which depends on the mfr, and lobe separation), and we can tell you more about it.

The rest of what you posted is pretty much the same stuff everybody says. Everybody's random motor from wherever is "special". There's no "information" in any of that, only hype.

 

Post pictures and remove the valve covers to see what heads you have, that is a start. You will need to pull the cam and look at the back for a part number.

 

About the only useful information is the casting number 14016379. That will help you get replacement parts such as seals, gaskets etc. That casting is for a 77-79 350 and that's all you're going to know.

The oval brass tag means it's not an OEM engine but some companies rebuild. It's unlikely any of the numbers will tell you anything unless you know who built it.

Best guess is CLV may be the original suffix code but I see no CLV suffix codes.

 

I have a similar question. I recently purchased an 87 Iroc but the motor has been swapped. Still a TPI, 5.7 350. It's paired up with a 5 speed manual transmission. Changing oil for first time and its using PF 454 filter which when googled shows Corvette usage in the same time period. Where can I find the serial number or part number to track down the origin of the motor?

 

A SBC takes any number of different oil filters
I would not use that fact to account for the engine origins unless you know the filter has never been changed since new ?

Already documented above, the block casting number at rear will tell you what the engine that block WAS used for , when if left the factory
The 2 or 3 letter engine suffix code on the block pad at front above the water pump gives more precise info but that is only relevant if the engine is virgin , untouched

 

Thank you sir! Will have a look this week.

 

And don't forget: that will tell you what THE BLOCK started out its life as, but will tell you ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WHATSOEVER about what THE ENGINE now is. Since it's been rebuilt, you already know that the pistons, cam, heads, and any number of other details, might bear NO RECOGNIZABLE RESMBLANCE to whatever originally came in that block and thereby made the original engine what it was.

You can take the humblest 76 Impala 350 2-bbl block and make a 1000 HP race motor out of it, EXACTLY the same as you can take a "LT-1" block from a 71 "Z/28" and make a 150 HP rebuilder turd with deep dish pistons that are .050" below the deck under 624 or 882 smogger turd heads and a 929 cam. Those stamping numbers tell you NOTHING about what AN ENGINE is after it's been "rebuilt".

 

ok, totally understood and thanks for the info. Do you know how I can find out what transmission is installed? The 87 did not have a 5 speed available with the 350. What would they put into that engine in the following years? Once I put it up, will I be able to see some numbers on the tranny or tell by the shape? I did some googling, but most of the detailed data revolved around automatic transmissions; not much on manuals. I read somewhere they paired a 5 speed manual with the 350 in subsequent years utilizing a tranny from the Corvette. 10cc something. My only goal is to try and identify what I have in the car currently; not to make any changes. Thanks in advance for any guidance; i will keep looking online to see what I can come up with.

 

The 350 equipped 3rd Gens never came with a manual trans from the factory ; all got T700 autos
305 engines since '83 got the T5 5 spd

Does it look like this?

http://www.britishv8.org/articles/bo...t5-id-tags.htm

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tran...ything-we.html

 

Thanks. I will get under it tonight and take a look; will also look for the engine markings. I was told it was a 5.7 litre 350 with some sort of performance tranny to handle the torque because it wasn't available back then. This being the case both the motor and the tranny are not original with the vehicle. Or, its possible I was misled and it's just the normal 305 with T5.

 

You could be damn lucky and have a TKO500 or similar transmission.

Stick your cellphone under the car and snap a pic. We can tell you.

 

The only other 5 spd commonly fitted to these cars is the T56 which looks completely different to a T5
See
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...n/42730090.jpg

The T56 in the pic has a custom bell housing

 

Ok, I was under it tonight and its definitely a Borg Warner. I have some pics on my cell. I will get the uploaded.

 

Here are some pics. The Borg Warner logo is clear on one of these.

 

From looking over images online. Thinking a T5 World Class?

 

it is a T5, not sure if it is a wc i will have to look using my computer tomorrow. do you also have a 350?

 

Yes as far as i know.

 

If you can't read the code on the ID tag and reference the link I posted above with the ID codes
the only other way to ID is look at the bearings with the trans out

See
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/post...858-post3.html

This thread was about engine ID anyway so start a new one in the trans dept
http://www.thirdgen.org/techboard/tr...ns-drivetrain/

and you might get better help ID'ing what type it is.

 

ok, i have been bouncing between those threads as well. I must have missed reading where the ID tag is located?

 

Top picture in 1st link shows and notes the green and white ID tag on top pass side of the trans.

 

Hey I know this post is a little old but I'm having a bit of trouble identifying what I have in my bird. I'm not pulling the motor right now so I can only get to the front stamp. I can not seem to figure out what it is. Can someone please give me some advise.

 

Another pic

 

And a third just for overkill

 

Looks like a small block Chevy that's been rebuilt.

The "codes" don't tell A DAMN THING about what it is now. Could have been a 75 Impala 2-bbl with 165 HP, and that's what the "codes" will say; could put out 600 HP now for all we know. Or, coulda been a "LT-1" "out of a Vette", and now it has deep-dish "rebuilder" pistons in it, a pair of 624 smogger heads on it, and a 929 cam in it, in which case, now IT'S the 165 HP wonder. Just like the guy whose post you posted in; the factory codes only tell what it was when it left the factory, they tell NOTHING WHATSOEVER about what it IS NOW.

But, the "code" you have there, isn't even from GM; it's from the rebuilder. Something like, their shop order number or some such. Totally random to any of us out here.

Absolutely no way to know without looking inside it.

 

Typical engine assembly codes of an original (as installed at the factory) engine will look similar to this:



The first line is the engine assembly code. The second line is the partial VIN of the vehicle the engine was originally installed in.

Since your engine doesn't have VIN linkage, I'm pretty sure it's a it's a replacement (over-the-counter) engine.

Not to sound like a broken record but it's pretty hard to know for sure what you have now. Who knows how many times it's been rebuilt, if at all or what has been done to it.

 

Awe. Thanks killer. That's what I was afraid of. I really didn't want to crack one of the heads off to figure out if it was really a 350 like the guy I bought it from said it was. I've always had a problem at WOT and had burnt spark plugs so I hoped he was telling the truth and someone actually put a 350 in place of a 305. But it's probably a fat chance. Just a bad rebuild. Thanks for the info, I'd have never though of it being a rebuilder stamp. I've never had a block decked before.

 

You can check the casting on the heads. It will not tell you 100% but it can give you an idea if it is a 305 or 350

 

Oh I know the heads are the junk swirl heads that they put on the TBI's in 88. I put new gaskets on them last year and ran those numbers. I'm pretty sure from what I looked up they are close to the worst performing head chevy every made. Well unless you never take the car above 3 grand and want gas mileage vs performance. But again thank you for the advice. Anything helps

 

The casting # of the block will tell you what the bore size is.

Won't tell you "for sure" what the CID is; but if it's a 4" bore, odds are, it's a 350, and not a 327 or 302.

That number can be conveniently found in an easily accessible place, right out in the open: on top of the bell housing flange behind the driver's side head.