alright i just picked up a 89 IROC with a 305 TPI and a 5-speed for $950, yea i know, i'm awesome.

but anyways i had the valve covers of and my buddy bill tld me they were L69 Heads? is this hurting my performance? helping maybe? any coment or suggestions welcome

 

An L-69 was the designation given the the carbed 305 H.O. I really don't know how he could tell what kind of heads they were unless he checked the casting number. L-69's used perimeter bolts instead of centerbolts for the valve covers. I think you might have to throw the flag at your buddy.

 

I'm Bill and yes I told him they were L69 heads.

The full casting number for the head was 14014416, for some reason (it was a long day, I was pissed and tired) I told him 441, instead of 416. My bad.

I did a little research, and as far as I knew 416's came on L69's, but a quick search told me they also came on early TPI 305 cars, either 85-86.

And YES, the motor has perimiter bolt valve covers. It is an 89 Iroc though. Maybe the motor blew at one point, or a previous owner had a ported set of 416's put on there. I don't know, and I'm not ripping into the motor to find out.

 

The LB9 was derived from the L69--same engine, TPI'd in 1985. But your buddy's '89 should've been different, as the LB9 was changed in 1987 after the L69 was dropped. So if he's got the L69 heads(which were a little higher compression), then someone changed to them. And if they went that far, they probably also installed the L69s bigger cam. I don't know the part number for the cam, but it's worth checking into. That was a hot cam, for a stock motor.

 

Now that is funny. I seem to recall i had them off. Anyways, yeah, that motor is a combo of a coupel of diff things.

I say it has plenty of power, so dont worry about it.

 

If you got yourself a motor out of an '85 consider yourself lucky. It was the best of all the 305's. That engine could be made to run very fast for a 305.

 

Any way to tell the 305 from an 85 apart from an 86? I mean, yeah, it sits behind the 5spd now, but the motor could have come from an 86 auto with that crappy peanut cam.

Fine, fine, fine. Yeah yeah, YOU pulled the valve covers off. But I read the casting numbers.

 

Maybe by checking the serial number on the block? I'm not real sure.

 

Perhaps we got lucky. I had a chance to drive it like 20 miles today and it went sideways very easily comeing out of a toll booth. 9d1formula can attest to that.

Then again, the tires are rather old and worn. We'll just have to see once the new G-Force KDWS tires go on there.

 

bill after we got done with it at tims work while i was driving it in the backlot, when you came out there and i went sideways....that wasn't even 1/4 throttle and the tires weren't wet anymore then

and i have to say thanks to bill (fruityone) and tim (9D1BURD) for helping me out with the car:hail: :hail: :hail:

 

'85= two piece rear main.
'86= one piece rear main.

Both had the perimeter bolt valve cover heads.

 

The crappy peanut cam in the 86 auto is the same cam as in the L69, at least in 84. I found this out when i did an L69 shortblock swap to my 86 tpi. I found that the only differance in the the two was the rear main seal. Other than that, the two are nearly identical.

 

According to the specs on this site there is quite a difference between the peanut cam, and the 85 TPI camshaft. Same for L69's compared to peanut cam TPI's.