Wtb 1973 454
05-21-2015, 03:32 PM
#1
Racer
Thread Starter
Wtb 1973 454
Hey guys. I am looking to find a 73 454 that originally came out of a corvette. Any usable condition is fine but would prefer a rebuildable one over an already rebuilt on. Also prefer one that was originally mated to a 4spd.
Block casting should be: 3999289
Head casting should be: 353049
Assembly date should be May or earlier
Thanks!
Block casting should be: 3999289
Head casting should be: 353049
Assembly date should be May or earlier
Thanks!
06-08-2015, 02:10 PM
#2
Racer
Thread Starter
Hey guys. I am looking to find a 73 454 that originally came out of a corvette. Any usable condition is fine but would prefer a rebuildable one over an already rebuilt on. Also prefer one that was originally mated to a 4spd.
Block casting should be: 3999289
Head casting should be: 353049
Assembly date should be May or earlier
Thanks!
Block casting should be: 3999289
Head casting should be: 353049
Assembly date should be May or earlier
Thanks!
06-12-2015, 01:34 PM
#5
Burning Brakes
For fun, let's do a little math here.
In 1973, 4412 Corvettes came with the LS4 engine.
If we assume that 80 percent of those cars came with the 4 speed transmission (a big assumption), you're looking at approx. 3530 cars.
If we continue to assume and say that 80 percent of those 4 speed cars still have their original LS4 engines (another assumption), then we're looking at 2824 cars. This leaves a total of approx. 706 orphan 4 speed LS4 engines floating around somewhere.
You're looking for an LS4 engine built in the April-May time frame. 1973 production went from August of 1972 to July of 1973, a little less than 12 months (GM took a few weeks of down time to ramp up for the next model year). Divide the remaining number of orphan engines (706) by 12 months and you get approx. 59 remaining engines a month that were 4 speed and no longer reside in their original car. For the April-May time frame, this gives you a total of around 118 orphan engines lying around somewhere.
And this doesn't include orphan engines that were (a) scrapped (unusable), (b) sold, rebuilt and installed into other cars, (c) original engines sitting in someone's garage or basement waiting to be reunited with their car, etc...
So you can see that your chances of finding a 1973 Corvette LS4 engine that originally came with a 4 speed transmission during the April-May 1973 time frame is slim at best!
You might want to expand your search criteria to include ALL 1973 Corvette LS4 engines, or even include full size cars, Chevelles, trucks, etc... in your search, because really, in 1973 the only REAL differences between all of these is the suffix code and partial VIN stamped on the front pad. Different HP ratings, but the same block, same crank, same cam, same heads, same intake.
Ed
In 1973, 4412 Corvettes came with the LS4 engine.
If we assume that 80 percent of those cars came with the 4 speed transmission (a big assumption), you're looking at approx. 3530 cars.
If we continue to assume and say that 80 percent of those 4 speed cars still have their original LS4 engines (another assumption), then we're looking at 2824 cars. This leaves a total of approx. 706 orphan 4 speed LS4 engines floating around somewhere.
You're looking for an LS4 engine built in the April-May time frame. 1973 production went from August of 1972 to July of 1973, a little less than 12 months (GM took a few weeks of down time to ramp up for the next model year). Divide the remaining number of orphan engines (706) by 12 months and you get approx. 59 remaining engines a month that were 4 speed and no longer reside in their original car. For the April-May time frame, this gives you a total of around 118 orphan engines lying around somewhere.
And this doesn't include orphan engines that were (a) scrapped (unusable), (b) sold, rebuilt and installed into other cars, (c) original engines sitting in someone's garage or basement waiting to be reunited with their car, etc...
So you can see that your chances of finding a 1973 Corvette LS4 engine that originally came with a 4 speed transmission during the April-May 1973 time frame is slim at best!
You might want to expand your search criteria to include ALL 1973 Corvette LS4 engines, or even include full size cars, Chevelles, trucks, etc... in your search, because really, in 1973 the only REAL differences between all of these is the suffix code and partial VIN stamped on the front pad. Different HP ratings, but the same block, same crank, same cam, same heads, same intake.
Ed
Last edited by restoman1; 06-12-2015 at 01:37 PM.
06-12-2015, 02:53 PM
#6
Racer
Thread Starter
Thanks for breaking that down but that doesn't change what I need. The things listed above are preferences not necessities. I have a 74 for horsepower - that is not my concern
06-18-2015, 11:11 AM
#7
Instructor
Member Since: Apr 2013
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Had one
dconlon19 on this forum had the exact block you are looking for for sale quite a few years back.
Might not hurt to see if he still has it.
I found it by typing the casting number, for sale, and 1973 into Google.
Might not hurt to see if he still has it.
I found it by typing the casting number, for sale, and 1973 into Google.
06-18-2015, 03:11 PM
#8
Racer
Thread Starter
I also typed that into google and saw it but didn't think to ask because of the date. Worth a shot though, right? Thanks for the lead!
