Oh good grief - I hate to even think of that!

 

Things like this were common back then. My experience is similar but even more direct.

I bought my 67 in 71. The original L79 was trashed, so I took it out, THREW IT AWAY FOR SCRAP, and dropped in a LT-1 crate engine.

Back then these were just a fun used car. NCRS didn't even exist, and the "matching numbers" hysteria hadn't even been dreamed up by the investors, speculators, and dealers. Nobody cared about such details back then. I stlll don't.

 

Agreed I'm not old enough to remember that but I am keeping my original motor for my '01 Z06 even if the sleeves have been bored to the max recommended limit and are scratched.

My father however was around and I am not sure where he sourced a 327 from when he threw a rod nor do I know what he did with the original motor. I would imagine it was much like you and the LT-1.

I have posted I am a bit cynical on all these original motored cars. However, it doesn't matter to me as I won't be spending the money for a NCRS level car.

 

FActory location of stamps, do they very by where they are located on the pad , are they always in the same location on the pad?

 

This is obviously not the case with your engine. People that are faking engines first look for the correct casting number, casting date for the build time of the car and then stamp it with the correct characters and V.I.N. to match the car.

 

At least on 427's the vin and engine stamp are on different sides of the pad (switched)

 

Larry is correct on the availability of the 657 block.

lilesv – you definitely have a ’67 model year block. The stamp looks good, so I suspect you have a complete service replacement engine. Service replacement engines were available while they were still in production. So, based on there being no VIN stamp, I suspect someone put a complete service replacement engine in your car when it was available during the ’67 model year (very late ’66 or ’67), prior to CE service engines beginning in 1968.

The pic you posted in post #13 looks like the area behind the timing cover. Look for the date code on the driver’s side rear flange of the block above the bellhousing. It will have a letter for the month, one or two numbers for the day, and one more number for the year of the casting. It should be a late '66 date to be consistent with the engine assembly date of November 7, 1966.

 

Mike,
I know you meant "passenger side"...don't want the OP to go crazy looking in the wrong place

 

Yep, passenger side - sorry about that - I blame it on old age.

 

The location does vary from engine to engine, even between sbcs and BBs. The dies were set in a gang holder which was placed by hand on the pad and struck with a dead blow hammer. It was all a manual hand done process by a worker on an assembly line moving past him, so variances as to location on the pad were common.

No robotics, no laser guided placement - just good old manual labor!

 

Gotcha, I thought perhaps you still had an avenue of contact

 

I can relate... Was overseas when my mom threw out my soft top (I kept the hard top on the car). It looked like a tattered canvas piece of junk to her...

 

How right you are! It's K36, which I take it means November 3, 1966?

 

Yes, a casting date of November 3, 1966 and an engine build date of November 7 are very typical.

 

I agree with this assessment. What you have is a complete 1967 engine, manufactured at Flint in November 1966, that was sold as a service replacement engine. In order to have the HE code stamped on the pad, it had to be a complete engine assembly and not just a block or a short block.

The engine assembly stamping was applied at the Flint plant where the engine was assembled. The fact that is doesn't have a VIN derivative stamped on the pad indicates that this engine was not installed on the production line at St. Louis (which is where the VIN derivative was added).

Service replacement engines that have "correct" casting numbers, casting dates, and engine assembly stampings are rare, but not controversial. They were an ordinary aspect of the way that GM made replacement engines.

Apparently the original engine in your '66 failed or was stolen in late 1966, and was replaced with a complete engine assembly that was in production at Flint at that time. This just happened to be an engine that would be correct for a 1967 Corvette that was produced in St. Louis around December 1966.

While this engine is not original to your car and does not add value to your car, it would be *highly desirable* to someone who has an early 1967 Corvette produced between November 1966 and April 1967 that no longer has its original engine. NCRS judging standards allow an engine to be dated as much as six months prior to the assembly of the car, although something in the range of a few weeks is more typical.

For a 1967 Corvette assembled in the November-April time frame, your engine block would get 325 out of 350 possible points because it has the "correct" casting number, casting date, Flint assembly stamping, and factory broach marks on the surface of the pad. All it would lack for getting full credit of 350 points is the "correct" VIN stamping on the pad. The pad could be left as-is or the VIN stamping could be added by someone who has the correct stamping tools.

I suggest that you consider selling this rare and valuable engine block to someone is trying to restore an early 1967 Corvette that lacks its original engine. For the right buyer, I think this block would be worth at least $2000. While this block adds no particular value to your '66, it would be very valuable to the right owner of a an early '67 that does not have its original engine.

You could apply that $2000 toward a new crate motor or even a re-stamped "restoration bock" that would be correct for your '66.

 

I agree. My bet is a dealer warrantee in 1967. It is the history of the car, so leave it alone. Everyone today seems to be about the money, and not ''the car''. My son has a 69 Original Z-28 with a CE dated 1970 302 motor. We think it was also a warrantee , so it is back in the restored car. Runs great and when driving to an event, it is ''the car'', not the numbers

 

It was my car from Apr '72 until Aug '08, and when I turned it over to him, it went with all of its history (like the rod bolt out of a '55 Ford that's still holding the linkage together). Er, maybe some things shouldn't be shared...

 

What is the car's date of manufacture ( on the trim tag)?

 

Nov '65

 

I remember in the mid 70's my uncle friends street racing and "power shifting" their cars to insane RPMs just to win a race..

I remember pulling a 427 out of a 1969 Impala SS convertible in a junkyard to put in my uncles 1967 Corvette to replace the one he blew up...Point is they were raced wrecked and enjoyed...when they were just "cars"...you only go around the world once might as well enjoy it!