Lunar

The '69 Barn find thread has fired me up to find out more about my car, seeing as I also have a CE warranty replacement engine, or so I think. Can anyone help me find out more?

Here is what I know so far (it's not much)
- Originally registered (or built?) 28-02-1972
- imported to Holland in Jan 1998 by a man called Tom Van Starloos
- maintained (restored?) by a company called Lex Classics in Holland
- resprayed at some point (now blue but originally Steel Cities grey?)
- Has a CE engine code.

Here are the numbers I can find
VIN 1Z37W2S513433 ('72 bb Coupe)
Engine number (front pad, drivers side near the AC) - CE463347
Casting number (rear of the block, drivers side) 8999289 - also has a "P" written lengthways underneath and "GM" further up (under the distributor).
Under the carb I have "FIRING ORDER" and "L20*71". And the cylinders are numbered.

Here is the build tag



The engine as it was when I got the car



and the car



Can anyone tell me anything more? Anyone know this car before it was exported? Can anyone tell me where to look on the engine to find more numbers? I haven't looked for the tank build sheet yet, that's something still to do.

crazywelder

3999289 is a '72-'79 454 used in passenger cars and trucks. Factory intakes have a 7 or 8 digit casting number often behind the carb or on a runner.

Lunar

Thanks that already helps!
So then it could be a warranty replacement, or at least dealer fit as it's from the right period? How can I find out more?

I'm currently upgrading things - airfilter, MSD, and now exhaust. Is there any point in keeping the stock items or will it never be "original" with a CE block?

Mike Ward

The G08 on your trim tag is February 08. Your car was completed possibly that day or one or two days later. The car was originally painted Steel City gray with a black vinyl interior.

Never, never throw away original parts, someday somebody will want to restore it to factory original and will want them. In any case, the mods you are making won't do much for you in terms of performance, probably more show than go.

Lunar

Thanks I didn't know that

Well I agree on the airfilter, but the MSD? The old dizzy was pretty dead, and I had lots of problems with starting and stalling even after replacing all the internals. So it has at least improved the reliability, if not the performance.

If I go for headers as well as exhaust, then I'm expecting some gains. Looking at Zwede's web page for LS5 tuning, seems to release quite a few horses.