I have a '69 convertible. CE motor, M20 trans but not the original. Tank not original - no sticker.

Been writing back & forth to a PO who had the car for just a few months back in 1978. He says the BB style hood was on it then with no badges and sun faded paint that matched everything else. I don't think the hood is original to the car but has been on there since before '78.

Just curious if there might be something else I can check on the car that might tell me anything else about how the car was originally optioned

 

Other places people have found "tank stickers" are behind the tach, behind the radio, in the door, under passenger carpet and stuffed in the rear strut rod bracket. Long shot but worth 30 minutes looking around.

 

If the tach is original to the car, the redline will give you a clue as to which engine was originally installed.

IIRC,
5300rpm - 300hp/350
5500rpm - 390/400hp/427
6000rpm - 350hp/350
6500rpm - 430/435hp/427

 

Hi pf,
Are you thinking the car may have been a bb car?
What is the CE engine?
Is it original to THIS car?

Do you have any reason to think the rear differential might be original to the car?
If so, you could check to see if the half shafts are secured to the yokes with u-bolts (small block engines), or cast 'blocks' and bolts (big block engines).

Only big block cars had a rear sway bar. You could look for signs of it on the t-arms and where the bushings mounted to the frame.

There are often indications of other options the car was originally equipped with written as 'notes' on the under body. But to see them parts of the interior of the car needs to come out.

???
Regards,
Alan

 

Thank you Alan. U-bolts, no evidence of a sway bar. Driver's side rotor is still riveted.

I was incorrect about the transmission – it’s actually slightly newer than the car’s build date. VIN on the windshield pillar shows it as an early 69 built in Sept-Oct 68. Trans is an M20 and the VIN on it doesn’t match the car. Cast build date of P9 S2 9A which (I think) is Nov 29 1969. Case cast # is 3925660 68-69. Tailshaft is 3846429 - which is older - 63-65.

The CE engine is a 350. 3932386. Cast aluminum valve covers. Don’t have the info in front of me right now but I think the cast date on the heads shows at least one as a ’71 vintage. From what I can tell the motor & trans & hood have been in/on the car since at least '78. The PO from 1978-2016 rebuilt it and added the side pipes. Not sure when the Edelbrock intake & Holley 4160 carb showed up. I don’t know if there would be clearance under the stock hood for so maybe that’s why the BB hood appeared. At any rate, the guy that had it in ’78 tells me that BB hood had no badges on it and was weathered to match the rest of the car.

Console plate says 350/350 and the PO from '78 confirms that what it was then – which just tells me about the plate, not necessarily anything else. I found a car in the C3 registry with a VIN that's 2 units of production from this one - same color and has a BB - but that may not be relevant either.

From the looks of it my guess is that this was always a SB and whoever had it '69-'78 did something unpleasant to it in the early ‘70s. Trans, motor and hood probably not original to the car but have been there a long time.

I’m not a collector, restorer or purist. I just like this car quite a bit and find all these old details fascinating. I’d love to know what the real story was with it but probably never will. I love researching all the clues – part of the fun for me.