I'm new to the forum , I purchased a 69, 427 trying to figure out what it is , the vin#194379S708090 , The carb is an Holy 850 # R4781 , Head has 3964291 , Block has 3963512 & CE972556, the heads have other markings , HI-perf ,GM1T, F15-70 on the outside of the heads its stamped R. Williams, it has a rock crusher trans #3925660 and 3088336 general motors, alternator #1100882. It has the L88 Flairs and hood < I hope some one out there can help me figure it out. Thanks Lee

 

Lee, welcome to the forum and congratulations on the new (to you) 1969 Corvette!

Tells us it is a 1969 Corvette coupe built in (roughly) mid-November 1968 so it is a relatively early car as far as the 1969 model run is concerned.

Not an original carburetor.

This is a rectangular port, cast iron head that first appeared in late 1969, so again, not original to your car. The casting date F 15 70 (June 15, 1970)bears this out. R. Williams is probably the machinist or rebuilder.

The block is pretty common for 427 and 454 Chevys built around 1969-1970. The “CE” designation tells us this is a warranty replacement block. We do not know if it was replaced under YOUR car’s warranty, only that it is a warranty replacement.

The 660 case is common for most of 1969 production (661 case used October-December 1969). There is no way to know which transmission without further inspection. Transmission may have the A, B, or C code letter at this time.

That’s a really rare alternator. If original to the car, it indicates the car had transistor ignition, air conditioning, or both.

Owner inspired additions more than likely.

Hope that this helps you out Lee.

Regards,

Stan Falenski

 

Thanks

 

There is something I'm wondering about , the motor locked up and I had to rebuild it and the machine shop said the engine was a monster probably 550hp so when I rebuilt it with hydraulic cam and lifters. I'm wondering if the replacement engine was from the performance shop instead of a warranty replacement. Thanks Lee

 

How about some pictures of the car?

 

 

 

The tach is a giveaway that the car was probably an original 390 hp or 400 hp car. Does the car have one fuel line or two on the passenger top frame in the engine compartment?

 

1 fuel line, the guys that rebuilt the motor said the one in it was 550 hp with an 850 holly on it, rock crusher trans, the head # comes back as 430 or 435 hp by chevy.

 

The guys who built your engine probably don’t know Corvettes in detail like Jonathan (DKM-106) does. What he said is accurate: if the tachometer is original to your car, it originally came as a 427/390 (fuel and vent lines) or 427/400 (fuel line only). What the engines output is now… Who knows? As far as heads, the 430 engine used aluminum heads so that’s out and even late build 435s were still using 840 heads right up until the end of production (although it is possible that the 291s could be used at the end). With a casting date of F 15 70, I can tell you that they are not original to YOUR car.

Just out of curiosity, what does the data tag on the console show?

Nice car by the way!

Regards,

Stan Falenski

 

That’s a good looking ‘69.
Others have already given the right information on the tach and fuel lines. Out of curiosity, what does the console data plate show?
Open your fuel cap, push down the rubber shield and use a flashlight to look at the top of your fuel tank. If you see a piece of paper, drop the tank and see what that build sheet says. It may tell you the engine, transmission and all options. It’s extremely brittle so remove it super carefully.

Those TA 50 radials and slotted mags are real 70’s vibe. Who had the car before you? Is it possible the tires are 40-50 years old?

 

And someone added flares at some point. Love it!

 

The console plate shows 400HP 460 tor , 427 , 10.25: comp ratio. The shop that rebuilt the motor said the engine had a full race cam and was a high performance engine 500 + Hp. Rowdy Rat replied to me and said CE stamp on the block indicated that the engine was warranty replacement and I think that is when they put a high performance engine in it. I guy from the area told me the tires and wheels are from the 70s. Lee

 

THAT looks like a fun car to drive around.
While I am big on keeping a car original, when it is original, a car that’s been modified during its life like this one can be tremendous fun as you don’t feel so bad if something breaks. I like older modified vettes just like this one.

 

Lee,

There you go… The tachometer, the data plate, the single fuel line all point toward the original engine being an L-36/L-68, 427/400. Pretty cool stuff!

If they rebuilt it (had it apart), they would certainly know.

The CE part of the stamp was Chevrolet’s internal code to indicate an engine (anything from a fitted short block to a long block - although a long block replacement is generally unlikely) replaced under warranty. There was no number that tied the replacement block to the car (outside of paperwork created by the dealer that replaced it and also Chevrolet internal documents which no longer exist) so we can’t say for certain if this block was originally a warranty replacement for YOUR car or if it was originally installed in another car and later used as the basis for the engine in your car. There was an internal dating code of which I am not entirely familiar, but if I recall correctly, the first digit used (9 in your case) was for the year; which for your engine, the 9 is probably for 1969. Your original block was almost certainly a two bolt main version so a warranty short block for your car would also be of the same type. The cylinder heads we have determined were cast too late to be originally installed on your car. In addition, they are also the wrong type; the 291s are rectangular port while the 3933148 casting which your car originally had installed were oval port. In general when there was an engine issue, only the short block was replaced (it would take a really catastrophic issue to require a long block replacement) so the heads were typically reused… Yours are not the original units so we can’t tell if this is a warranty issue for your car or not… Only that someone used a CE engine for a rebuild. I wish that I could be more definitive, but there isn’t enough evidence to do so.

That style of wheel was used in the 1960s. It’s a very popular wheel… For good reason, it looks great!

You found yourself a really neat car Lee, enjoy it!

Regards,

Stan Falenski