Hello,

A little background is I had purchased a 1977 Corvette a couple years ago with the intention of my first restore some day. The delay was that i had nowhere to restore it. I now have the garage built and am starting to tinker. Let the fun begin.

I knew when i bought it that it wasn't numbers matching. I just knew that i wanted to restore something that i could add some extra horsepower under the hood and keep the factory look. Maybe a 383 or something.

The car ser# indicated that it was an L-82 and it also had the hood emblems to match. I just assumed that maybe they blew the original and replaced it with another similar motor. Here is where i need you guys. After searching the internet and this site, I checked with a local service shop that deals with regular cars and some performance cars about what the numbers mean, they couldn't find anything...They arent just standard numbers either. By that i mean the casting number and the passenger side stamp seem to be very unique. The block is stamped that it was GM made in Mexico. And instead of the stamp# being 3970010 like normal, its 3979010. I can't even find a story where for even a short period that was used. The stamp number is weird too... its MB17800.

Any ideas? Thanks in advance!

 

Sometimes a 0 can look like a 9 and vice versa so probably the casting number is 3970010.

The Hecho en Mexico and a stamp pad starting with M means that it's a GM crate engine, probably a Targetmaster or Mr. Goodwrench.

 

Thanks Mike, I'm sure thats all it is. But ya, it really looks like a 9. I am going to take a picture and post it up. Would anyone else have a pic that shows theirs that looks like a 9 but really is a 0?

 

If it says Made in Mexico, it is most likely a GM "Goodwrench" create engine.

Gary

 

I have the same engine as CO2. BUT, can any one tell both of us any more about it???Good or bad engine. HP?? any other info would be nice. How can we tell if it is a Mr goodwrench or targetmaster. I'm installing an original '73 Rochester Carb on it but having a hard time getting a choked hooked up to it. My manifold mounts for the choke is on a slant with a cover on and I do not know what kind of temperature choke to put in ther that works on a slant and hooks up to my carb/

 

mine looks like a 9 too but there is so much corrosion around it that I assumed it was a zero since I could not find anything with a 9 in that part of the number.

 

That digit is a "0" with part of the 0 missing on the left vertical stroke. I've seen lots of cast numbers that get 'dinged' during the casting process.