I have a 68 convertible and block # 389265714. Says it's made in 67 but yet this says only 4 was built. Does anyone really know? And forsure is it a L79 also has GM 0807 or D807. My Vin is 194678S409837. Color code 984 Safari Yellow said many wasn't made. Has Telescopic columm, Bucket seats, Pw, Ps, upgraded steering and springs. I can't think of everything if I'm missing something. Supposed to be a sports package. Has upgraded M21 4-Speed 3925660. Also where was the Muncie manufactured? I hope someone could answer these questions.

 

Need some more info from you... What's the real casting date on that block? What is the ID stamping on the engine ID pad? You state that your block ID is "389265714." There is no such casting number. Assuming you are mis-reading something, the casting number could be "3892657." That casting number was used for the following engines:

1967 302 290 horsepower Z-28 small journal
1967 327 210 horsepower cars & trucks
1967 327 350 horsepower cars
1967 327 295 horsepower Camaro

The casting number by itself does not nail down what the engine is. Get the rest of the info off the block. It's unlikely that your 1967 cast block was used in a '68 Vette. The 1968 327 350 horse Vette had block casting 3914678. I think you may be reading your casting date wrong, because your D807 means the block was cast the 80th day of April 1967... You may have the "0" and the "8" mixed up. Either way, it was cast in April of '67, which means it was never installed in a 1968 Vette. The common scenario on these Vettes is that the original engine was blown, so the local shop swapped out the blown engine for a 1967 "standard" 327 210 horse and swapped over the heads, intake and carb to make it all look "original." The Safari Yellow color code has no relevance to the engine in the car. Rarity also has no relevance to value: My '64 Vette was originally a Saddletan color car ("Gold.") It was the rarest color in 1964. Why was it rare? Because nobody wanted a Saddletan car. So I have repainted the "rare" car black... "Rare" does not equal "desireable." If you love Safari Yellow, then the car has value to you, and it's fun to know it's "rare." Appreciate it for what it is to you, and if it runs well, just enjoy it!

 

The 14 on the side. So what about the options I guy in Canada he show me is credentials is a judge and said they didn't make many of them in 68 and not many in Safari Yellow with that option. So why all those options and lots of others I see don't have it they usually have a 3-Speed. I don't know how anyone knows a vette Motor when there is nothing that says it is besides the #'s on the front. I looked everywhere and said they were GM blocks. If they are gone I don't know how to actually tell. No one has ever showed me any proof except what they think they know. Would you be able to tell by looking at crank bearings?

 

I'm just trying to get to the bottom of it. I bought it with the guy saying yes all original. It was red before buying it didnt even think of checking any #'s. Was in bad shape after pulling intake found a bent push rod. Sent it off to a machine shop didn't even say anything about it except needed a rebuild and they bored it out 40 over we put a bigger Comp Cam. That's all I know. I don't know a anything about any numbers. I know they do not have a opening for sending unit.

 

9,440 L79 Vettes were built in 1968. Not 4. They were not rare cars. Your 1967 engine built in April '67 is not likely the original engine in the car. Main bearings are the same in all Chevy engines and will not determine if the engine is an L79. There were small journal and large journal 327s, which is no indication of L79 status. If you've had the engine "rebuilt" with a horrible CompCam, it's no longer an L79. What's the ID stamp pad stamping? No, most Vettes did not have a 3-speed - only a few hundred of those were ever produced (likely 353). You're getting a lot of bad info from uniformed sources. Good luck with the car and the project.

 

Instead of posting pictures of your monitor, please post some of your car!

Here's a quick and dirty site for available options and percentages (unfortunately, there is nothing like what is available for later cars, so you'll never know exactly how many tuxedo black 68s came with an L79 engine and headrests, or whatever.

http://vettefacts.com/C3/1968.aspx

Here's a site for decoding trim codes, engine stamps and casting numbers:
https://corvettec3.ca/

The link in my signature won't help for a dealer invoice, but the vehicle information kit PDF is free, and has a bunch of info, including all of the options and percentages.

 

I have driven a couple 1968 C3's with the L79 and that is one heck of an engine! I have always loved that engine after my first ride in a 1964 Impala SS with a four speed. That engine can rev so easily and it has great power for a small block. It made the Impala move right along and sounded great through the headers.

If I had to choose the best small block it would be a tough one as I like both the 1968 L79 and the 1970 LT1. The L79 doesn't make the power that a LT1 did when stock but when they are modified they can make way over 500 hp out of the little 327 cubic inch engine. Engine Masters did a test where they used 2 identical 327 engines and they were impressed with the power that a little 327 could make. 500 hp out of a small block that idles smoothly?

It appears that 33% of the 1968 Corvettes were built with the L79, so it is not a rare engine but it is certainly an engine with TONS of potential without having to go to a giant engine with 500+ cubic inches!

Did the L79's originally come with a Holley carburetor as mentioned in the Vette Facts page supplied by Bikespace (thank you, by the way!) for us to check out? I thought they came with the quadrajet. I saw the same thing when I looked at the 1969 L79, it shows a single Holley carburetor. The people who made the Vette Facts list the 1967 L36 as being a 327 cubic inch engine and the L71 as well is listed as a 327 with three Holley carburetors. Someone dropped the book and put some erroneous information in the Vette Facts... So it seems.

My Cousin had a 1967 C2 with the L79 in his convertible and that engine was so different than what I was used to, it required slipping the clutch to get it moving along with a good bit of gas pedal to start it without stalling. This is something that I never have to do with my 427, you have to really love that extra torque!

 

Assuming you're not joking, take a wild guess... they were built in Muncie.
"Vette Facts" is riddled with errors - you have to be very careful when getting "factual info" from that source. As you noted, the 1968 L79 never came with a Holley carb - in 1968, they were all Q-Jets.

1965 L79 with the Holley carb. '65-'67 looked like this. Last year for the Holley on the L79 was 1967. Q-Jet was used in 1968. In 1969, the L79 was no longer available and was replaced with the L46 350.



Lars

 

QUOTE=lars;1608698038]

1965 L79 with the Holley carb. '65-'67 looked like this.



Lars[/QUOTE]

Except that 67 had a divorced choke and different fuel plumbing.

bill

 

Yes, of course. The point was that the early 327 L79s had the Holley carb, and the last year, in 1968, had the Q-Jet. - not a Holley.

Lars

 

Folks have spotted incorrect information at VetteFacts (and other online aggregator sites). I posted it mostly for the production numbers.

The correct numbers are in the Vehicle Information Kit PDF, which you can get direct from GM (at the link in my signature, above). But that's a 120 page document, so a bit much to sift through.

At least the 68 L79 production numbers seem to be correct (9,440).

corvettec3.ca got the Q-Jet correct, too.

https://corvettec3.ca/engines.htm

 

I appreciate the help. The Cam because I wanted some of a skate to it in a Big ***** Thumper. I still have everything I took off of 68. If it's not original I'm going to scrap yellow and probably go with red. My interior is black. What color is yours? I have a tan canvas top I just bought. I don't think would look good with red. Maybe black on Black.What color c ode did you go with? Added anything to it like micro sequence or pearl? You talking about the #'s on the passenger side front? I don't know if you read that it was decked or shaved I don't know what you guys call it. So if they have other numbers please let me know location. What I meant was they didn't have but around 3K in Safari Yellow and I don't know yet with all these options. I have a bunch of pics on my main page I guess you would call it. I'm about to go work on her and put some much needed speedo and tach cable.Yours is bad *** and the C2's are my favorite! The 427 is a beast! I use to have a 454 bored to a 468 in my Dragster! 8.55 1/4 track was my best running alcohol. Let me see if I can find it. Also had a Roadster with a 283 alcohol Changed to a Barry Grant. Rand a little over 5 in the 1/8.

 

Deleted post.
Pointless.

 

That car with the engine (with the Demon carburetor) you showed us a picture of must have had some cooling issues when running. Your water hose coming from the thermostat housing goes up so high that it has to have air blocking the flow of the coolant. That is a common problem with many of our cars. You want the radiator cap at the very highest point in the cooling system. Trapped air can stop the flow of the entire coolant system.

I was hired to figure out why a HUGE Solar domestic hot water system that powered a Marine Corp Barracks hot water heating for literally hundreds of people. The system cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to build and it never worked from day one. Fortunately they had a back up system that worked... I found a place where the trapped air blocked the system from ever working. It was a simple $5 fix to make the building have solar hot water. That was some easy money...

 

Thanks for the Reply. No I havent driven it about 100 miles both ways and havent had a problems. It also has a reverse high flow pump. Does that help and why would a Demon carb also be a problem? I also need to know should a electric fan be pulling or pushing? Thanks for your help.