What was the earliest month in 1969 that the 427 engine block casting of 3963512 was used in the Corvette?

 

I have a 512 block for my 427/390 dated J28, I was told it is the earliest this select person I spoke about it to ever saw, talk among yourselves.............................B
Block casting date is on side near front of starter, if you need pics I can comply...........

 

Here are the pics, hope they are legible. Engine is out of car at the moment for a cleaning up of all areas involved!!!!!

 

I am looking at a 512 block on a corvette with a Feb build and cast date. Can this be right or was this block not used that early in 1969. Was the 512 block used in other Chevy application in 1969?

 

My block is stamped 10 10 8 on the front pad, so if you see one in a 69 in Feb it is absolutely correct as long as it matches. These were used into the 70's 454....................B

 

ok...many thanks....I guess the corvette numbers book I was referring to showed the 512 blocks to be used late in the production run of 1969. Feb seems early so that raised a red flag. The numbers do match and the fonts and stamping look like other 1969 stampings I have seen and taken pics of however one other red flag is the the pad is stamped T0228LX to the left and the serial number to the right of that slightly lower. Here is the other red flag. All the charcters are perfectly inline and evenly spaced except the X. So it looks like T0228L X but the X is also not only spaced away from the other characters but a bit higher too. Which seems odd..like the X was stamped after the fact. Ever hear of anything like this? I would post a picture of it but have not figured how to post a photo here. Do you know how to post a picture of it on this site?. Thanks again for the input, much appreciated.

 

I have books that say late also, apparently all wrong!!!
To post a pic, you need an FTP site with your internet provider, or a hosting site on the net, they are abundant. When posting click the "insert image" icon and paste in the location of the pic and it will show up.............B

 

Sounds like a restamp, but there could be a valid explanation for it. Do you have any documentation with the car?

 

"Late" is a relative term here. The "439" casting was used early in production and was used in production at least to the end of the 1968 calendar year. The "512" block began showing up in Corvette applications around October 1968 and by the second quarter of 1969, it was the only casting being used. There are also documented examples of the "270" casting also being used in late 1968/early 1969, but it is more of an oddity as the "512" casting was more common.

A "512" casting with February 1969 casting date is pretty much standard fare for 427s... Nothing to be alarmed about there.

First of all, let me say that without seeing the pad in person, it is impossible to tell for certain what is or isn't correct. However, I can make a few general comments that can give you some issues to think about.

Yes, it is odd and yes, I have seen stamps like this before on a factory stamped pad. First off, all big block Corvettes were stamped in the assembly/VIN derivative sequence that you mention... Assembly stamp on the left, VIN derivative on the right... Nothing out of line there. The really odd item (that you also noted) is that the last character of the broadcast code (in the assembly stamp) appears to be stamped separately which was not typical of most factory stamps and normally would be a hint that perhaps something isn't right.

However...

The one thing that got my attention (and makes me think that it could be a factory stamped pad) is the application. The "LX" broadcast code is for an L-71/M-40 application which is a pretty rare combination... A 427/435 backed by a heavy duty THM 400 automatic. This is also an early assembly stamp for one of these engines as the L-71/M-40 wasn't offered until about the middle of the 1969 modely year. It is possible that the last character was hand stamped due to the reasons mentioned above. As I mentioned, it is conjecture without inspecting the pad, but it is possible.

Is this just an engine that you are looking at, or is this engine installed in a car? If it is still in the Corvette that it was installed in, there are some other items worth looking at that were specific to solid lifter big block/automatic transmission Corvettes. Any additional details would be appreciated.

If you wouldn't mind, would it be possible to forward that photo to my email (rowdyrat@aol.com)? I'd be happy to post it here for you.

Regards,

 

Thanks for the follow-up replies. The car is completely apart and the engine is out of the car. The engine build date is Feb 28th with the heads and exhaust maniflods being early Feb. The car build date is August and I guess there was an approximate a 9 week shut down do to a strike in 1969. The Auto hydra-matic trans is with the car as well.
What else should I look for? I will try post or send a picture of the pad to you. I have an all orginal 1966 roadster which I have had for about 20years and famliar with the pad and factory stampings. Also I have looked at a taken pictures of other 1969 427s. The fonts of the characters spacing, alingment and stamp depth look like others I have seen except for the displace X. Which is odd...If not for the X I would not question the stamping. Also if this was restamped it does not make sense that someone stamp every character with symmetry only to slighty displace the last charcter X. Anyway I will try to send the photo. Thanks Again.

 

 

Pretty big time spread between engine assembly and vehicle build... Still would need to see the pad before any conclusion though.

What information is on the transmission tag (metal plate on right [passenger] side of transmission? What date/code on differential??

Thanks, that would be helpful. If you have problems posting them, you can email them to me and I'll be happy to post them in this thread.

Regards,

Stan Falenski

 

Almost too much. Stranger things have happened, but a February block should have left St. Louis long before the strike.