donbayers

Well;

the fun continues

Engine is out of the car and I have decided to dump the current block (late 64 date code) and find a correct block for our 5-24-1963 car.

What/where is the best place to look for a good core block? And no, I'm not paying Flea Bay price of $1,700.

Are there any places out there to find something for resonable money like $500??

Thanks for any help

PS. My thinking is why put money into a block that is way wrong anyway. Might as well find a correct one to build.

Nowhere Man

No matter how you look at it it's going to be a NOM. It's never going to be original. But if you want a date coded restoration block then you will have to go to car swap meets like Carisle or you can post a wanted add on here. Or join NCRS and look in the driveline. And then eBay. Good luck

bluestreak63

What good is a date correct block when it's stamped with another VIN number? Or am I missing something?

Don't you have a 327/340? Which would be RE? So if you find a block that has let's say F0504RE, won't it have another VIN that won't match your VIN?

1snake

Try looking on Craig's list daily. Around here, there's always a few listed for under a couple hundred bucks. You'll probably have to call and explain what numbers to look for. You might get lucky and find what you're looking for. Here's what I found today - http://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/pts/3823115671.html

Jim

donbayers

The engine that was in the car when I bought it is a late 1964 dated casting.

It was supposed to be just freshly rebuilt. Ha!!! Whoever did it did not have a full set of teeth.

It did not run right IMO, we also battled an oil leak we could not figure out. Over the Holiday weekend I'd had enough of the leak. Me and Larry the mechanic jerked it out and found the leak on the back of the block. One of the oil galley plug (cross threaded and screwed up) was leaking as well as a suspect crack.

Also, whoever built is must have been a moron because they used two different heads and also the pistons were .066 down in the deck. Compression all screwed up!!

So, I don't want to put any money into that block. Might as well find a correct casting dated block.

Why should I not take the car back to as close to original/correct as I can???

I'm not trying to fool anyone or sell the car but I want to do it for my own satisfaction.

What is wrong with getting the right block and then correctly stamping the pad with the right numbers.

Then I will have a "numbers matching" engine according to NCRS. I'm not claiming it to be the original but it would be correct.

I'm sure there are plenty of opinions so let's hear them

65specialk

http://www.ebay.com/itm/221232035738...84.m1558.l2649

I have this complete one FS. Dave in NH

donbayers

Dave;

A good looking core! Thanks for sharing.

From what I understand NCRS allows for a six month window prior to the date the car rolled off the assby line.

That would put this one out of the window.

Ideally, I'm looking out for a April or May dated block.

Best

Mike Ward

Umm, no. No such thing.

What you're attempting to do is possibly create an undetectable counterfeit.

midyearvette

it's your money, do what you like
jmo...there is "correct" and there is the "right way"
right way to me is spend the money on something brand new and bigger, baggie the wrong mill you have now as it was original to you when you bought the car, save the money from buying another wrong one......

bluestreak63

If it were me, I would take the current block you have and put some feelers out there for someone that might have the 64 that matches that block. I'm sure they would be happy to pay FMV for their original block back (verified by current owners title/registration with VIN). Is it an original block (broach marks intact)?

Then you can either locate your original block (needle in a haystack, but you never know) or get a brand new crate engine. This way, you get a brand new warrantied engine and you avoid having "issues" with a used, restamped block....

But it's your car/engine, etc., so while you can certainly get some opinions here, it's up to you how to proceed.

emccomas

A correctly dated block, even with the wrong info on the engine pad, is worth some amount of judging points.

A correctly dated block with the correct engine suffix code for your car is worth more points.

A correctly dated block, with a 'R' suffix code (327, 250 hp, manual trans, in a passenger car) would be an almost ideal block for you.

That engine could be built to your car's correct specs, and if you so desire, the appropriate information couid be added to the engine pad without removing any current information (or brooch marks).

1963 passenger car low horse power engines did not have a VIN derivative stamped on the engine pad.

A-Snake

Let's say two equal C2's are judged by NCRS. One has a date code correct block but the pad has been surfaced and restamped. The other car has a date code correct block but is from another Corvette, thus having the wrong VIN derivative on the pad. The restamped block car will have a greater point deduction. And yes both cars can still achieve Top Flight.

Mike Ward

Only if the restamp is detected.

A-Snake

If broach marks are missing, it will be detected at a Regional or National meet

65tripleblack

Then I will have a "numbers matching" engine according to NCRS.


The only way to tell, beyond a reasonable doubt, that an engine is original to a particular car is by cross referencing the stamped pad numbers against a forensic database like that used by "AG", a very well known Corvette "authentication" expert. That said, it doesn't sound like the OP is trying to commit fraud, especially considering the fact that the engine in question is an L76.

"I'm not trying to fool anyone or sell the car but I want to do it for my own satisfaction.
What is wrong with getting the right block and then correctly stamping the pad with the right numbers.
Then I will have a "numbers matching" engine according to NCRS. I'm not claiming it to be the original but it would be correct."

It is perfectly "legal" and acceptable to install a "restoration engine" in a Corvette, and according to the NCRS, the idea is to try to recreate the configuration as close as possible as it was when it left the factory and before dealer prep and dealer installed options.

It is virtually impossible to recreate original broach marks (stamp pad surface texture/grain), and even a high quality restamp almost always gets detected as "not typical of factory production". This is enough to disqualify a "restoration" engine as being original.

NCRS is not in the "business" of authentication an engine as "original", although only with the rare exception of an anomalous pad/stamping, all original engines will earn full credit for stamp pad surface, VIN derivative, and date/engine code stampings. In the case of an anomaly, if the owner suspects that he may have an original engine, he may pay an expert to refer to his forensic library to analyze the characteristics of engine font/gang layout/depth of stampings/etc typical of engines which were stamped on the same day and shift as the engine in question. If I was looking to buy a high dollar Corvette having an engine whose stamp pad either got dinged for stamp pad surface originality, or showed another anomaly such as a grind-out, you can bet your a$$ that I'd hire "AG" or "RS" to authenticate that stamp pad before coming up with the big bucks.

If the OP needs the name of someone with a large inventory of original Chevrolet engine, heads and other castings at prices far lower than some of the other dealers listed in the Driveline, the OP should send me an email via this Forum.##

## Disclaimer: If anyone is contemplating a high output engine using recycled old castings, he had better use all DUE DILIGENCE to ensure that the casting he purchases meets more than minimum wall thickness requirements. This in addition to all other aspects of the casting being fully serviceable. Careful selection and ultrasound testing is required for a stout build using a vintage casting!

65tripleblack

Sometimes broach marks are barely detectable, indicative of newly sharpened and replaced machine tooling at Flint or Tonawanda. It is more usual, when broach marks are exaggerated and/or too well defined, and although perfectly oriented with the fore-and-aft axis of the deck, raise a red flag and can be subject to a points deduction as NTP.

Mike Ward

Hopefully also at a chapter meet.

donbayers

Thank you TripleBlack for that great post.

You are correct, I'm openly stating that I did not have the original engine when I bought the car. If the 64 block that was in it was running good and not leaking oil I would not be replacing it.

However since I'm going down this rabbit hole I'm of the mindset to do the car justice from a historical accuracy standpoint to the best of my abilities.

My intention for a new build is NOT to build a 100% original power plant internally with dome pistons, 11.25/1 compression and the like, but rather I want a great driver engine that can run on 91 pump gas and has a nice idle.

BUT, when i open the hood I can say that what you see before you is an accurate representation of how it was configured when new.

Same reasons I love the original hub caps verses having any other wheel on the car.

Thanks again for the post and PM sent to you.

Mike Ward

So, if you go ahead and do this, will you claim to have a 'numbers matching' engine?