427basketcase

Saw a 69 coupe at a local show this weekend, I think it was somewhat misrepresented, here's why.
427 tri power 400hp? M20 4 speed, air cond, power steering, power brakes, 5500 red line tach, oil gauge maxed at 70 psi.
I have been researching the 427 tri power and I thought air was not avail. on that combo, the red line should be 6500, and the oil max at 80 psi, and is'nt a M20 a little weak,and it is supposed to be 435 HP? :confused: :confused: :confused:

SanDiegoPaul

I think you are right. The Oil Pressure Gauge is certainly wrong ... don't remember about the gearbox...

joevette57

Air was available on the 400 hp Tri-power, but not the 435. The tach and oil pressure were based on whether or not the engine had solid or hydraulic lifters. (small or big block)
Solid lifter engines had the higher redline and 80 PSI guage. A/C cars I believe also came with a lower redline tach. For example I'm pretty sure the 72 LT-1 w/o Air had a 6500 tach while the a/c equipped ones had 5500.
Before I get flamed, I'm not sure if my logic carries over to C-3's. I know it did apply to mid-years.

sb69coupe

The 400hp L-68 tri-power was the same basic motor as the L-36 390hp motor, except with the tripower setup. The block, heads, pistons, hydraulic cam, etc are identical. I'm not sure about the oil pressure gauge or redline, but the 400hp is a valid config for '69.

Check to see if the car has a fuel return line. If it does, then it's not a factory 400hp car.

Shannon

Gordonm

According to my books the M20 was available with the 400HP motor. Not sure about the other stuff. The strength of the M20 and M21 was not really an issue. Now the M22 was the HD gear box.

Yes the LT1 non air was 6500 the air cars are 5600


[Modified by Gordonm, 3:21 PM 9/30/2002]

Rowdy Rat

Actually, the car sounds legitimate... I didn't see anything in your post that seemed out of place.

The L-68 (427/400) was available with air conditioning, and in fact was the highest horsepower engine that year that you could order in conjunction with a/c. Redline on this engine is actually 5600 rpm, but I admit that it is hard to discern where exactly it starts.

Oil pressure gauges on the 1968-72 cars were all the same, unlike the midyear cars where some of the special high performance engines received a gauge with a higher limit.

The M-20 transmission wasn't any less strong than an M-21 and GM put those transmissions behind the hottest street engines. The only difference was in the transmission ratios; to be perfectly honest, the wide ratio M-20 is probably a better transmission for general street use.

This car has a really neat combination of options and would be a great choice for a weekend cruiser. I've been keeping my eye on a convertible with the same options... Would love to get my hands on it if it ever comes up for sale.

Regards,

Chuck Gongloff

Agree 100% with Stan. Wish my 400 HP 69 had AC. 400 air cars are rare birds. 400 air roadsters are even "more" rare. As a matter of fact, if you think back to that time frame, ANY air conditioned convertible...Corvette or Plymouth....was a rare bird. Chuck

427basketcase

I guess this was a very rare car, because everything looked factory. I guess that I'm not used to seeing all of the "goodies" on one car. :eek:

Larry B.

390 (Q-jet) and 400 (tri power) horse 427's were available with A/C and ther only trans offered with that combo was M-20. The tach red line should be 5600.

Markm10431

the Black book doesn't show any 427's in 69 with AC

Wrencher

Mine is a factory A/C L-68 with all those options in a convertible. Many of the A/C cars had it removed at some point because the RH side is not accessible with it installed! Sounds very correct to me...

Hans

redvetracr

basketcase,
Your question should be is it an "original" 427/435hp car ??
...redvetracr

Larry B.

The black book doesn't show combinations of options, just how many cars total had a paticular option. The sales Brochure and the AIM show that 390 and 400 hp 427's could have A/C but only with M20 trans with 3.08 rear... Some people say automatic with A/C were built but.....I don't know?