Jester69Stingray

I just pulled the engine on my '69 350 and got everything taken apart and cleaned up. Pretty much all of the bearings were bad some real bad. Now i need help figuring out what was in there. Where can i find this information for future refrence.


Block
20 very big number GM 3956618 that was the big number on top
A169 small on top
Front 678 with 386 under it and 636 with 371 under it on the other side and G43 under that
Back H40 on one side 388 with 371 under it on the other

Heads
GM with a 21 very small near that and 12 (big) 462624 (small) J129 (tiny)
other head 18 (big) 462624(small) L709 ( tiny)

Cam
GMC and CWC on on part
D3 and C3 on another
A2 and 20 on another
1539 on another

Pistons
2T698 inside

Crank
CH442 looks hand written on top
GMG 3832442 stamped on crank

Thanks a lot any help is appreciated.
:cheers:

daily_driver

according to my blackbook... for a 69, that block # is correct for 350 ci either 300hp or 350 hp...

you neglected to provide the engine suffixe code (or i cant recognize it..)

the #'s u provided for heads i cant match up either..

for a 69 with that block, the heads should be one of the following #'s

3927186,3927187,3947041

Jester69Stingray

Where is the engine suffix code located? These were all the numbers i could find on any of these parts.

Thanks :)

daily_driver

the stamped engine # including an alpha numeric for build location "f,v,t" followed by a 3 to 4 digit date code followed by your engine suffix code should be stamped on a machined pad in the locale of the distributor hole.

what you are particularly interested in is the suffix code of those sets of #'s


the A169 sounds like the block casting date to me... translating to january 16, 1969....

but the suffix code for your engine should be one of these for a 350 engine:::

GC,GD,HW,HX,HY,HZ

that suffix indicates the HP, tranny type (auto or manual), trnasistorized ignition, and air conditioning./...


the head casting # can be found on the top of the head (under where the valve cover sits...)

daily_driver

hey guy...

i thknk i found the head #'s that u posted heres the info for them

----------------
462624 76-87 1.94/1.50 & 2.02/1.60 Not listed 76 CC Chambers These are crack prone!

----

obviously those arent original!!!

daily_driver

i was just looking at your original head #'s and those are 64 cc chambers....(and are not crack prone!!) the 462 and 882 (what i got) were designed for 70's and 80's emmisions crap..

if i were rebuilding my engine like you and had a beuatiful (or soon to be) 69, i would get the right #'ered heads.... also with the 64cc chambers you will be goin to a higher compression ratio than those 76cc chambered ones.. which means more HP.///

or you could put on some lovely aftermarket heads...

but i would dump those if i were investing in an engine rebuild.

theres no reason to keep em.

:)

Jester69Stingray

top

daily_driver

what else ya looking fer??

:)

u already got all the good stuff....

find that suffix code yet?


[Modified by daily_driver, 3:18 PM 12/17/2001]

Tom73

That "stamp pad" is a machined surface on the block in front of the passanger side head (not by the distributor). It should have two numbers there. One will end with the last 5 or 6 digits of the VIN of the car it was installed in. The other will be a V9999XX format where V=flint engine plant, 9999=build date (mm/dd), and XX is the usage suffix. That suffix can tell what the block was originaly used for. But if the engine was rebuilt and the block decked those numbers could be gone.

tom...

Jester69Stingray

V021?HW

Thats the only other number i could find the ? is probly a 1 or a 7 i cant really tell.

Thanks for all the help i really would like to know what the cam and crank are too if anyone can help or can tell me where to look for more numbers on them.

Thanks

daily_driver

thats it!! the HW is your suffix code..

it denotes a 350 ci with 350 HP and a manual tranny...

which macthes your L46 option....

:)

sorry dont have info on the crank and cam..

hopefully someone else will chime in...

:cheers:

Jester69Stingray

THis is the last time i promise does nay one have any info on the crank, cam, or pistons.

Thanks for all the replies.

Justin

Tom73

The cam used in the 350hp/327&350 was used for quite awhile, in fact was the cam used in the later L82 engine. Its specs are:

.450/.460 lifts
222/222 duration
114 lsa

Found this for the Camaro L46 engine in 69, should be same as the vette. Pistons were part number 3942543 with 11.0:1 compression and 64cc chambers, dome pistons, and they were forged.

Not sure about the crank. But would bet it is also forged as the later L82 included a forged crank.

tom...


[Modified by Tom73, 10:14 AM 12/18/2001]

Rowdy Rat

Justin,

Crankshaft... I don't show 3832442, but I do have a listing for casting number 3932442. According to Colvin, this was a nodular iron (cast) crankshaft used in Chevrolet passenger cars and trucks from 1969 to 1985. You might want to double check the casting number... also look to see if the crankshaft has a thin or wide parting line (this wil confirm the material type/forming method). Alan Colvin's information is generally accurate, but there are errors.

I show nothing for the camshaft... I'm afraid that you'll have to keep researching that one. Tom's specs for the L-46 cam are what most of my sources show as well.

Pistons... The original pistons were manufactured by TRW, but they will have the Chevrolet part number stamped into the dome. This stamped number for a standard bore L-46 piston is 3942545 which I've confirmed with an original owner of an L-46 who recently rebuilt his engine; this was also the part number as he purchased a standard bore piston when the car was new... Still has it in the box! The number that Tom posted shows up in my literature as a .030" overbore replacement for 1969-70 HP and SHP (L-46 and LT-1) engines with pressed in piston pins. I don't know if this piston followed suit with the production line pistons in that the stamped and casting numbers were the same. This series of pistons 3942541 - 543 (STD., .001", .030") may have been the production piston (and overbore service replacements) for the 1970 LT-1 originally - I'm still researching this myself. For whatever reason Chevrolet used different pistons for the L-46 and LT-1 in production, but apparently chose to combine service replacements at some point in time.

Replacement pistons were available from TRW directly for many years; the number that you posted doesn't look like a TRW number (the TRW logo will also apear on the underside of the dome in all cases). The replacement for the LT-1 was L2304 and I would guess that this was the same for the L-46 since Chevrolet combined both of the service replacement pistons too.

Sorry I couldn't provide more help on the camshaft and pistons, but if the features that I mentioned are not present, at least you can rule out GM parts.

Regards,

Allan71

Stan, it was my understanding that the the L-46 used cast pistons and not the forged pistons as used in the LT-1, even though both engines had a rated 11 to 1 compression. Did TRW make the cast pistons as well?

Can't find the crank number, but the crank in all 69 Corvette small blocks should be forged.

Can't find the cam numbers either, but the 1968 327/350 cam is totally different than the 1969-70 350/350 cam, with the latter going on to be used in the L-82. The casting number of the L-46/L-82 cam was 3896964.

Rowdy Rat

Allan,

I was always under the impression that the pistons for both the L-46 and LT-1 were forged. I had the AMA specs for both 1969 and 1970 last night and didn't even think to check... I'll have to check this out tonight and let you know what I find. In any case, the pistons used in the L-46 were made by TRW. Here's a few photos of both production (left) and service replacement (right) L-46 pistons:





One item that I was in error about was the part number for the service piston (serves me right for not looking at the photo). The correct part number is 9783585, NOT 3942545 that I originally posted.

Regards,


[Modified by Rowdy Rat, 9:20 AM 12/19/2001]