Engine ID Help, Please?

[Don L.]

I am working with a friend, from a distance, to identify the engine in a (supposed) 1969 L46 Coupe he's looking to buy. I cannot read the last character in the attached stamping, and unfortunately, I do not have a 1968-1969 Judging Guide to decipher what I can see. The car is a non-AC 4 speed.

I'm hoping that someone here can take a look at the photo and decipher what is there. Hopefully, someone can make out the last character.

I will try and get a better photo, but this is all I have for now.

Any help here would be greatly appreciated.

Engine Stamp Pad.jpg

[Patrick H.]

Re: Engine ID Help, Please?

Don,

Here are the codes:

HW 350 350 4-Speed Sp.Cam Q-Jet
HX 350 350 4-Speed and A/C Sp.Cam Q-Jet
GC 350 350 4-Speed TI Sp.Cam Q-jet
GD 350 350 4-Speed TI A/C Sp.Cam Q-Jet

I assume (!) it should be an HW.

[John C.]

Re: Engine ID Help, Please?

Don

From that picture I don't think anyone can make out the last character. The engine code should be HW for an L46 engine with no A/C.

John

[Joe L.]

Re: Engine ID Help, Please?

I am working with a friend, from a distance, to identify the engine in a (supposed) 1969 L46 Coupe he's looking to buy. I cannot read the last character in the attached stamping, and unfortunately, I do not have a 1968-1969 Judging Guide to decipher what I can see. The car is a non-AC 4 speed.

I'm hoping that someone here can take a look at the photo and decipher what is there. Hopefully, someone can make out the last character.

I will try and get a better photo, but this is all I have for now.

Any help here would be greatly appreciated.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]58688[/ATTACH]

Don------


I think if he would remove the paint, the last character might be discernable.

Also, the paint on this engine is definitely not the original shade of Chevrolet orange used for 1969. So, I'd say it's been painted and that also probably means it's been apart somewhere along the way.

[Don L.]

Re: Engine ID Help, Please?

Thanks to all that responded so far. Much appreciated.

I too assumed the last/missing character was a "W", however, I didn't say so in my OP because I was trying not to lead the group to a conclusion. I don't have a '68-'69 judging manual but I do have the NCRS pocket guide. From that reference, I agree a L46 with 4 speed and no C60 would be "HW".

How about the rest/ what we can see? The arrangement of the alpha-numeric codes are confusing me. I understand "V" is Flint, however, the 1I25 seems a different sequence than others I've seen. Others I've looked at have an alpha character in the second position and a numeric character in the third position. This one has a numeric character in position #2, and an alpha in position #3. This is what's most confusing/concerning me right now.

Joe, I just might ask him to remove the paint. As painted, we can't see if there are any broach marks. Not sure why anyone would counterfeit a small block, however, he is a buyer and having the original engine is important to him.

[Alan S.]

Re: Engine ID Help, Please?

Hi Don,
There's someone on the CF asking about perhaps this same pad and the use of an I for a 1 in that location!
Same car?
There's no photo in that post so I can't be sure.
That query is coming from Texas.
Regards,
Alan

[Don L.]

Re: Engine ID Help, Please?

Hi Don,
There's someone on the CF asking about perhaps this same pad and the use of an I for a 1 in that location!
Same car?
There's no photo in that post so I can't be sure.
That query is coming from Texas.
Regards,
Alan

Same. He's asking there, I'm asking (and have more confidence in the advice I get) here. The car is about 1 hour from me. He's about 20 minutes from my son (in TX).

[Jeffrey S.]

Re: Engine ID Help, Please?

Don,
Just sent you an email on this. I would bet that the "I" is a "1" and the engine assembly date is Nov 25 for a Dec or Jan built car. I can't read the VIN so it's not possible to determine if it is a Dec '68/Jan. '69 build or a Dec. '69 build car. BTW- since all small blocks are now BB, the 350/350 is a VERY rare car and certainly worth counterfeiting. From one small blocker to another.
Jeff

[Don L.]

Re: Engine ID Help, Please?

Thanks Jeff. I was thinking/hoping the same. In fact, I've seen numerous Flint engine stamps where the "I" and the "1" appear to be used interchangeably. If this is indeed the case, the pieces of this puzzle begin to fit together for me. A couple examples of what I've found show like this:

VI105HY: (Flint November 5th L48 mt?)
V09I7HW: (Flint September 17th L46 mt?)


The research I've done seems to show this for "1's/"I's" "O's"/"0's". Does anyone here have experience with this alpha numeric substitution?

[Kenneth H.]

Re: Engine ID Help, Please?

Don, mine's a '70 and my numbers are VOI20CTU. As you can see, the guys on the line regularly interchanged "1"s and "0"s with "O"s and "I"s to signify ones and zeros.

[Kenneth H.]

Re: Engine ID Help, Please?

Don, here's a picture:


70 LT1 Engine pad 1.JPG

[Patrick B.]

Re: Engine ID Help, Please?

the characters shown in the picture all look authentic for 69. I would be surprised if it didn't look even better with the paint removed.

[Joe L.]

Re: Engine ID Help, Please?

Thanks to all that responded so far. Much appreciated.

I too assumed the last/missing character was a "W", however, I didn't say so in my OP because I was trying not to lead the group to a conclusion. I don't have a '68-'69 judging manual but I do have the NCRS pocket guide. From that reference, I agree a L46 with 4 speed and no C60 would be "HW".

How about the rest/ what we can see? The arrangement of the alpha-numeric codes are confusing me. I understand "V" is Flint, however, the 1I25 seems a different sequence than others I've seen. Others I've looked at have an alpha character in the second position and a numeric character in the third position. This one has a numeric character in position #2, and an alpha in position #3. This is what's most confusing/concerning me right now.

Joe, I just might ask him to remove the paint. As painted, we can't see if there are any broach marks. Not sure why anyone would counterfeit a small block, however, he is a buyer and having the original engine is important to him.

Don------



With engine codes, the use of an "I" in place of a "1" and vice-versa is VERY common.

The last character of the engine code is important here. If it's a "W", then it's an L-46; if it's a "Y", it's a 300 hp base engine. Externally, a 300 HP and L-46 are almost identical. The valve covers are the most obvious difference but MANY folks installed the L-46 valve covers on 300 HP cars, so you can't go by the valve covers. There are a few other more subtle differences, though.