1969 ZL1 Engine stamping

[Tim S.]

Would a 1969 aluminum block ZL1 have a LU engine stamping on pad?

[Patrick B.]

Re: 1969 ZL1 Engine stamping

LU is the stamping code for a 69 L89 with a dual plate clutch. A 4-Speed ZL-1 would have been stamped ME.

[Tim S.]

Re: 1969 ZL1 Engine stamping

[Thank you very much

[Tim S.]

Re: 1969 ZL1 Engine stamping

Patrick do you happened to know if ZL-1 the block casting number was 3946052 , and where the foundry that made they was and also it they were assembled ?
Thank you

[Tim S.]

Re: 1969 ZL1 Engine stamping

I think I found answer the aluminum blocks were poured in Saginaw MI, and assembled in Tonawanda NY
Thanks

[Patrick B.]

Re: 1969 ZL1 Engine stamping

Patrick do you happened to know if ZL-1 the block casting number was 3946052 , and where the foundry that made they was and also it they were assembled ?
Thank you

Tim -- I have one of these in my 1970 Corvette that was originally out of a 69 Camaro and its casting number is 3946052. It was cast by Winters, the same foundry that cast the Chevy aluminum heads, and it is marked by the same snowflake symbol. All big blocks were assembled in Tonawanda.

[Tim S.]

Re: 1969 ZL1 Engine stamping

Tim -- I have one of these in my 1970 Corvette that was originally out of a 69 Camaro and its casting number is 3946052. It was cast by Winters, the same foundry that cast the Chevy aluminum heads, and it is marked by the same snowflake symbol. All big blocks were assembled in Tonawanda.

Yes I was wrong about Saginaw it was Winters. Is the corvette Zl-1 stamped MG for the automatic trans cars?
Were either of the 2 1969 Zl-1 corvettes automatic?
Thanks again

[Joe L.]

Re: 1969 ZL1 Engine stamping

Yes I was wrong about Saginaw it was Winters. Is the corvette Zl-1 stamped MG for the automatic trans cars?
Were either of the 2 1969 Zl-1 corvettes automatic?
Thanks again

Tim------


Yes, there existed no GM aluminum foundry in Saginaw at that time. The only GM aluminum foundries at that time were in Bedford, IN and Massena, NY. GM rarely manufactured low volume castings like the ZL-1. That block was, as has been mentioned, cast by Winters Foundry like most other, low volume, sand-cast aluminum pieces. Winters Foundry was located in Canton, OH.

1 of the 2 documented 1969 ZL-1 Corvettes was a THM-400.

[Mark B.]

Re: 1969 ZL1 Engine stamping

Tim -- I have one of these in my 1970 Corvette that was originally out of a 69 Camaro and its casting number is 3946052. It was cast by Winters, the same foundry that cast the Chevy aluminum heads, and it is marked by the same snowflake symbol. All big blocks were assembled in Tonawanda.

Really? You have a 69 ZL1 Camaro block in your corvette? Which car is it out of?

[Patrick B.]

Re: 1969 ZL1 Engine stamping

Really? You have a 69 ZL1 Camaro block in your corvette? Which car is it out of?

I bought this ZL-1 engine in the late 1970's complete from carb to clutch from John Lister who already had it in a 69 Corvette. He bought it from the owner of a wrecked blue Camaro who said the car had been sold by a Chevy dealer in the Silver Spring, MD area. The heads were dated Dec 68, the manifold Oct 68 and the carb Jan 69 which was consistent with the early ZL-1s from the Gibbs Chevrolet order. However, the casting date of the block was August 69 and had no stampings. That made me think the short block or fitted block was probably a warrantee replacement.

I was once contacted by Ed Cuneen (sp?) who was the big ZL-1 expert who had bought a documented ZL-1 car with an iron engine and was looking for an aluminum engine for it. I told him the story about the blue Silver Spring, MD car. He said he was familiar with it, and that the car was destroyed and lost. But he would not tell me the serial number.

A few years ago, I met a guy who had worked a Amatucci Chevrolet (very near Silver Spring, MD) in those years who remembered that they installed a fitted block under warrantee in a blue 69 ZL-1 Camaro. So, I think that is as much as I will ever know about the car.

[Tim S.]

Re: 1969 ZL1 Engine stamping

Can anyone verify that the factory originally produced 80 ME engines ( with M22 trans) and 14 With (Turbo 400 auto trans) MG stamped engines. So 94 engines. I do not know if that included any over-the-counter that may have been marked CE. Obviously, with only one or possible 2 documented
ZL-1 cars in existence that would leave 92 other engines for GM engineering test cars like Zora's and the rest back- door'ed to race car operations or fuel injection vendor etc., or over the counter parts sales.
Presumably this 94 engines would have been the 3946052 castings not the Cam-Am larger bore engines.

The "corvette Racing Legends" also indicates that to order a ZL-1 block 1969 Corvette with that engine you had to check the L-88 RPO and all the requisites like M-22. F41, K19, J-56 brakes etc.. Any one know why that would be?
Thanks
Tim

[Patrick B.]

Re: 1969 ZL1 Engine stamping

Tim -- What are you working on?

[Tim S.]

Re: 1969 ZL1 Engine stamping

[QUOTE=Patrick Boyd (9110);808596]Tim -- What are you working on?[/QUOTE

I will post a pic of the block and stamping later.

[Mark B.]

Re: 1969 ZL1 Engine stamping

Your engine would then have to be the warranty engine out of car #41 If it's a blue car from that neighbourhood.

[Kenneth B.]

Re: 1969 ZL1 Engine stamping

It would be interesting to know if a plastic cope & drag pattern was made off the CI tooling & cores were made from the CI core boxes & shipped to Winters. I can't believe GM would spend the money it would take to make metal patterns & core boxes. we are talking 100,000.00 in the day.