New Member Getting Started 66 BB

[Larry E.]

Re: New Member Getting Started 66 BB

Would the right bell housing be a "444" or other number?

Tom> The "403" was told to us at the seminars. FYI Larry

[Keith B.]

Re: New Member Getting Started 66 BB

Would the right bell housing be a "444" or other number?

Not if it’s a 10.4 flywheel

[Duke W.]

Re: New Member Getting Started 66 BB

Duke>Since we are in a very old "grey" area it could be that Penske's L72 was actually one of the "20 Experimental Engines"
that Chevy designated as a L72 at that time but who really knows for sure. Larry

I doubt if any of the "experimental" big blocks built by Tonawanda were ever installed at St. Louis... just tested by engineering on dynos or installed in engineering cars for proving ground testing. Take it from a former Pontiac production engineer... experimental parts /components were not installed on active production lines due to the risk of production disruptions.

Plant managers were graded on meeting their completed jobs objectives for every accounting period. Since a completed job was accounting revenue for the period, plant managers were a very powerful group, and not even corporate executive could mess with them as long as they were meeting their numbers.

Once components/parts were released in mid production at least one pilot built went down the line usually at the end of a shift.

Duke

[Paul O.]

Re: New Member Getting Started 66 BB

this is a coupe. block casting date appears to be K175... see photos


10396.jpgIMG_20220308_152213487.jpg

[Larry E.]

Re: New Member Getting Started 66 BB

[QUOTE=Duke Williams (22045);914900]I doubt if any of the "experimental" big blocks built by Tonawanda were ever installed at St. Louis... just tested by engineering on dynos or installed in engineering cars for proving ground testing. Take it from a former Pontiac production engineer... experimental parts /components were not installed on active production lines due to the risk of production disruptions.

Duke: I believe you on what you say. But when it comes to racing and time limits there was exceptions. See Below>Pretty much confirms that an "experimental engine" was installed by the Chevrolet Engineering Center for a customer>
1966 Chevrolet Corvette Pilot Line L88

The Pedro Rodriguez/NART 1966 Corvette Development L88

[Duke W.]

Re: New Member Getting Started 66 BB

The Chevrolet Engineering Center was in Warren, Michigan not St. Louis. This car went down the St. Louis line as just another "job" with whatever options the engineers ordered. Then it was shipped to Warren for race prep, which is where an "experimental engine" would have been installed. The write-up even states "purpose-built by the Chevrolet Engineering Center..."

I know many want to believe that "special parts" were installed on the St. Louis line, but it just didn't happen.

Duke

[Larry E.]

Re: New Member Getting Started 66 BB

[QUOTE=Duke Williams (22045);914925]The Chevrolet Engineering Center was in Warren, Michigan not St. Louis. This car went down the St. Louis line as just another "job" with whatever options the engineers ordered. Then it was shipped to Warren for race prep, which is where an "experimental engine" would have been installed. The write-up even states "purpose-built by the Chevrolet Engineering Center..."

Duke; Like I said above I am in agreement with you that this was never done on "production line" like St. Louis. All I wanted to
point out was that Chevrolet(Regardless where they where at like Warren MI for example) did indeed install "experimental engines" for
CUSTOMERS and not just for there OWN USE.>" just tested by engineering on dynos or installed in engineering cars for proving ground testing". Larry

[Philip A.]

Re: New Member Getting Started 66 BB

The Chevrolet Engineering Center was in Warren, Michigan not St. Louis. This car went down the St. Louis line as just another "job" with whatever options the engineers ordered. Then it was shipped to Warren for race prep, which is where an "experimental engine" would have been installed. The write-up even states "purpose-built by the Chevrolet Engineering Center..."

I know many want to believe that "special parts" were installed on the St. Louis line, but it just didn't happen.

Duke

I thought the story about the 1966 Penske car was that the L-88 was installed at the St. Louis assembly line where the car was picked-up.

[Mike T.]

Re: New Member Getting Started 66 BB

Paul - I'm seeing bits and pieces of your 66 BB, how about a couple pics of the car itself?

[Duke W.]

Re: New Member Getting Started 66 BB

I thought the story about the 1966 Penske car was that the L-88 was installed at the St. Louis assembly line where the car was picked-up.

Not all stories are true and there are plenty of myths, legends, and "embellished" stories about Corvettes.

A contemporaneous article in Corvette News that reported on the Penske Corvette winning its GT class at Daytona had the following sentences and I'm somewhat paraphrasing:

The car practiced with the "stock engine". Then a special Traco-built engine was installed for qualifying and the race.

So the car only practiced with the St. Louis-installed engine, which was most likely a L-72, and with the racing exhaust and cold air induction hood, provided by Chevrolet, that were installed in Penske's Pennsvania shop, that engine was down only about ten percent from the L-88 configuration.

Traco was Penske's preferred engine builder, and it's reasonable to conclude that Traco built the engine with prototype L-88 parts.

Duke