There is an excellent chance the engine is original. The C03 represents October 3, 1969. The engine build date is September 24, 1969 so the time frame is about right. A little tight as it usually is no earlier than 2 weeks difference, but you should be OK on this as it was early in the build year. To be sure, look for the casting date on the block. It should be prior to September 24th. The casting date will be on the passenger side of the engine, usually upside down. Or later 69's had it on the passenger side above the bell housing. G= July, H = August, I = September, J = October.

The 972 is the paint code and it stands for Cam-Am White. The 704 is actually ZQ4 and it stands for standard interior which was black vinyl.

Mark

|UPDATED|7/2/2004 8:46:54 PM (AZT)|/UPDATED|

Corvette427,


I can't seem to locate any of those letters, the only one i saw was a P that was on the driver side next to the casting #s (3955270, it is a 270 instead of a 210).



Tom

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69' 427/435 4-speed. #matching LR (Tri-power). |IMG|http://home.tampabay.rr.com/tommyab/images/personal/lrear.jpg|/IMG|

UPDATE: Ok i am taking the heads off today. The markings on the heads are as follows:

3964291
A19 70
GM1T

It seems to have a head gasket problem but i'll know more later on this afternoon.


Tom

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69' 427/435 4-speed. #matching LR (Tri-power). |IMG|http://home.tampabay.rr.com/tommyab/images/personal/lrear.jpg|/IMG|

http://web.tampabay.rr.com/tommyab/images/personal


Tom, this should give you a clickable link.

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Update....


It had a blown head gasket and one of the heads is cracked. My friend said they should be able to fix it so tomorrow they go to the machine shop. I filled the cylinders up with oil to see if they will leak down(my friend said this is an easy way to see if the rings have a problem), i should know in the morning. I also learned that is has roller rocker arms but NOT roller lifters and i suspect the cam isn't a roller either :( so sometime tomorrow or this week i will pop into A&E and see what i should do about that, while i'm there i may look into a different intake manifold as the one thats on it is too high for my hood :(


More tomorrow......


Tom


PS. Also of note my friend has seen a shizit load of remarked blocks, when he inspected mine he was almost 100% postitive that mine was NOT a remark :)

|UPDATED|7/5/2004 3:00:23 PM (AZT)|/UPDATED|


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69' 427/435 4-speed. #matching LR (Tri-power). |IMG|http://home.tampabay.rr.com/tommyab/images/personal/lrear.jpg|/IMG|

hey tom, you can have roller rockers, without a roller cam, but if you have a roller cam you must use roller lifters. As for the numbers on the heads.3964291 are 69-70 rectangular port heads A1970 IS JANUARY 19 1970.GMIT, I can only guess the GM means general motors the IT I don't know.

Thx Jack :)



Update: The cylinders didn't leak down so it looks like i have good rings! The machine shop said the worst case i'm looking at is $400.00 to do both of the heads (thats with new hardened seats). I got estimates from A&E on the parts i'm going to need to put it back together (about $250.00) so all told i don't think thats too expensive considering the heads will be done right.


More later....


Tom

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69' 427/435 4-speed. #matching LR (Tri-power). |IMG|http://home.tampabay.rr.com/tommyab/images/personal/lrear.jpg|/IMG|

Congrats on the good fortune...hope it's not premature. No question you'll enjoy that beast. If it's anything like my '69 427/435, it's barely civilized (mine has an L88 cam instead of the stock grind). People always look at a Corvette simply because it's a Vette, but I've noticed when driving this beast their eyes always tend to stare at the 4-2-7 on the hood.

The way people look at you driving that car kinda makes a guy feel like a well equipped porn star!

Update for everyone....


I got the heads back, the "plugs" that were in it looked HIDIOUS so i removed them only to find that they are a PAIN IN THE BUTT to replace with even "semi-factory" ones, i believe that goodyear will have brass plugs that will work and look good. I found a matching intake on e-bay $604, carbs $1097 (these are new in the box), and an air cleaner $450. Ecklers had the decal and filter element for the air cleaner so it all starts going back together soon. More to come later :D


Tom


PS. If anyone has a NICE close up pic of the air cleaner on a 69 427 tri-power i would be forever endebted to them to them if you could get a clear pic of the linkage and air cleaner cover, this will help a bunch when i go to put this gimmick together :D

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69' 427/435 4-speed. #matching LR (Tri-power). |IMG|http://home.tampabay.rr.com/tommyab/images/personal/lrear.jpg|/IMG|

go to www.cranescorvette,com go to tri power page 3 check out the whole site, it's pretty cool

Thx jacks, very informative :D



Tom

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69' 427/435 4-speed. #matching LR (Tri-power). |IMG|http://home.tampabay.rr.com/tommyab/images/personal/lrear.jpg|/IMG|