Hi Everyone,

I'm currently collecting parts for two 69's. This is the first time that I'm going to play the numbers game so I need a little help. The first car is a 69 L-78. It was assembled the second week of March (03B). What would be a correct production date for assorted engine parts such as the cylinder heads, carb,water pump, distributor and etc.? I assumed that a month prior would be sufficient, but I really don't want to make a poor guess. I tried a post search, but couldn't find anything.

The second car is a 69 LM-1 that was assembled the first week of November 1968 (11A). Both cars are viewable within my signature. I appreciate any help I can get.

Thanks, Paul

Paul, long time no talk to. How's it going? A couple of Camaro friends are starting an informal club. Central Jersey Camaro Club. Is Nutley too far up to be included? :D

Anyhow, Dating parts is not an exact science. NCRS accept 6 months prior. My Oct car is days between engine castings, but it's a common engine. Big block dates were more streched out. You should read the writeup on Camaro assembly bu JohnZ. It's very enlightening.
http://www.camaros.org/assemblyprocess.shtml

Post back the dates you have and we can say if they a good or not.

Later

Paul I moved your question to the Tag section here where more of the number 'gurus' hang out and might give a quicker reply.
Id be curious as to the block casting number on your LM1, Im even thinking of starting an LM1 club just for giggles. Seems alot of the LM1's were the 3932388 block but Im sure there are some ...386 block ones as well.
Can you post the casting numbers here for us?
thanks and I like your photo hosting system, works great. graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Paul,
The oldest stamped part on my 02C car is the 1111480 distributor. It is stamped 8 K 30. I would say try and keep it 2 to 12 weeks prior to the build date. Most of the other parts on my car are dated January 69. The block casting is later, B 5 9. Heads are A 30 9 and A 31 9. It is a Van Nuys car so that might be another variable. I love the numbers/date thing. I recently found a 3932458 deep grove smog pump pulley I needed. Took me about two years but I enjoyed looking for it. graemlins/thumbsup.gif
Enjoy,
Doug

Hey Kevin,Jim and Doug,

Everythings been going pretty good. I am very interested in the Central Jersey Camaro club, so keep me posted. As far as the two cars, the green RS is sitting untouched in the garage. It remains very much original except for the following engine components: cylinder heads, alternator, intake, distributor, carb, coil and exhaust manifolds. The car runs, but I want to return it to it's original state. I've already purchased a couple of parts such as a distributor and alternator. Both of which are dated 8 K 1 (October 1968).
This date might be pulling it a little too close, but after reading Dougs post, I might still be on the right track. Please tell me if you agree. As for the block Jim, it's an 88. I forgot to check the casting date of the block earlier today so I'll get the info tomorrow morning. I was lucky enough to get the POP, dealer option sheet, original owners envelope stocked with literature and original pics which has made this process so much easier. Please let me know what happens with the LM-1 club. It would be nice to start a registry as well.
As far as the orange L-78, I've separated the front subframe from the body and have been taking tons of pistures to document the process and the original parts. I really haven't started collecting that many parts for it only because I feel as though I should have it looked at by someone that can verify that it's an original L-78 for future reference before I take it completely apart. I have absolutely no doubt that it's either an L-78 or even possibly an L-89. My only problem is that I don't have the original engine and the original owner I was told passed away shortly before I could get in touch with him. What should I do? Who should I call? Is there someone local that can help authenticate it for me before I take the plunge and pull it completely apart? This is the only thing that has held me up on the resto of this car.
I have so many questions to post regarding the two of these cars and the parts that I don't know where to start.

Here's one or two more questions:

Would a 1111955 distributor which I have be correct for the LM-1. It's dated 8 K 1 ?

Was a heavy duty alternator required when a car was ordered with a heavy duty battery in 1969?

I apologize for the jumping from one topic to another, but I seem to be suffering from question and thought overload.

My Sincerest Thanks to ALL,

Paul

Paul,
I would say an 8 K 1 date on your distributor would be perfect for an 11A build.
You probably know "I" wasn't used as a month code making "K" October and "L" November, etc. I had forgitten that in my first post and was incorrectly thinking my distributor was a November 30th build when in fact it is a October 30th build. graemlins/clonk.gif
As far as I know the only other part on my O2C car that is not 1 1/2 to 6 weeks prior is the alternator. I has an 8 L 23 stamping.
The closest stamped part to the build date on my car is the block. It's stamped V0211DZ.
So, to semi-revise my first post, looking at my Van Nuys car, IMHO, 1 1/2 to 15 weeks prior to buid date. graemlins/thumbsup.gif
Hope that helps a little,
Doug

Paul, here are my 327 engine component dates for you to compare:

Car - 10B
intake (I218)- Sept 21 68
block cast (I248) - Sept 24 68
Dist (8J26) - Sept 26 68
Head (I278) - Sept 27 68
Head (I288) - Sept 28 68
Block build (V0930FK) Sept 30 68

Jack (8H) Aug 68 smile.gif

As you can see the casting to build date of engine are very close! Then the engine sat (shipping and inventory) for about 2-3 weeks before being put in car.

When dealing with low production engines like the L78 or L89 you need to know that these engines were built in groups and stored for use. They are not your typical production engines which would be used almost as fast as they could be made. There are typically huge gaps between engine assembly dates and car build dates. The typical "up to 6 weeks before the car build" do not apply to low production engines. You just have to figure out when the last batches was made before your car was built.

I looked at an unaltered L78 block with an Oct 68 casting date and a May 69 engine build date. Don't remember the partial VIN to approximate car build date.

Originally posted by paul1969:
Was a heavy duty alternator required when a car was ordered with a heavy duty battery in 1969?
Paul No, it wasn't - the T60 HD Battery was a stand-alone option. graemlins/thumbsup.gif

But the L78 wasn't really a low volume engine for Tonawanda. They were cranking these out and major parts are pretty close date wise.
For example - early April L78 block was cast 10 earlier and heads and intake were 5 days or less.
Some parts that were installed at the assembly plant could have been sitting. Carb, starter, etc, but most were pretty close. So, the closer the better, but who's going to check........

Was that early April L78 in a mid April car? I have no doubt that when low production engines were built, they would have been cast and assembled in a relatively short period of time, but may not have put into a car for a while. Raw parts didn't sit around the foundaries waiting to be asked for.

Maybe an L78 doesn't qualify as low production, like an L72, or ZL1 but there aren't a lot of them out there like L48's or LF7's.

Paul-what is the VIN on your 03B car? My Z/28 is 03B,just curious as to how close the two cars may be.Mine is 614635. I'm assuming yours is a Norwood car.

Hi Guys,
I also have what I believe to be a 69 LM1. It is a 09D car (4th week Sep). It has the fuel return, 12 bolt, multi leaf, M20 4 speed and of course the Lm1 350. If you guys want to start a registry on this option, I was planning a web site about the LM1, (registerd, but not up yet)www.LM1Option.com (I own a hosting/networking company here in New Orleans) and can mirror the data there. Let me know what you think.

P.S. Here is a pic of the trim tag on my car
http://www.kidsintofun.com/69/firewalltag-w.jpg

Rich

Wow,

Thanks for the numbers everyone. This post is really giving me the the help I needed regarding the dating process.
Kevin:WOW, I didn't know that both of your cars were convertibles. Thanks for the numbers. It's amazing to see the production dates so close together throughout the components from your engine.
Doug: I did eventually find out that the "I" was left out in the calender, but not before reading through the Camaro restoration book about five times. I thank you too for posting the numbers from your Z (wish I had one).
JohnZ: Thanks for the info on the battery option. I was wondering about this option because my LM-1 was delivered with the HD battery and wasn't sure if I had to look for a higher amperage alternator.
Mark, Unreal and Kurt: I really appreciate your help with these questions regarding the L-78 engine parts dating. I'm going to use the info you've posted to get this project moving. I have had my eyes on so many engine parts that I let slip by because I just wasn't sure whether they were correct or not. The dating has been one of the biggest pains for me and I sincerely thank you all again.
I must admit that it really is great to have so many kind and knowledgeable people on one website to help people like myself.
Peter: the last digits of my vin for the L-78 are 616687 and yes, it is a Norwood car.
Rich, the LM-1 website sounds great!!

Originally posted by Kurt S:

Some parts that were installed at the assembly plant could have been sitting. Carb, starter, etc, but most were pretty close. So, the closer the better, but who's going to check........ Would my DZ motor have been shipped from Flint to Van Nuys with the alternator and distributor already installed?

Thanks
Doug