Just purchased this 350 block for a rebuild.
I was told it came from a 1969 Camaro.
I checked out the casting number and the suffix part of the stamped engine number and they seem to confrim that it was from a 1969 vehicle.
Casting 3932388
Suffix T0927HQ
But the serial number part of the stamped number does not make sense for a Camaro.
I read it as 791102916.
This does not appear correct for a 69 Camaro engine number.
Probably an LM1 from a 1969 Canadian Built Chevelle from what I can tell.
HQ is 350/255hp used with manual 3 speed or 4 speed transmission. Used in Camaro/Nova/Chevelle.
In this case the vehicle assembly plant digit appears to be a 1 - which is Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. There weren't any Novas or Camaros built there, so it is from a Chevelle.
7 - ? maybe a mistake and should have been a 1
9 - 1969
1 - Oshawa vehicle assembly plant
102916 - last 6 digits of VIN it was installed in
Probably an LM1 from a 1969 Canadian Built Chevelle from what I can tell.
HQ is 350/255hp used with manual 3 speed or 4 speed transmission. Used in Camaro/Nova/Chevelle.
In this case the vehicle assembly plant digit appears to be a 1 - which is Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. There weren't any Novas or Camaros built there, so it is from a Chevelle.
7 - ? maybe a mistake and should have been a 1 ?
9 - 1969
1 - Oshawa vehicle assembly plant
102916 - last 6 digits of VIN it was installed in
I believe it's from a 1969 full size car assembled at the St Therese, Canada plant.
1 - Chevrolet (looks like a 7, but skewed. Really a 1)
9 - 1969
1 - St Therese, Canada (Oshawa was 0 until 1970, then they changed to 1)
102916 - Sequential serial number
However, the HQ "supposedly" wasn't used on the full size cars in 1969, but there were other codes also "supposedly" not used that have been verified.
Hum I thought early 69 model year 350's cast in late 1968 were only stamped vin wise on the pad, and the so called late model year castings done in calendar 1969 were stamped all at the oil filter. What is the cast date of this block?
It is interesting to know what this came out of.
Just to be clear, I purchased it because the suffix code and casting indicates that this is a 69 block. Which I think we all seem to agree it is. (Bummer that it's not a Camaro). Also because it is a 4-bolt.
I'm intending to use it as the block for my 383 build and chose this particular block because of the year and because it seems to be in excellent shape.
Although it will be going into a '68, the vintage is close enough for what I want to accomplish.
Thanks for the help and ongoing posts.
Vic
It just dawned on me, my brother-in-law owns a 1969 Beaumont that has a 350. I will have to go over and bug him about the new block..;-)
AND....my brain just had a relapse...!!
In the spring of 1969 (I was 11 years old) and I recall driving down to the GM dealership with my Dad to pick up our brand new '69 Pontiac Laurentian (i.e. Catalina). I distinctly remember my Dad saying it had a 350 in it.
Funny story... it was the second car we ever owned...the first one was a Ford Fairlane which only had a very small six in it. My Dad hated it....although there is absolutely nothing wrong with Fords...this particular one was a lemon ..and it was terribly underpowered. It left him stranded on teh side of the road many a time.
I recall him constantly cursing the "gut-less" POS . I'm paraphrasing as he used much harsher words...and there were many other adjectives and nouns that I didn't understand at that tender age...
Anyway, after that car he switched to GM and never looked back. He made it a point to buy the new car with the largest engine he could afford...and it was a Pontiac with a 350!
On our first trip coming back home from the dealership we had to take the highway. And being used to the Ford my Dad floored the car to merge with the traffic and the car shot out like a bullet! He almost lost control of the Pontiac and later he admitted to us that he nearly soiled the seat!. (Not in those particular words, of course).
I also recall he said it had a two speed transmission....now I realize it was a Powerglide.
My Dad is long gone but it is nice to pull out all these long suppressed memories!! Thank you!
I even have a picture of me in the driver seat of that car…
Vic, see what the stamps are on the front pad of your brothers engine. That will be interesting to know.
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