Gearheadwilly

First off, hello to all and thanks for allowing me in. I'm a master mechanic from Indiana that just purchased half of an 87 Monte Carlo SS at a storage auction. First auction ever. Haha. Turns out to be a time capsule that's been stored away for decades and was someone's hot rod back in the day. Tons of go fast goodies and old school racer touches that was mid-frame off restoration when the fella just walked away or possibly passed away unfortunately. I didn't get a body (basically everything else) but for the last week I've been researching every sweet 80' & 90's part and I've learned a lot about the him that way and he was a true car guy. The chassis is stripped but freshly sandblasted and coated so is the 7.5 lsd rear end. The body probably went to the body shop and is lost to the ages. Sorry, had to get all that out there to help explain why I'm trying to figure out the engine I got with this deal and the very limited info I'm working with here. Engine is super clean inside and out, looks like it had just been built. The numbers come back as an 83 crossfire 305 for a Z/28 or a T/A or the other possibility is an 83 tbi. I think it was born on July 8th, and at the Doraville plant. What I can't decode is the partial Vin number, I've tried all the charts I can find, it should tell me what it came it right? It's been 15+ years since I've decoded a sbc so I could be doing it completely wrong. I don't think the 416 heads help identify it because they could have been off the original Monte engine. I'm certain this guy didn't just toss in a random junkyard 305 tbi after spending a week learning about him so I need to know everything I have



here before I decide what direction I'm going. Thanks in advance for any help.

8t2 z-chev

Does look like it is a 1983 engine with original 416 heads: (E 19 3 cast date seen)-1987 heads would be the center bolt style. If a knock sensor is found screwed into the RH block drain,that is a sign engine was CFI or L69-those two had 9.5:1 CR

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

201 is a typical early 80s 305 block. Used in CeaseFire, LG4 (lame carb setup) and L69 (aka HO starting in around April 83 production).

CeaseFire IS a TBI system. If you were around back in those days, it was IDENTICAL IN EVERY WAY, to the TBI on a 2.5, in say, a Citation, Celebrity, etc. Only difference was, instead of a 2.5, it was on a 5.0; so they put 2 of those POSs on it. Exactly twice as much, of the same thing, as what they put on a 2.5, except, now you had to deal with synchronizing 2 of em. Nightmare.

I recall in maybe 81 or 82 or so, renting some rent-a-hooptie with a 2.5, which we had to make a several hundred mile trip in. (typical business travel). So me and my ... companion ... (d00d was about 6'4", could drink a whole 24-pack and still stand up straight, butt I was yerbasic 140 lb weeeeenie, still am really, and to this day will fall down after about 3 cans) ... and we ridiculed that TBI thing just kinda pissing gas down into the intake. We thought it was kinda ... hilarious ... and not in a "good" way. Butt hay, it got us all around where we needed to go, so, there was that.

IMAGINE my surprise, when a few months later, I saw a 82 Pace Car Camaro driving down the road on my way home from work. I DAMN NEAR FILLED THE CUP on the spot. I IMMEDIATLELY came to the conclusion I HAD TO HAVE one of these cars NOW.

Then, IMAGINE my disappointment, when I went to the local Chevy dealer, and drove one of em. GORGEOUS car. I had to hide my filling the cup from the salesman. Pretty sure it left a wet mark halfway down my left leg though. Unfortunately, the CFI motor was EXACTLY like the Citation (or whatever it was) I had rented some time beforehand: the 5.0 CFI was yebasic tractor motor; cranked RIGHT UP every time, had ... OK power, idled smooth, behaved impeccably, ... just ... had ... no ... EXCITEMENT whatsoever. Like, imagine driving a 200 HP tractor; it'll plow up a strip of dirt, butt NO WAY it'll win a race against ANYTHING, except maybe another tractor, plowing up a furrow. What a total LETDOWN.I got in this GORGEOUS silver car with blue stripes and all that, and it's ... a EFFFFFFFFING TRACTOR motor. EXACTLY like that 2.5 econobox except it's twice as much. No EXCITEMENT, no thrill, no put you back in your seat, no NOTHING at all, except ... yeah it worked, yeah it was sorta OK, or at least somewhat OK most of the time. I was CRUSHED. I went home and washed my jeans and thought about it was like the time I saw ... never mind. I left the stealership and didn't come back until the L69 was introduced some years later.

So yeah; 201 was the typical 305 block at the time. 416 was likewise the typical 305 head. Was on the CFI motors, LG4, and later L69, and even the earliest TPI motors. Nothing "'special" about what you've shown us so far.

In maybe 88 or so my late little bro was working at a Chevy stealership and bought a 87 MC SS. Didn't have that block or those heads. It had the right parts for 87. Which those are NOT. In any possible case, a 87 MC SS would NOT have come with that engine. In 87 it would have had a 1-pc rear main seal block (different casting #) and 081 heads. So, you've got some kinda garbage (or maybe not) from some earlier car that's been swapped into it.

Not sure about "direction" and "going" and all such as that. All I can tell you is, you have a 85-back 305 there so it is NOT the original motor from the car, and no telling much about it beyond that, besides that it has the 305 problem. Best to take care of that (the 305 problem) ASAP. "Decode" won't help that.

Gearheadwilly

Thanks for the replies guys! The block has pitcock drains in both lower block locations. So no knock sensors here.
And I absolutely remember the old crossfire junk. Haha. I already knew it wasn't correct for the 87 chassis for sure but the listing on nasty z28 showed a DUA suffix for crossfire listed as a mind blowing 165hp I think haha but also a DUA suffix for the same year in a Parisien sedan, but listed zero info on that single tbi model with the same 305. Also I would think this fella would had to have swapped out that tbi cam for tunablity sake, plus the inspection camera revealed pretty clean flat top Pistons and lots of cross hatch so maybe she's got some life left in her as a 200hp cruiser engine in one of my S-10's. He had deleted everything except p/s and a sweet polished alternator, performer rpm intake and a Holley 600 double pump. Hei dizzy had the Ignition control module removed and the hall effect sensor wires lengthened to reach out of the cap with a plug to an aftermarket Ignition box and a brand new set of hooker competition ceramic coated headers that don't even have soot inside them yet. But they sat long enough to rust on the outside. Definitely not "special" by any stretch, I grew up stepping on these engines in junkyards to climb up in search of "special" stuff just like you. Haha. But when you buy half a car, any info is good to have. He obviously had just put money into it and it was stored in good conditions so I'm game to see how it runs for sure. I can sell the chassis or the front/rear urathane bumpers alone to pay for the entire auction price so really it's all for free anyway.

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

AFAIK there was no single-TBI V8 until around 87. They came in trucks first.

That engine has part of a VIN stamped on the block. DL1... indicates a 83 Camaro built in Van Nuys. The would indicate a LU5 (Crossfire), LG4, or L69. The DUA might tell you which, butt I don't know those codes right offhand. Unless you have the whole induction system though, it doesn't matter too much; obviously if you did, you could tell if it was the CFI.

The head casting date is May 19 of a year ending in 3; not likely that the heads would have come on a CFI since they stopped producing those by the end of 83 production, mid-July or so, and it would be very unlikely that a head cast in late May would make it into a completed motor installed into a car within less than 2 months. No guarantee of course that the one head and the block were part of the same motor originally.

87 MCSS would have had heads cast in 86 or 87. So that head wouldn't have come with the car. Might have just become randomly associated with the block as part of whatever "rebuild" it might have got.

Gearheadwilly

This was just the first suffix stuff I found (thanks to nasty z28.com) before coming here for more info. Not saying it's correct or any better then anything else, just info. Shows a second 1983 DUA suffix with tbi in the Parisien. It's just fun to know where stuff comes from after all these years and so many greasy mitts just like mine have swapped around on this stuff. Thanks for all the info and knowledge guys, seriously I nerd out on the detail stuff and you have it in spades.