Have 85 Z28 found a block but not sure it will work with my application. By, the way this is with a TPI system. From the 305 that was in it. Block casting number is 39700-14. Can anyone tell me if this is a good block. Think about installing a mild Comp 270 cam. Will this work out? What type of heads should I look for numbers? What type of valves should be in their?

 

i looked up the block number and this is wut i found
1970-73 3970014 350 Lowpower:200hp Highpower:300hp Mains:2/4 Vehicle:LA built Camaro

 

That is a real common 350 block all through the 70s. 3970014 is actually the number. Like the other post hinted at, it was used in a variety of applications, from 882-headed smog garbage to truck motors to hi-perf Z28 ones. But, there's no magic in a block, either it is one or it isn't, so it's nothing special one way or another.

It is however a 350, not a 305, so that's good as far as it goes.

That's a block casting number, which has no valves. So there is no way to tell what valves are in whatever heads are on it.

IMHO that cam is not the best choice for a TPI motor. A better choice would be Comp's XE262H-12 (that one has 112° lobe separation, not the 110° that the usual XE262H for carb applications would have.)

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"So many Mustangs, so little time..."
ICON Motorsports

 

i just looked in my chevrolet by the numbers book, this is what it says about the block

This block was cast and used to build engines at the Tonawanda Engine Plant.Two 1970-71 Tonawanda engines have been found that were used in Los Angeles-built Camaros.There is also published documentation which points to the possibility that some late 1972 and 1973 Corvettes came with this block, but this is also unverified.It is unknown why Tonawanda records indicate that there were no complete engines built with this casting number at the Tonawanda Engine Plant.However, therre was a Tonawanda metal casting plant where these blocks were cast in 1972.There is no Chevrolet documentation from the Flint Michigan Engine Plant to show that this block was ever built there. There were five seperate engine plants producing blocks during the 1972 model year.It is possible that one of the four remaining plants produced the block.

In other words use the block lol

 

I had one of those blocks in a 78 Z28 I had for a little while, although a 79 Z28 I had once, as well as a friend's 76 El Camino and a Blazer I built a motor for had 3970010s... my wife's dad's 74 Impala had the 014 IIRC... a couple of trucks I built motors for had them... I can't say what you might find in books though, I mostly get what little info I have from vehicles...

Like the other guy said, use it and enjoy it, it's a perfectly normal 350 block. It's not very often that we hear from people on this board that they bought a car and somebody told them it had a 305, and it turns out to be a 350!! It's usually the other way around.

What head casting numbers are on this block?

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"So many Mustangs, so little time..."
ICON Motorsports

 

yeah wut he said, wut are the numbers from the heads, if u dont know where they are u take off a valve cover and the numbers are there, they might be hard to read but take a pick and make sure u have the right number, cause sometimes a 3 can look like an 8 lol, there sould be 6-7 numbers depending on how old the heads are

 

I don't have heads on the block, thats why I asked what type would be recommended. I would like something that will give me good lift with the cam? I have know idea what was on the block originaly. Thanks for the help guys. Also I'd like to get the most HP out of the eng. If 300HP is the max limits of the eng. I'd like to get somewhere around there.

[This message has been edited by FatOne (edited December 08, 2001).]

 

well there is no max, the 300hp rating i gave u is what the block came with factory, but u could easily make 400hp, how much money do u have to spend on the motor cause i would get some world heads for it, 2.02 on the intake side, or 1.94 for intake, the bigger the number the more air u get in, meaning more hp!! 2.02 is the biggest u can get for stock, although they do make race heads that are like 2.15 or somethin, but a good cam with about .467-.580 lift will be good, i would go with a lower number like around .500 so u can still have a fair idle, but my car, a .467 will have some lope and everyone likes that, get some nice keith black pistons, like the hypueritic 10:1 compression ratio, try to chose an intake thats in your rpm range, also a windage tray can add horsepower and controls your oil better at high rpms, get electonic egnition system, some roller rockers and roller lifters will get u some good hp gains, chevys roller lifters can add up to 53hp, and roller rockers can add anywhere from 15-40hp, a good cam can add up to 50hp, u will need a big carb to feed this engine its fuel, like a 750 or 850, with good size jets, if u want more info i can tell ya

 

I really didn't want to run a carb. I'd like to my present fuel injection. I already have a new 350 PROM, ECM, and harness. So I'd like to go that way. I was just thinking would I have to machine the base of the TPI to match up to the 350 heads? I don't really want to much HP. Like to get some good milage out of it to. Like I said before, some where around 300Hp sounds pretty good to me. So I wont have to rebuild tranny right away. Plus my drive gears. You know something kinda for the streets. So what kinda heads then? What about Holley and so forth. What about junk seat and do a reabuild and port? What type of casting number for the heads am I looking for? Thanks for all the info so far.