OK so, I bought a 350 SBC that originally came out of a 72 pickup to replace the blown 305 in my 85 Camaro.

I went to autozone today to buy a 350 knock sensor for an 85 5.7L corvette since the PROM I got for my ECM was out of an 85 L98 vette. The clerk at the register kept telling me that I would NOT be able to use the knock sensor because he used to work for GM and he says in 72 there was no place to install it except for where either the oil pressure sensor or temp sensor went. I kept telling him I could have sworn I read somewhere on TGO that on 70 and up chevy engines, there was some of "port" on the passengers side of the block that really had no purpose and remained plugged up until the days of knock sensors.

Did I read correct, or am I screwed?

 

Small wonder he's working a parts store register instead of for GM - he's an idiot.

The "port" for mounting the knock sensor has been in every small block Chevy since 1955. It's the water jacket drain hole on the passenger side of the block.

 

Ahhhh. Thanks for clearing that up. It's a good thing I bucked his opinion and bought the knock sensor anyways.

I wanted to buy some Iridium spark plugs as well but he kept telling me he didn't have any the right "size" that would fit and kept trying to sell me plats.

I just came home and ordered 8 Denso IT16 plugs. I hope I did right...

 

Copper plugs are all you need.

 

How so O.o

I thought the way of the beast was plat or iridium

 

Not worth it on a SBC - the copper ones actually work more efficiently than platinum/iridium ones, the reason they use plat/iridium ones now is just because they last quite a bit longer before they are worn out. They are really only useful in cars you don't want to have to do plugs in very often, like an LT1 4thgen for example. They also tend to foul up in really "cool" running engines like the old SBC - their combustion temps are typically lower than most newer vehicles, which can lead to carbon problems with those plugs, as they need the heat to stay clean.