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9 years ago in CHEVROLET
I have purchased and mounted a early 70's (I was told) GM 350 V8. The motor has a 4 barrel Holly Carb, A/C , Alloy Fined Valve covers and a HEI Ignition. I would like to know how I can identify the year and model of the motor. On the Boss directly in front of the Right Cylinder head (The "Right perspective" is from the Drivers seat faceing forward. The Numbers and Letters stamped on the boss are hard to read But they look like these... Top: VO228ZAJ Line Two: 19SA26732 Thank you in advance for any help you can offer! BSABluestar
Answers (2)
9 years ago
I was checking to see if anyone else has had a chance to weigh in and noticed a typo. When I was deciphering the code I wrote F=Born in Flint, Michigan. I should have typed V=Born in Flint< Michigan. So the info was correct to your engine but the letter designation was wrong. I hope that didn't cause any confusion.
9 years ago
Check out: http://www.nastyz28.com/chevy-engine-code-stampings.php this should give you everything, but I didn't see the engine code suffix ZAJ listed there. Maybe I just missed it. However, I did find it at: http://www.chevy-camaro.com/chevy-camaro-chevy-engine-suffix-codes.asp?group=12 as well as: http://www.chevylegends.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-619.html I took a quick look at the engine code because it's very similar to the 307 I have in a 72 C10 pickup. F=Born in Flint, Michigan 0228=Born on February 28th ZAJ should tell you the vehicle it was originally a part of. General Motors reused the suffix's so you have to determine what year it was made. For example, my engine code is V0308TDL, so Flint, March 8th, but TDL in 1972 was a 307 installed in a C10 Pickup. In 1980 it was a 350 installed in a van. 19SA26732 could very well be a partial VIN code. If so, 1=Chevrolet, 9=1979, S=St. Louis assembly plant. St. Louis did assemble Corvettes according to nastyZ28.com. And when I looked at ZAJ 1979 on chevylegends.com as well as chevy-camaro.com I got this: ZAJ 1979 350ci 195hp 4bbl carb L48 engine, automatic trans, Calif I don't know what the Calif means unless it's “Conforms to California Emissions Standards”. I think in 1979 the L48 was original to both the Camaro line up as well as Corvette. Either way it appears to me you have a pretty good start for your hot rod. I hope this helps. Please get this confirmed by one of the veterans on this site, I'm still a bit of a rookie and have a lot to learn. There are also a couple of other places on the engine to look that will tell you when it was made. If I saved a picture of where to look I’ll include it. Good luck!
Sources: http://www.nastyz28.com/chevy-engine-code-stampings.php http://www.chevy-camaro.com/chevy-camaro-chevy-engine-suffix-codes.asp?group=12 http://www.chevylegends.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-619.