First post from a long time lurker. I've got a '80 car that I'm about to pick up, but I know zero history about it. The car had a 305 per the VIN code (H), but given the work that was done on it I doubt it's still the 305. Someone put a Holley carb, headers, Hurst shifter, trac bars, etc on it many moons ago.

The stamped engine code is K1207 Z 5H. I can decode the first part, but the "Z5H" does not match any suffix codes I can find. Any ideas? Just for the heck of it, here are some engine photos. If you see anything else of interest from these photos, let me know.

The car is 500 miles away behind a family member's home, so I'm going on what photos I took and the above number I wrote down while there.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y188/patlucado/100_0162.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y188/patlucado/100_0171.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y188/patlucado/100_0174.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y188/patlucado/100_0184.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y188/patlucado/100_0188.jpg


Thanks!
Pat

You picture shows a Quadrajet carb (stock GM) not a Holly.

I can't find that suffix. I suppose you are 100% positive that's what it is? Why didn't you take a pic of that?

Looks like it could be the original engine to me.

Thanks for the help guys. Much appreciated. It certainly could be the original engine. Maybe it is a replacement or warranty engine since the code doesn't remotely match the 1980 suffix codes (Cxx, etc) and the partial VIN was not stamped there. Sucks not having the car nearby to dig further. I've had to rely on my cousin to check things out for me.

Yeah, I wish I had taken a photo of the engine number pad, or found some casting numbers. Unfortunately I didn't know what I was looking for at the time.

I've got to do some title work with the state of VA now, as I don't have a title. Hopefully that will go smoothly, but who knows. My cousin got this car out of a field as the field owner was tired of looking at it. He dragged it home mainly to scrap it when steel prices were high last year.(!)

Pat

Z5* is a 2.5L 4 banger - invalid.
Z-number-letter is an iron duke motor. LQ9 or LR8

Z*H tends to be a L98 350 from a mid 80's vette. For example, ZJH is a 86 L98.
ZAH is a 1979 L48 350 from a vette.

Z ANYTHING (assuming 3 characters long) and being a V8 tends to be from a vette.

Since we suspect this is from a vette it'll also have the original vehicles partial vin - yours will read something like 19S4xxxxx assuming it's from a 79 vette. These will be tiny numbers right above the engine code.

I don't know what other letter could be confused as a Z but I find these

D5H - 1983 Impala and Pontiac used engine. RPO LG4 350
U5H - 1986 truck LT9 350

Assuming the Z is correct but the 5 is not

ZAH - 1979 Corvette L48 350
ZJH - 1985 Corvette L98 350-270hp
ZTH - 1991 Corvette LT5

Somewhere around the mid 1980's (1985ish) Chevy started to paint the engines black, so you could rule out engines before that.

Triva - Anyone know why they painted them black??

Triva - Anyone know why they painted them black??

I've heard that black dissipates heat better, but I've always wondered if it was simply because they ran out of the Chevy orange paint.;)

Evidently they were having trouble finding oil leaks. By painting the engine black and adding floresant die to the oil and using a black lite the leaks became easier to trace. Thus the black engine color which is still used to day by almost all the car companies. And I think it just hides oil leaks better, ever notice a Chevy orange or corp blue engine with leaks, just looks terrible and black does not show it.

Thanks for all the help! I appreciate the digging. If I ever figure this out, I'll post the info on here.

might be an engine out of a n 82-85 camaro or firebird based on the hybrid alternater belt setup which has a v belt on a 6 rib belt pulley. and the electric cooling fan from a third gen and the early thirdgen firebird wheels i bet someone had bolth cars and built that one with bolth cars parts.

On the bellhousing mount area behind the heads there are the block casting number and date codes. The date code will be letters and numbers, line A0679 - January 6, 79 (or 89..etc), the block casting number is like 8 digits. If you can get those it will be easier to ID the block/engine.
Don

Why is the motor painted black ? Could be a replacement - Crate motors are black from the factory.

Anyone know a web site to decode 5 speed bowtie manual trans

Ha yeah that pulley setup is from a TPI 85-87 engine but that would have had center bolt heads. No matter what that should be a multi rib belt on that pulley and not a v belt, I doubt it will even run the way it is set up, without ruining the belt.

Y'alls good eyes are very much appreciated. So...if I put all of this together this might be a replacement engine from an early Firebird. The plot thickens...

Why is the motor painted black ? Could be a replacement - Crate motors are black from the factory.

Somewhere around the mid 1980's (1985ish) Chevy started to paint ALL the engines black, that was the new corporate engine color for all makes.

BTW-The production codes for crate motors are known, every parts catalog explains that. All the crate motors were made in Flint or Mexico. None made at McKinnon (K), they built strictly production engines for US and Canadian Plants.