[Supercar_Kid]

More valuable, less valuable...these are matters of opinion, as a car is only truly worth whatever you can get someone to give you for it at any given time. To me, if a car is missing it's original engine, then any other engine you put in it is going to be a replacement engine (i.e. the wrong engine) so it doesn't make a ton of difference to me. While a properly coded, date correct engine, like say an engine out of another car identical to the one with the missing engine, built at or around the very same time, is somewhat better. How much better, that's hard to say, but if it were my COPO Camaro missing it's original engine I'd rather have another Camaro MN 427 to replace it with, if not that then a "generic" CE coded replacement. Again, that's just a matter of personal preference as both engines are equally NOMs, I just seem to value an engine a little more if it was installed in an equally rare, performance oriented vehicle when it was new. It has a bit of history of it's own I guess you could say. But as far as a clone car goes, I wouldn't spend big $$$ looking for properly coded and dated parts, so long as visually they appear correct. Here a CE block or one from a passenger car seem equally appropriate to me, since neither should be passed off as the original engine in a clone, and both would be equally as easy to dress up like the MN that it isn't. I wouldn't worry about stampings or codes on a clone, I'd make sure it was a solid lifter 69 era 427 and go from there. Find a 163 intake, of any date code, a correct appearing carb, alternator etc. Would I pay $800-900 for an 837 alternator? No way, but if that means a lot to you on your clone that's your decision to make. I think it's most important that a clone has the same effect on someone as a real supercar would have on the original onwer when it was new. When most people bought a COPO or Yenko back in '69, they didn't know if their block said 512, or MN, or CE or whatever, all they knew was that it was a solid lifter 427 that would RUN! That's the same effect I'd go after in a clone car, using all correct appearing '69 vintage parts where necessary, and the rest as far as codes and what not I wouldn't worry too much. If you could photograph the car and not be able to tell it wasn't taken in '69...then that's a good clone. If you open the hood and see HEI, a 454 balancer, and a bunch of other "modern" goodies then it isn't much of a clone IMO, it's a street machine. But everyone should build what they're after, and to please themselves, not to worry about how valuable it will be now or ten years down the road. Clones are great for creating an automotive experience that otherwise can't happen for some people, without real supercars, or the $$$ to seek one out, myself included, I just think that if you're gonna go to the trouble of building a "clone" of something, it should at least be an exact visual duplicate of the real thing, sans the important numbers that help to determine that it is or isn't the real deal. Again, this is all just my opinion on things, and everyone is entitled to their own. Build what makes you happy, but putting Yenko stripes on an otherwise run of the mill big block Camaro doesn't make it a "clone" or tribute or whatever in my eyes. I've seen this done all too many times, these are the cars you'll see on ebay that were SS396 trimmed last week.