#270 blocks in COPOs?

[Chevy454]

More info:

I tore the block down a couple of days ago, and found that it's standard bore, all standard bearings, correct pistons/rods, steel shim GM head gaskets, stock deck height, and it all looked to have been together for a while. A late '68 270 block with the correct stampings, dated in mid-late February, all on a March car.

An interesting find, though, was what was on the top end. One of the heads was an 840, while the other was a 391. Now, this seems really odd, but maybe some background info is in order. We have always heard that our Camaro came with aluminum heads. We've had a couple of different people at different shows in the area say they remembered a yellow Yenko Camaro just like ours, except it had white stripes and aluminum heads. The stripes ARE supposed to be white, and the original owner said it had "special heads" on it, and a friend of his confirmed they were aluminum. He also told us soon after getting the car he "stretched a valve". You see, the original owner wasn't into the mechanical workings of automobiles, so details are sketchy at best. But, he said that it took about 6 months and a call to a zone rep to get the car back from Francis Chevrolet. When he did, he said the heads were different, and he had a couple of different people tell him that Francis was known for "acquiring" parts off of customer cars, and that they had gotten his aluminum heads. Ironically, Frank Radake got the same treatment from Francis, but I don't recall what the car was returned for. This car was bought from a collector, unrestored, with less than 30k miles on the odometer. We will probably never know 100% whether it is or isn't the original short block, but it kind of makes us wonder...