ZL-1 Camaro engine casting dates

[berger]

thanks I see what your looking for the early ones, theirs a pic on pg 16 of a can am next to a reynolds high silicon 390 alloy ass used in the vega engines it states, it has a cast number on back of can am block and something on the vin pad, but its gonna be tough to pull them even w/ glass but I 'll give it a try if it helps, I can give you some specs on the reynolds if you don't have same book, its only about a half page but its inregards to mclaren 's setup and in 72 chevy started marketing a 390 aluminum alloy block, half the cost of a linered block in 71.

[earntaz]

Need some help with identification of some Big Block Chevy parts I have. Eons ago I did some swapping of Chevy parts and I wound up with a 4.250 stroker crank along with a set of 6.405 rods. The crank is forged and has a cast mark of 3521 and stamped M525 – 3521 cranks were produced in the late 60s and early 70s from what I can tell. The rods have the name “Kiekhaefer” cast on the sides with the number 621-3404 cast on the opposite side of the rod. The rods have been “worked” (polished, rough edges removed) with full float pin bushings and have an “A” beam shape similar to an FE 427 Ford connecting rod. The only reference I have come up with is in H.P. Books – How to HOTROD Big-Block Chevys by Bill Fisher and Bob Waar. To quote them: “Chevy developed the 482 Chevrolet Turbo-Marine engines”. They go one to say that “Chev made 25 of these motors for Kiekhaefer and were destined for off-shore long distance racing and a few rods, cranks, and pistons were available for a short period of time”. This is a long shot, but is there any way of telling if these parts are part of that batch? The TAZ

[bergy]

Vega 390 aluminum blocks were low pressure die castings produced at Messina, NY. You probably know that the bores had to be acid etched after machining to remove the aluminum matrix and expose the silicon grains for enhanced wear and lubrication. The BB 390 alloy block would have been gravity cast - the matrix wouldn't have been as well refined as a low pressure casting - wonder how they held up in racing? I don't recall any feedback on this?