Can anyone identify this?

[442_olds]

I'm in the process of restoring an '87 442, and have been trying to verify the numbers. I purchased the car from the original owner, and it is an original CC1 Vin 9 car, with the 3.73 posi. It's come a long way since I bought the car, but I still have a lot to go. The car had been parked for 10 years before I got it, and you could tell from the mouse nests on the manifold that it had not been ran or messed with in that time. I got the car running, but still need to replace the exhaust manifolds (broken bolts, etc), and am planning to pull the engine to freshen it up. It needs gaskets replaced, etc. It does run good, with good oil pressure. Unfortunately, it is in need of a good cleaning...very dirty and rusty. One thing that I'm glad to see is that the engine is clean internally...the heads have no sludge at all inside.

Anyway, after I removed the left side exhaust manifold, I found a metal tag on the left side of the block between the motor mounts. It reads "931100229", and the block casting reads "6509 GM 5.0L G". There is no vin number on the pad on the left side...I have scrubbed on it, and can't see anything there. I found a listing on one site that said that it was an 87 307, but it would be nice to verify that it is the correct block. Everything else matches, the aluminum intake, carb, lack of detonation sensor, KZF transmission, correct damper, 7A heads, etc. I also have the original registration papers and owners manual for it, including the salesman's card.

It looks like the block was replaced at some time in it's life. I have read that some of the 307's had problems with cracked blocks. Could this be a Goodwrench replacement block? It appears that it was done a long time ago, judging from the amount of crud on the outside of the block.

 

[tc1959]

Sounds like it had may have had the block replaced with a service part , Possibly while it was under warranty when new.
I worked at a Caddy-Olds dealer back then.
I remember they had short block service assemblies for the 307 that didn't have any ID numbers stamped in the castings.

 

[RUDE DOG]

It was more than likely replaced by GM under some warranty, maybe the original owner can clarify. I had an 82 malibu that I purchased from the original owner and it too had a replaced engine with nothing on the pad. I asked the original owner and he told me engine was replaced about a year and a half after he purchased the car new,It was still under warranty. I also ran into a few at the junkyard that were replaced with 231 and the tag was put on the drivers valve cover for the new specs.

 

[442_olds]

That's what I'm figuring, that it was replaced under warranty. If it was, would the replacement match the original, as in having the correct cam for the VIN 9 engine? It would be great if this could be verified without having to pull the cam. I have seen information that stated service blocks had no VIN number stamped on them. One other funny thing I noticed, the pan, heads, valve covers, and manifold are all painted, with some paint still on the heads. The block, however, has no paint at all...just rust. Not sure why they didn't paint it to match, unless they got in a hurry (judging from the pan gaskets sticking out of the pan, and assorted missing/loose bolts, it does look like it).

 

[tc1959]

That's what I'm figuring, that it was replaced under warranty. If it was, would the replacement match the original, as in having the correct cam for the VIN 9 engine? It would be great if this could be verified without having to pull the cam. I have seen information that stated service blocks had no VIN number stamped on them. One other funny thing I noticed, the pan, heads, valve covers, and manifold are all painted, with some paint still on the heads. The block, however, has no paint at all...just rust. Not sure why they didn't paint it to match, unless they got in a hurry (judging from the pan gaskets sticking out of the pan, and assorted missing/loose bolts, it does look like it).

They came bare metal and they didn't get painted because working under GM Warranty flat rate they wouldn't pay for your time to paint it or for the paint. That's how cheep they were.. .
If I remember they would only pay something like 6.8 hours to replace a short block, That included transferring the heads and the sheet metal. And setting the timing.
You really had to hustle to make any money doing one. We hated them because putting in a complete crate engine payed about the same and was a whole lot less work.

 

[pontiacgp]

If I remember they would only pay something like 6.8 hours to replace a short block, That included transferring the heads and the sheet metal. And setting the timing.
You really had to hustle to make any money doing one. We hated them because putting in a complete crate engine payed about the same and was a whole lot less work.

6.8 hours?, I could see a long block in that time frame but it's a couple of hours just to switch the heads with a short block... :shock:

 

[442_olds]

6.8 hours is not much time allowed. It does make sense, however...the block not painted, missing bolt at the bottom of the power steering bracket, and of all things, the left mother mount bolt that holds top and bottom together is not even tight. It's threaded out at least two turns. Whoever did this was in a hurry, and was probably trying to get it done in that time. Also, it was probably done by another dealer, because the original dealership changed hands (dealership owner killed in accident at auto auction) not long after the car was bought new. I'm not sure what dealership did the work, but they didn't seem to be too concerned how it went back together. That's why I'm trying to get it back where it should be...not an easy task.

 

[tc1959]

If I remember they would only pay something like 6.8 hours to replace a short block, That included transferring the heads and the sheet metal. And setting the timing.
You really had to hustle to make any money doing one. We hated them because putting in a complete crate engine payed about the same and was a whole lot less work.

6.8 hours?, I could see a long block in that time frame but it's a couple of hours just to switch the heads with a short block... :shock:

GM warranty flat rate was really crappy. Everybody thinks the dealership mechanics get rich on warranty work.
I could do one in about 6 hours in my youth. like I said it was alot easier to swap in a Goodwrench crate motor.
With a kid as a helper- apprentice we could do one in the morning and Road test it to lunch.
I would be lucky if I could do one now in 3 days
You could get real fast if that's all you did everyday. In 1990 I replaced over 60 Crate engines in FWD Cadillacs.
Thats back when I had a Strong back and a Weak mind...

 

[442_olds]

You could get real fast if that's all you did everyday. In 1990 I replaced over 60 Crate engines in FWD Cadillacs.
Thats back when I had a Strong back and a Weak mind...

Yep, I think we were all there at one time...amazing the things you could do when you were younger. At least the mind is stronger.... :lol:

 

[Minion1186]

IIRC the roller 307's from mid 85 up until 90 had egg shaped cylinders causing increased oil consumption by burning oil, the correct way to eliminate this problem was to bore out the cylinders until they were round. I'm not sure if all of those years experienced this problem but I know for sure mid 85 and 86 did. I've worked on about 6 different 307's, most of them the roller type and they all at some point burned oil. If you're looking for a VIN 9 cam, NAPA has them.