PDA

View Full Version : 1966 Chevy II L-79 "Z1" suffix code

Mighty Mouse
11th-April-2006, 01:14 AM
Engine will be extracted from non-matching car this month. Suffix code denotes 1966...Chevy II...Special High Performance 327-350hp...4-speed.

Q1. Rebuild engine to original specs? Might need to be slightly bored out. Don't know yet.

Q2. Or..use different cam/valve train/pistons etc.?

What would be a "ball park" that this engine could sell for if rebuilt as original or with some internal modifications?

Thanks
SparkysSS
11th-April-2006, 02:41 AM
Personally I would rebuild it as close to original L79 specs as possible. Only go overbore as much as necessary, down the road you may want to rebore again. There was nothing wrong with the way these motors ran right out of the box from GM. You may need to drop the compresion ratio a point or two, valves to run on the bad pump gas we have now. Basic balance and blueprint job, and some slight headwork is all you need unless your going drag racing on a regular basis. Keep in mind also that if the block has to be decked, you may lose the ZI stamping on the front pad, and there goes the value and originality.
67pete
11th-April-2006, 07:13 AM
"Keep in mind also that if the block has to be decked, you may lose the ZI stamping on the front pad, and there goes the value and originality."

Why? It seems to me that if you stop the milling machine before it gets to the stamping area(it's not under the head afterall) that it can be left alone........
SparkysSS
11th-April-2006, 03:18 PM
"Keep in mind also that if the block has to be decked, you may lose the ZI stamping on the front pad, and there goes the value and originality."

Why? It seems to me that if you stop the milling machine before it gets to the stamping area(it's not under the head afterall) that it can be left alone........

Sounds simple, but that is not how most machine shops will do it.
Take a look at the head surface of an engine block, the milling is done in a circular motion, (you will see crosshatch marks) and the only way to get the surface flat for the head, is to go all the way across front to back with the cutter. The cutter is normally about as wide as the head surface.