[Greg Reid]

BVZ, what year was it that did not use an "I"?

[Kokamo]

Originally Posted by Baron Von Zeppelin

It might be my weak internet, but can only see the intake and water pump pics.
Water pump is more than likely an aftermarket replacement.
GM Wpump will have a 7 or 8 digit part number, and a similar/familiar date code jargon.


Yes sir, I didn't post that picture, click HERE. It is an 11 bolt pump with a casting # of 488296 which is a 69 and newer....I didn't get a date off the timing cover tho. Not real sure when they started using 11 bolt water pump timing covers.

A 4bolt main would have been stamped 9792506 for 68-69 SR.
9799915 for 70 SR.
It still "might" be drilled and tapped for 4bolt, with 2bolt caps installed.
A lot of 70 blocks were done that way.

16 head is for 1968 performance 400 D-Port engines across the board, except RamAir 1.
It "might" have also been "Service Replaced" when the block was done.
The late date coincides with "what could have been" SR casting batch at end of run ...
Amongst other possibilities ...
Doubtful it came off the line with 2 different heads from factory ,,, not totally impossible ,,, but 99.979 % unlikely.

16 = 72cc chamber
62 = 75cc chamber
wouldn't touch it until there was just nothing left to play with -
if ever, even.

Thanks for the info, I will not touch it. It runs good, so there is no need to fix something that ain't broke.

Possible they shaved/surfaced the 62 head at time of repairs to make it "match" the 16 replacement head.
62 is the correct head for an Automatic YS 350hp GTO. (along with other apps too)

What is the body build date on your cowl/trim tag ?

I wish I knew. When I got the car, it did not have one on it. Someone pulled it off before the previous owner owned it. I still have yet to find an early build (first day of production) car from the Baltimore plant. If I could find one, I could get the date and get a new cowl tag made. This car is 140th off the line (B100140).

This example is 1B = January, second week
Yours might be 8C or 9B or something like that.

If there are any numbers stamped into face near about the SR stamp -
they usually correlate with an ID tag such as this one - tagged 7856

There are no other numbers located anywhere on that pad other than what you see HERE "SR84994"

The other pics started working for me.

I "think" the Intake is dated too early for a mass produced engine like a 69 YS.
Its still well within 68 production timeframe.

You are most likely correct on this. May seems a bit early for a (what I am just guessing) July/August built car.

What is the casting part number on the intake ?

Standard 9794234

The heads will have their own date codes - like in this picture.
I mistook your listed dates as being the heads, instead of manifolds. oops

Some of the dates might start synching into groups once we get the right date codes from the heads, and the build date from the trim tag.

As noted, the car currently has no trim tag. I hope to have one built for it someday.

The left side has a #62 head (July17/68).

The right side has a #16 head (July08/68).


Carb should be a 7028262

You would think it would be for being such an early build, but it has a 7029268 carb on it which is correct for 69 I think. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

None of this is crucial, its just tidbits of factoids/data if you're interested.

Very Righteous project you're doing !

Thanks BVG!!! I appreciate all your knowledge sir! This is why I come to places such as this...the vast array of information boggles my mind. One thing I did want to let you know....I replaced the old external alternator with a one-wire internal reg alt. I checked the number and date on the alt and I come up with 1100704 dated 8G28 (July28/68). Thoughts?

So, I finally got my carb back today. I had our local Rochester carb hero go thru it and perform his amazing magic to it. He said it looked great with no problems and if there was a runability issue, there is a problem somewhere other than the carb. Lol....he seems quite confident.

I also made the color change on the motor.....looks alot better. Glad I chose to go this route.....

Carb pix.....I have no idea how to run dates on these (this) carb, maybe someone could chime in.















Quite a difference in colors.....

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

Originally Posted by Greg Reid

BVZ, what year was it that did not use an "I"?

67 model year production cast iron engine pieces are the only ones i think they didn't use the "I". (I xx 6 for example)
{watch someone find a part with that cast date now tho.... lol}

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

Kokamo i totally brainfarted on the carb number i posted.
the 68 and 69 references going back and forth got to me i guess.

7029268 WF is the right carb for a 69 YS.
I checked a couple buildsheets for YS cars, and WF is the plant/pick carb code.
Some 68 and early 69 carbs did not have the date stamped into main body - instead they stamped the date into driver side of the baseplate/throttle plate.
Such as 2208 being 220th day of 1968 as example.

So this carb does appear to be an early unit, and probably the original unit.

The alternator is probably correct/original.
The date falls in place well enough.

Might be mistaken or reversed - most 68's had a ported vacuum switch next to the thermostat where yours has a pipe plug. So the intake might really be original.
But i've seen 68 cars with intake dates posted later than yours .... who knows.
Even the 16 head might actually be a BIG factory goof.

Next thing to check is the distributor date code/part number.

The bad thing about 1969 Baltimore built GTO's - is nobody has ever found a factory Buildsheet on one. That sheet usually tells the date the car body was assembled into a whole complete car.

Finding another real early Baltimore A-body is the best bet you have.

Nice improvement on the engine color for sure.

[Greg Reid]

That engine looks righteous now!
Just paint that power steering bracket aluminum (or blast the paint off) and it'll be perfect.
'67 is the year I had in mind also BVZ, wasn't sure though.

[keith h]

Excellent progress!

[Kokamo]

Originally Posted by Greg Reid

That engine looks righteous now!
Just paint that power steering bracket aluminum (or blast the paint off) and it'll be perfect.

Yeah, I wanted to do that to make it "correct" (I think), but I'd have to drive across town to get it blasted and since it's not a huge concern, I just painted it....I did end up matching the color to the rest tho.

Originally Posted by keith h

Excellent progress!

Thank you sir!

Hey guys, I have a request if anyone wants to help....I'm hunting a factory type fan blade that uses a clutch to replace the direct fan you see in the pics. My old man is one of those factory freaks, so the closer I get to factory stuff, the better. But if you look close at the pics below, you will notice I replaced the factory ext regulated alt for a one-wire internal....I work at the family owned business, I picked one up for less than 30 bucks. Gonna keep the original date correct one tho. I just wanted to clean up the firewall and have a nice wire free underhood compartment.....he will jut have to live with it . So again, I'm hunting a clutch style fan blade, and I'm also hunting a choke thermostat and rod. I could buy new, but I'm really trying to keep the costs down on this thing.....I'm sure most of you know what I mean.

Thanks guys.

Ok....motor is home.....

[Kokamo]

One question....what color is the factory brake booster? I was thinking it was the gold anodize, but I wasn't sure. I'm thinking I will paint it machine gray and leave it alone. There is nothing wrong with it and I won't replace it.....it is after all a reman unit.

Thoughts?

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

The fan on it is correct - if its not an AC car.
And not a HD Radiator/HD Cooling car.

"Standard" use to market an assortment of choke thermostats.

Gold anodized was factory finish on brake booster.
I've seen some pretty good airbrushed attempts using candy colors over a silver basecoat to replicate the finish, and the colored hues here and there.
Wouldn't be time/cost effective for most of us.

Most guys use cast blast silver paint on booster and MC cap, then cast blast grey on MC, and call it done. Looks clean and civil on a budget.

Let us know if you find a date stamped on the carb baseplate.

[Kokamo]

Originally Posted by Baron Von Zeppelin

The fan on it is correct - if its not an AC car.
And not a HD Radiator/HD Cooling car.

"Standard" use to market an assortment of choke thermostats.

Gold anodized was factory finish on brake booster.
I've seen some pretty good airbrushed attempts using candy colors over a silver basecoat to replicate the finish, and the colored hues here and there.
Wouldn't be time/cost effective for most of us.

Most guys use cast blast silver paint on booster and MC cap, then cast blast grey on MC, and call it done. Looks clean and civil on a budget.

Let us know if you find a date stamped on the carb baseplate.

Thanks Baron! I had no idea this fan was something from the factory. I would have bet money it was an aftermarket piece since I cannot find and numbers on it anywhere. Same goes for the spacer. But if that's the case, then I will leave it alone....saves money and time.

I will have to check Standard Motor Products for the thermostat...that's a brand we stock. I didn't think to check since it looked like a "hard" part.

I think I'll take ya up on that cast blast. I bet it'll look just fine.

Also, I didn't get a date on the carb yet. I'll try to do that. Neither of any of the throttle blades have anything other than a part number on them, however, I do see some numbers on the top of the plate, but I have to remove the plate to see any of it.

I'll let ya know. Thanks again man! I appreciate the help!!!

~Joe

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

The date stamp on the throttle plate / base plate is stamped along the side.
Along the outside edge of the aluminum "plate" itself.
No removal required to see it, if it is stamped.
A few have been found without any date stamp.

If you look along the outside edge - near around where the rear/secondary "axle/shaft" bore is in the side of base plate - its usually stamped nearby that zone. On driver side.

[Kokamo]

Originally Posted by Baron Von Zeppelin

The date stamp on the throttle plate / base plate is stamped along the side.
Along the outside edge of the aluminum "plate" itself.
No removal required to see it, if it is stamped.
A few have been found without any date stamp.

If you look along the outside edge - near around where the rear/secondary "axle/shaft" bore is in the side of base plate - its usually stamped nearby that zone. On driver side.

Thanks Baron, but sadly, I see no date codes at all. The only thing I see is a "22" located on the pass side rear corner. I don't think that means much tho. Thanks for all the help.

Ok, real quick question...which hole is the ported vacuum switch supposed supposed to go in? The pass side or drivers side?

[Greg Reid]

Passenger side...where you have the pipe plug.

[Kokamo]

Originally Posted by Greg Reid

Passenger side...where you have the pipe plug.

What I thought. Thank you sir.

Just for conversation, Friday here at the parts store a gentleman pulled up in a pretty nice 68' GTO. So Cary (my old man) went out to gander at it and I followed. I asked him (knowingly) what's difference between a 68' and his old 69'....he told me what I already knew, but he did give me some clues about his old car that nobody else could tell me.....he said "I remember the dash being different (which it was), my car had gauges in the dash (this 68 had aftermarket guages under the dash) and my car had a different steering wheel".

So I take this that his old car had rally gauges. This car I'm building does not and has never had rally gauges. Also the PHS did not call for anything fancy on the steering wheel. The 68 we were looking at had a standard wheel just like the one I currently have. As far as I know, the 68 and 69 steering wheel were the same/similar and the only option I know of was a wood wheel.

So that makes 2 things I will attempt to purchase for this car if cash will allow. From the looks, a nice aftermarket wood wheel is around $350ish and the rally gauges are not available aftermarket as far as I know. Good condition used units seem to go for around $350ish as well.......dammit.

Anyway, just some pondering this lovely Monday morning.

~Joe

[Greg Reid]

The steering wheel was completely redesigned for '69.....both the wood wheel and the custom deluxe wheels are different between them.
The '68 interior, overall, is more 'old school' and that includes the wheel appearance. Even the gauges, while similar otherwise, are different colors between the two years.

'68 Custom Deluxe Wheel



'69 Custom Deluxe Wheel

[The Boss]

I have a nice black 3 spoke 69 Custom Deluxe wheel if you need one - for about half the cost of a wood wheel.

[Kokamo]

Thanks Greg. Thanks for the heads up on the wheel differences. I have not really paid attention to 68 and 69 wheels as I don't have a 68. However, what threw me off was that the guy who showed up here at the store had a 68 with a wheel identical to the standard one (just like your second pic) I have on my 69 here. So he obviously has the incorrect wheel on his 68.

Boss, the 3 spoke custom deluxe wheel, that's the style I have now.

So what all version of wheels came on the 69 GTO? As far as I know, 2 versions. Was there a "standard" wheel or was a "Custom Deluxe" wheel standard?

I'm thinking THIS WHEEL is what he used to have. Man that look good.

[The Boss]

There were only two - the 3 spoke padded which in 69 was called the Deluxe wheel and the wood wheel which was call the Custom Sports wheel.

We're getting you confused since the 3 spoke padded wheel was called other things in other years.

[Greg Reid]

There's a good reason that guy had the wrong wheel. The wood wheel cost $400 and uncracked original '68 Deluxe wheels are made of Unobtanium..
BTW, the wood wheels are different between '68 and '69 also.
PS-Sorry, I think I may have confused the issue as well calling the wheels 'custom' deluxe....I think it may have been just Deluxe as Boss says.

[Kokamo]

Thanks for all the help there Greg!!!

Ok, done a small amount of work this week. Not nearly as much as I'd like due to the weather. So I finally got to do some real body work, and with body work comes 2K filler/build primer....and with it raining here for the past few days, and with around 95% humidity, that stuff takes FOREVER to dry. Took over 5 hours with fans blowing on it to dry completely were it usually takes 30 min or less. Anyway, I got the drivers door DONE. Came out well. I found a place where it looked like it was opened on numerous things and ultimately made problems for me in the end. The final blocksand looks great aside from the door gap, which I'm not so sure I will do anything to fix anyway since it will be a dark color and will be hard to see door gaps anyway. Thread discussion HERE.

In the door I did find a break in the metal at the lower regulator assy mount. Had to fix that and on with the repairs. Glad to see the doors had absolutely ZERO rust. Got the door done and rebuilt the door hinges, mounted the door and found a small issue with the door/quarter gap. Not a huge issue I don't think.

Pix....