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Powertrain questions about my Senator

W

WaterBoy

New member
I recently bought an 87 Senator. Has a 350 in it. Guy before me said the guy before him took it out and dropped a BBC in it then put the 350 back in it. The motor just looks like a 350 but I noticed a Corvette logo/emblem on the valve cover. Can anyone tell me any info on this or did he maybe just put some vette valve covers on it? Claims it runs 60 GPS with a 23p ss prop.

Next.....

When your cruising down the river and you hit a speed bump?? = broken gimble ring and bent propshaft. (boat ran fine all the way back. didnt notice the damage till i got her home) It has an alpha lower unit. Since I have to take everything off pretty much should I upgrade my lower unit? Or just rebuild the alpha when I put the new propshaft in it? Anyone know where I can get a deal on a gimble ring?
 
The banners on the left of the screen are supporting vendors you can use. RLC is big into alpha drives and should be able to help you.
 
How many RPM's and HP can an Alpha handle? I'm guessing my motor has around 300hp and was toying with the idea on beefing it up a bit when I pull it out to replace the gimble ring I broke. Not sure yet though. Just want to know my options.
 
According to Merc, 300 hp max. I have seen more hp in front of them its lifespan really depends on how you drive. Moreover, this drive is intended for the smaller engines and so engineered. Failures that I have seen over the years seem to be more torqe related, since they shift in the lower unit, this is where they normally fail. Valve covers don't neccesarily indicated whats inside the engine, they may be just for looks. I dont know the max rpm, common max reccomended numbers i've seen are around 5500, this doesn't mean the drive isn't capbable of spinning higher, this would depend on how much the bearings were designed to accomodate. I've never researched this maybe someone else has some #s.
 
They did put alpha's behind 454's back in the day. i thought they were 330 hp?

Ive seen guys put drive showers and a remote reservoir, and be gentle on them on takeoff @ 400 horsepower.. and seem to last.

ive spun mine over 5800 rpm @ 70mph.. but it took its toll on it in a hurry, last winter i pulled it apart and had to throw some parts at it. i dont have a shower and the heat took its toll on the upper.
 
WaterBoy said:
I recently bought an 87 Senator. Has a 350 in it. Guy before me said the guy before him took it out and dropped a BBC in it then put the 350 back in it. The motor just looks like a 350 but I noticed a Corvette logo/emblem on the valve cover. Can anyone tell me any info on this or did he maybe just put some vette valve covers on it?
Click to expand...

What are the engine #'s? Try this to help de-code...

http://www.nastyz28.com/sbchevy/sblock.php

I also have some books on SB and BB gm engines if you need more info.
 
Thanks for all this info. Im going to look for the #'s on the block today and try to decode it and figure out what I really have. I'll keep you posted.
 
I have a ton of info on Chevy stuff- head #'s, block #'s etc...but nothing for Ford, or BPO- or very limited info on them anyway.
 
Block #'s

Where would I find the block #'s. I found a # molded in the back of the block which is 3970010. Also found a small plate on the fron side of the block with the #'s 254194 stamped in that. Are these #'s of any use?
 
The "egine" numbersd are stamped intot he block in front of the head Passenger side. The embossed numbers ont he back CAN be usefull for "ranging" the block- but the front stamped nubers in front of the head mounting surface are the ones that will tell you everything- let me run out to the shop and find my books- I'll see what I can find for ya- based on what ya got.....
 
3970010------- '69-'80 350 2 or 4 barrel 350ci..... OR '69 327 2 bbl truck or industrial engine....OR '69 302ci 4bbl Z-28 engine ( IF this IS what it is- you have a VERY valuable gem!!!!!!- VERY RARE ENGINE!!!!!) - REALLY need the front block id # to say for sure
Can you pull the head #'s? might help id better....
 
IF you DO have the ultra rare 302 chevy block- it would be a 4.00" bore/ 3.00" stroke/ 5.7" rods/ 2.45" main journals and 2.10" rod journals- THATS a VALUABLE engine!
 
Just went out to the garage to try and find the #'s. Didnt find/see any #'s on the heads. I found a # cast in the top rear of the block near the bell housing.......from what I made out of it it looked like...H2B3. Also on the side rear near the oil filter housing I found 2 3 digit #'s stacked on top of each other. those were 371 & 888. And toward the front pass side on a plate was 254194. Hope these help us out. If not let me know what to do or where to look or how to tell etc. Like I said in my 1st post the pass side valve cover has the corvette logo made into it. (the 2 flags crossed over each other) Did the old Camaro Z28 have that logo on the covers? Thanks again for all you help and info on this.
 
ok, as looking from the front of the engine on the passenger side deck surface ( where the head bolts down to ) there will be a flat smoothe surfave in front of the bottom of the cylinder head- you will probably have to scrape the surface off- clean- to see the stamping- but that is the engine serial number and thew suffix code is in it- usually the first three digits ( letters), the head numbers are only visable if you remove the valve covers- it's stamped down inside the rocker arm galley- but head numbers are a long shot to determine your engine, since so many times heads are swapped. You can also tell ( sometimes) by the shape of the design on the front edge of the heads ( towards the bottom edge of the heads ) That's where the coined phrase "double hump" heads came from ( the shape of the design) Many newer heads have points or pyramid shapes- but this is ALOT less acurate for head id'ing.
 
I printed EVERYTHING off the now defunct ( but OH SO MISSED!) MORTEC>COM site so I can ID heads, blocks, cranks, etc....Just have to have the right numbers. The number on the top pass side of the block ( in front of the head is THE number for the block. The number down inside of the head ( under the valva cover is THE number for heads....beyond that were guessing at best......
 
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