Worth of #'s matching 350 engine?

[eric8]

Hey guys. I know the old saying that something is worth "only what someone is willing to pay for it" but I am curious (roughly) what would be a fair price for a numbers correct 350ci engine for a 72 C10? This is a low mileage engine with 90,000 original miles. To clarify it does not include exhaust manifolds or accessories/accessory drive, air cleaner or carb. I have no idea what I should be paying.

[19673ontree]

Well first off 90K miles is not low miles for a 350 that's high miles for a 350 it may be a good engine but will need rebuilt soon , id say its worth around $300 to $400 the thing you get into with a deal like this is YES the motor runs BUT it will need rebuilt so ?

[eric8]

Thank you for the figures. I am certain it will need rebuilding sometime soon but I was attracted to the fact it is such low mileage for the year. I'm sure there are very few period correct 350 blocks with less than 100K!

[djgebert]

I would think in the ballpark of $300 would be fair. Like stated before, 90k on a 72' 350 is a lot of miles so plan on it needing rebuilt sooner rather than later. Some of those things would run forever, but most had one foot in the grave at 90k. Stuff runs for so long now it is easy to forget just how few miles an older vehicle/engine would reliably run. I remember when I was a teenager and buying late 60's early 70's cars with 80k on them they practically gave them away because they were worn out and this was in the early 80's. I have had numerous newer vehicles that I drove up to and over 200k, heck I have a 2003 Silverado that I use just to haul stuff to the lake that I put 210k on and it runs like new. My 71 had under 80k original miles and basically everything on it was worn out and needed replaced. You have to remember if the mileage doesn't wear stuff out, the age of the components will.

[eric8]

Yeah funny how our measure of what is considered high mileage has changed since engines have gotten so much more durable! I guess the one benefit of a sub 100K 350 engine is that it has at least a few overbores left on it as opposed to one with 200K or more.

[Mike C]

Technically it's not a numbers matching #. It may be appropriate engine for a 1970 truck, but it only matches one truck, the one it came out of as far as "numbers matching". And $300-$400 seems to be about right price was. Especially if it still has everything on it: carb, distributor, pulleys, brackets, exhaust manifolds, etc.

If it was well maintained, 90k miles isn't that much even on a 1970 motor. My Jimmy had 113k on it when my Dad bought it in 1977 and 248k when I got it from him in 1988. And 252k when the timing chain broke...

I have a '69 short step with a 307 and 56k miles and the motor is exceptionally clean and well running. The '76 Caprice my Grandfather drove to the bank a block and a half away from his house had 46k miles on it when we pulled the motor out and it was so sludged up from short trips it had a second "valve cover" underneath the regular one made out of deposits!

[msgdsrf]

Also, the engine numbers match a whole lot a years (like more than a decade if I remember), with tons of blocks out there. Not much value there. And in the end a "numbers matching" C10 is still not a big prize. Not like a numbers matching '67 Camero at Barrett Jackson type of deal.

[19673ontree]

My 327 in my camaro had 90K on it 15 yrs ago when I got it I tore it down reringed it fixed the heads and put 90K more on it and 2 years ago tore it down again and got it bored put new heads on it and here we go again ! LOL

A 307 will run longer than a 350 or 327 at 100K a 350 or 327 is done ,

Did I mention how many 100K's a 250 6 cyl will run ? As far as use mileage and toughness it took them 50 years to make an engine that would compeat with the dependabilty of the 250 ,

[eric8]

Originally Posted by Mike C

Technically it's not a numbers matching #. It may be appropriate engine for a 1970 truck, but it only matches one truck, the one it came out of as far as "numbers matching".

So you are saying that the #'s on a 72 C10 block can be traced back to a single specific VIN of the truck it should be installed in? I didn't know they were that specific. Just thought all you could tell from a GM block at most is the year, make, and model of the vehicle it is correct for.

And as far as the C10's not being a prize....well, I used to say that about late 70's cars too, such as the Bandit Trans Ams and late 70s early 80's Camaros. Have you seen what those are fetching nowadays?

[hyatt]

engine numbers are VIN specific Casting numbers cover many vehicles but as stated it is matching numbers to only one

[Coley]

Ok a lot of the feedback here for you is very correct...and I'll wade in too.
First, 90K on a 40+ year old carburated motor is not 'low mileage'....by any stretch. I would consider that pretty high mileage for that era.
Also, there is no such thing as a 'numbers matching' truck 350 from GM in the early series (pre '73) trucks. They did not stamp VIN numbers on the blocks of the trucks so...there are no numbers to match to any fixed/set truck chassis.
Remember 'numbers matching' indicates that the VIN number on the block matches the VIN number on the vehicles chassis plate....so a non starter with the trucks. This was something that GM was only doing on the cars back then.
GM only stamped the truck motors to indicate mfg. year/truck type/truck size/engine size/trans option.....NO VIN or chassis numbers were stamped on them.
So the engine would be equally correct for probably 30,000 trucks (or more) in 1972 that had 350's.
Now...value?...well, I agree with the rest of the guys that somewhere around $300-$350. Do you know that the block is not cracked? or?....it might not even be worth that.
My two bits.
Coley

[Lee H]

There will be lots of debate on this for sure. 60-70s Chevy "car" blocks like you mentioned had a vin derivative and a engine output code stamped on the front pad. Those engines can be traced to only one car and a numbers matching engine in a corvette, camaro, etc adds 10-15-20k or more to value VS an non numbers matching engine. All blocks have a date code that will correspond closely with the build date of the vehicle. All these things need to align with a build sheet and vin tag in order to be numbers matching.

A block can easily be decoded, write done the casting number, date code, and front pad data and we can help you decode it, or you can find a website to assist with decoding.

As Coley said, truck blocks did not have vin stampings so you could find a block with the correct casting number, dated code, and front pad stamp, and call it matching numbers. At this point in time I don't think truck values are much different with or without a "numbers matching" engine.

[BKSS67]

Originally Posted by Lee H

As Coley said, truck blocks did not have vin stampings so you could find a block with the correct casting number, dated code, and front pad stamp, and call it matching numbers. At this point in time I don't think truck values are much different with or without a "numbers matching" engine.

This from Lee H is correct. However, I believe a "numbers matching" engine increases the value for some buyers. But I agree, its not like a 1969 Z28


But I would like to add that you need the original POP. If you have the Protect-o-plate (POP) it will tell you what the block numbers (not the casting numbers) should be. Chevy Truck blocks do NOT have partial VIN's stamped in addition to the block numbers. So if you have the POP and the block number matches (and the date code is in the ball park), thats as close as you can get to "numbers matching" in a truck.

[engineer_gregh]

It was my understanding that the "Protecto Plate" did list the serial number of the engine. So am I understanding that the same serial number could be in multiple trucks? See the picture I've attached of my "Protecto Plate", it matches the number on the block (pad on the passenger side of my 71). Sorry I couldn't get to the engine to take a picture of the number stamped on it, but I will later today or this weekend. In this case V1210THC.

[19673ontree]

The number on that protecto plate is not the trucks vin they made different horsepower levels it is a code that tells the plant where the engine was assembled and the horsepower ,,,

I have more to add to this , on cars they did stamp the vin on the block of IMPORTANT CARS they did NOT however stamp the vin on cars with say a base model engine , I will give you an example my 1967 camaro has the original engine it has a date very close to the build of the car and it was not fooled with when I got it so I'm sure its the original engine my 1967 camaro had a long list of opttions it was orderd with I suspect a female ordered the car it had RALLEY SPORT which gave you hideaway headlights chrome lower body trim and different tailights it has CUSTOM INTERIOR bright blue with extra chrome ttrim consolde with full gauges and a in dash factory tach ! THEN GET THIS A 327 210 HORSEPOWER WITH A FRIKKIN AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION ? The moral of the story is NO VIN ON THE BLOCK

[BKSS67]

Originally Posted by engineer_gregh

It was my understanding that the "Protecto Plate" did list the serial number of the engine. So am I understanding that the same serial number could be in multiple trucks? See the picture I've attached of my "Protecto Plate", it matches the number on the block (pad on the passenger side of my 71). Sorry I couldn't get to the engine to take a picture of the number stamped on it, but I will later today or this weekend. In this case V1210THC.

It is not a "serial number" for the engine, think of it as a "batch number". The POP lists the block number, which identifies the engine, what plant it was built, and what type of vehicle it was installed in and even a date code as well.

To answer your question, a similarly ordered truck, ordered at the same time could have similar block numbers. Nothing individually identifies it as part of an individual truck.

Originally Posted by 19673ontree

The number on that protecto plate is not the trucks vin they made different horsepower levels it is a code that tells the plant where the engine was assembled and the horsepower ,,,

Correct, the engine listed in the POP is not part of the VIN, or other individual identification number. The POP lets you really narrow the field down to a certain batch of engine blocks. Just for simplicity's sake, it's like narrowing 50 million small block engine possibilities down to only 10,000.

[19673ontree]

Think of it like this , all the blocks assembled at tonawanda on july 14 th 1971 with a 250 horespower rating to be installed in c10s had the exact same number ,,

[ho70]

Originally Posted by eric8

Hey guys. I know the old saying that something is worth "only what someone is willing to pay for it" but I am curious (roughly) what would be a fair price for a numbers correct 350ci engine for a 72 C10? This is a low mileage engine with 90,000 original miles. To clarify it does not include exhaust manifolds or accessories/accessory drive, air cleaner or carb. I have no idea what I should be paying.

you can get a jegs 350 crate motor for 1200ish delivered on ebay rightnow. No carb, brackets or manifolds etc 300 tops for an engine probably needing freshening up. You can find lots of blocks that will match your truck for less that need a rebuild, so why pay top $$ for an engine that has parts you will replace anyways?

[Vintage Windmills]

Originally Posted by ho70

you can get a jegs 350 crate motor for 1200ish delivered on ebay rightnow. No carb, brackets or manifolds etc 300 tops for an engine probably needing freshening up. You can find lots of blocks that will match your truck for less that need a rebuild, so why pay top $$ for an engine that has parts you will replace anyways?

If you know it hasn't been rebuilt before, the block is more desirable to some since you can bore it more in the future.

[Fitz]

Originally Posted by eric8

Hey guys. I know the old saying that something is worth "only what someone is willing to pay for it" but I am curious (roughly) what would be a fair price for a numbers correct 350ci engine for a 72 C10? This is a low mileage engine with 90,000 original miles. To clarify it does not include exhaust manifolds or accessories/accessory drive, air cleaner or carb. I have no idea what I should be paying.

If it doesn't match the chassis number of the truck it's going into it isn't worth much more than scrap. Any used engine is an unknown quantity. You have no idea of the true condition of the motor until it is disassembled and magnafluxed for cracks. That's why you shouldn't pay more than the nearest junkyard would give for it.

[eric8]

Thanks guys....I learned a LOT! Although I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on whether 90k is low mileage for a 40+ year old block

[ARC190]

I've got 168k on mine and it's all stock. The valves and under the intake were spotless and it starts every time. It has never stranded me because of the engine. It does leak like a sieve though. With that being said, I know it's much sooner than later when I'll have to repair or replace it. I'd be nervous with a modern engine at that mileage.

[trac209]

Not to hijack but 90,000 miles on a sbc is not what I would consider high. Would I take that engine to the track no. But would I expect if to last if it was taken care of and it in good working order yes. Old engines were neglected far more than the vehicles of today due to manufacture recomended oil changes etc. I've looked through old manuals where they only changed filters ever other time and 5000 miles between changes.

My dad's 1970 olds cutlass had 350,000 miles,yes it rolled three times over the 27 years he drove it daily and it still ran for the guy he sold it to for awhile until the body panels rusted off it. Not to meantion most cars of yesteryear were used hard,towing etc.

[eric8]

Another fun fact....I have always heard the benchmark that a TH350 tranny will need rebuilds at least every 60,000 miles. Well my original tranny in my 72, two owner c10 had 125,000 miles, with 20k of those being behind a 345 hp zz4 crate motor before it finally $hit the bed, so every case is different. But there's no arguing an old Gen 1 sbc doesn't hold a candle to lasting even half as long as a gen 3 or gen 4 GM V8

[Coley]

Originally Posted by eric8

But there's no arguing an old Gen 1 sbc doesn't hold a candle to lasting even half as long as a gen 3 or gen 4 GM V8

Yeah....but who cares?
Talking new technology on an (old) classic truck forum is fairly silly....well, we might as well go log onto 'New Toyota's' . com....and how they are so much stronger technically than (......wait for it)....old trucks.

Cheers!!
Coley