Numbers matching 78 K5... Do I save the engine?

[wazzabie]

If I ever rebuild the 350 engine on the K5 will the rebuild process erase any of the numbers stamped on the block?

My K5 is numbers matching engine and tranny. I replaced the np203 with a np205 but I still have the original np203 from the k5 sitting on the floor.

I also wonder if I should remove the original 350 and install another 350 so that the original engine can remain relatively low miles. About 120K miles.

 

[ZooMad75]

Here's my opinion for what it's worth.

This isn't a Numbers matching '70 Chevelle SS454 LS6 or a '69 Camaro with a DZ 302 or name any other rare low-production Chevy muscle car. They made so many more K5's in the 70's that the idea of a '78 K5 with a garden variety smog era 350 that was less than 200hp would hold any higher value with a numbers-matching engine over one that wasn't, just isn't proving out on the market right now. Even much less when the truck has over 100,000 miles on it.

Now if the K5 in question was a survivor, original, unrestored with under 10,000 miles, it would make a hell of a difference that the engine was numbers matching. That's a pretty rare thing to find lately.

If it's important to you, then do what you want to keep the engine and truck together. If you do want to rebuild it, you could lose the numbers stamped into the block if you had it decked. Though you could write them down and re-stamp them after the machine work was completed.

That being said, if you had another 350 that was cast in the same timeframe as the original you could "fake it" by decking that block and stamping in the numbers from the original. It's a process that has been done to make a car/truck "numbers matching" more often than not. That is the reason I personally don't take much stock in the numbers matching madness unless it's a documented low mileage unrestored survivor where other signs would prove it's legit.

 

[1-ton]

Since the small block Chevy was considered a budget engine compared to something like an LS6 454 or Hemi, it was not built with the best available metallurgy and design. Especially the heads. The blocks are considered OK, but the heads are considered low budget trash for the most part. Save the block, and rebuild it. Then get a set of aftermarket heads for it. This can make for a very durable engine that will make the truck and engine worth more than the original engine.

 

[82355]

Post pics.

Martin

 

[wazzabie]

Post pics.

Martin

eh? pics of what?

 

[82355]

The Blazer.

Martin