Hello - Long time Olds fan and prior owner of numerous 442's, but have been out of the game for 20+ years. I want to re-join the olds brotherhood and have located a highly detailed/restored 1969 Hurst Olds that supposedly retains the original engine block. The car has plenty of documentation regarding being a "real" H/O, but can someone help me identify if the block is indeed the original (i.e., what info is needed and where is it found)? The only info i have at the moment is the VIN, and I know the engine is a 396021F. Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

look for the VIN # stamped onto a pad on the engine block. that will tell you if the engine is the original to the car or not.

pad is located under the number 1 spark plug drivers side. you will need a mirror to see it.

 

Thank you! Very helpful ... it's been too long and i have forgotten waaaay too much of my olds knowledge!

 

Vin stamped on block will match VIN at corner of Dash


also should have "D" heads and a very special intake manifold

 

Thank you! Correct "D" heads and manifold are present ... so that's a good start. Next up is to verify the VIN stamped on the block matches the VIN on the dash. I didn't know if the VIN's match on a '69 Hurst given they were doing an "end around" on the 455 corporate ruling by using Hurst, but sounds like they should match if all is correct.

 

455's were actually installed at the Factory before the cars were sent to Demmer for conversion

 

Ahhhhh, make sense! Learn something new every day. Too bad I will probably forget it tomorrow Thank you again!

 

The VIN derivative stamp on the block was a federal requirement in 1969. It would have been against the law to not have the stamp on the block. And, as noted above, the 455s were installed at the factory. Otherwise, there would have been no way to assemble the cars and move them off the assembly line. How would the trans have been supported?

 

Thanks for the info. I didn't know if the Hurst program was similar to the early Yenko Camaros where the engine was swapped after the fact. Now i know ... thanks again to everyone for the quick H/O tutorial!

 

Owner states the engine pad does not have any vin stamped. Assume this means it's a replacement block?

 

Either that or the stamp is very faint and difficult to read (seen that also). If there really is no stamp, it's not original. Certainly check the date code on the block casting.

 

Thanks Joe! Where exactly is the date code located on the block? I have a picture from the owner with a code "396021F", but i don't think that is what you are referring to in this case.

 

That's the casting number and is the same for all 1968-72 455 blocks. The date code is at the back of the block, near the distributor hole. The three digit number is the Julian date (363rd day of the year). Typically, the block date code should be within about a month prior to the build date of the car, but can be up to 90 days prior.

 

double check the intake manifold is the J code with the correct pcv port and choke, alot of fakes out there and there are oem intakes with the J too, but dont have the PCV and that intake is a $10,000 intake

 

The run-of-the-mill 1968-69 intakes have a "J" on the passenger side. The unique 69 H/O intake has the "J" on the driver's side.

 

like this

 

good pic joe, I knew there was a J somewhere on the non hurst manifolds,didnt' know where though...

 

Joe, Do you know what the stampings above and below the "363" represent? Thanks.

 

I have read that CFD is Central Foundry Division, which is where all (?) of the cast iron parts were made.

No idea about the 5.

 

Thanks for all the information ... very helpful. I passed on the '69 H/O I was originally considering because I determined, with your help, the block was not original. So, still in the market for an #'s matching '69 H/O with air conditioning. Speaking of that ... does anyone know how difficult it would be to install AC on a non-AC car? There is, what appears to be, a numbers matching '69 H/O for sale in Canada but it doesn't have A/C and that's a "must" for me.

 

Retrofitting correct factory A/C to a non-A/C car is a major undertaking. You should read this thread, particularly post #5. Of course, when you're done, you will no longer have a pristine, factory-built original car, either. You seem to be adamant that the block and trans case need to be "numbers matching", but you don't have a problem making this magnitude of change from original? That's a bit of a slippery slope.

 

Joe - Slippery slope indeed. Didn't realize it was that big of an undertaking. Not going down that road ... will continue the search for #'s matching with A/C.

 

I've finally located an original unrestored '69 H/O with AC. The car is in need of a total restoration, but it is in running condition and decent overall condition (#3-). Anyone have a recommendation for a top quality restoration shop for this vehicle? A Midwest location is preferred but not necessary.

 

FYI, There are [were] repo D heads and intake manifolds, the rear wing should have 3 screws on each side of the trunk lid holding the wing in place

 

I would love to restore your h/o I've already restored two 69 h/0 and finishing up a 69 w-30