Thread: 396 Special High Performance

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I tried and I think I have decoded the vin on a 396 I am tearing down.
It is TO916CTY
So the engine was assembled in Tonawanda on September 16th and the CTY is marked as special high performance
10A10----Chevy 1970 in Atlanta and it was either a Camaro or a chevelle
Any way of know if it was in a camaro or a chevelle

I don't think so but maybe Glenn will saunter over and see this he and Ken are good with chubby codes.

You are correct in assembly plant and date. CTY was used for the 375 horsepower 396 (actual displacement is 402) in the Chevelle and Camaro. It was coupled to a TH 400 transmission. Also designated on the build sheet as “SHP” i.e., special high performance.

In 1970, 2,144 Chevelles were made with the L78 396-375 horsepower engine and 18 were additionally optioned with the L89 aluminum heads. Only 600 Camaros received the L78 – none with aluminum heads. If you have aluminum heads (that are original GM), you most certainly have a Chevelle engine.

I don’t know of any source that breaks down 4 speed versus TH400 automatic transmissions for Chevelle/Camaro L78.

Where exactly is the 10A10? The reason I ask is that Tonawanda warranty engines were sequenced from 50000 to 79999 but when that quantity was reached the sequencing began again with 50000 but the letter "A" was added to note the rollover.

Regards,
Glenn

Hey Glenn and thanks for the reply. The 10A is the number that ends with the car vin number if I have researched properly lol. i took a picture but could not see clearly the last 6 digits. it looks like 10A106590. My plan when I got this was to put it in my 76 Corvette but after talking to others the amount of money and changes I would have to do I am thinking differently now. It is in great shape and was kept wrapped in a building for the last 30 years. It has cast iron heads that are marked 3964291 heads, 7115 forged crank that looks like it has been balanced and a double roller timing chain. The bottom half is complete so I have block, heads, pistons and so on. I think I might just sell it and purchase a crate 350 for my Corvette. I had it magged and it is good. Any ideas on what I could ask for it.

In that this a true L78 engine, the block alone is worth $1,200-1,500. The 7115 crank should fetch $1,500-$2,000 and the heads are a minimum of $1,000 all in their current state. You know how much you have invested so a package deal of $2,500 may be sufficient for you to use toward a new engine. If you’re not in a hurry, you could hot tank everything and create an e-bay ad with pictures to gauge interest. To the right buyer (who’s redoing a 1970 Camaro or Chevelle and wants the correct engine), you could realize $5,000 or more as its all original and not a pieced together engine. As I’m sure you’re aware, e-bay is an “as-is” deal and buyer pays shipping.

Regards,
Glenn

Many moons ago I had a 402 in my Nova for a bit, one night a missed shift to 3rd resulted in a major oil pan failure with a couple rods exiting the engine!