1969 DZ bare block value?

[BigD69]

Whats a std. bore DZ bare block with main caps worth? I don't have the date codes as of now.

[Lynn]

Last bare block I sold (about 1.5 years ago) brought $2800 plus actual shipping.


It was .030.

Every standard bore block I have seen really needs to be bored.

Guys on ebay are asking between $3k and $8k. Doesn't mean they will get it.

[NorCam]

I've seen a couple sell in recent years and currently have one I am selling and value is between 2800.00 to 3500.00 typically. If you're a buyer looking for a specific date the value can be higher if the dates are a tight match, but seldom have I ever seen a block actually sell for more than $3500.

Every other listing I've seen between for $4500 to $7500 asking price is normally listed over and over and never sells. CE warranty blocks have been $1000 to $1250 selling prices and are often a better buy for someone without the right block.

[BigD69]

How can a 69 CE block be worth that much, since its just a 350 block or am I wrong?

[Lynn]

You are not wrong. You can't tell if a CE block originally had 302 innards vs 350 innards.

They still bring $1000 and up.
I have one I would not sell for less than $1k.

[NorCam]

They are still an early block and most are 010/020 high nickel. To many people, having a CE stamp on the deck is the next best thing when you know the cars motor was lunched. Add the correct 1178 crank, correct rods and pistons along with the dated top end of a Z and you have a legitimate replacement 302 just as the factory would have issued under warranty. That's why they are considered quite valuable.

A very viable option for many, including myself.

[Salvatore]

Originally Posted by Lynn

Last bare block I sold (about 1.5 years ago) brought $2800 plus actual shipping.


It was .030.

Every standard bore block I have seen really needs to be bored.

Guys on ebay are asking between $3k and $8k. Doesn't mean they will get it.

Standard bore needs to be bored. That is correct Lynn. I agree.
In my opinion if the DZ block is not for the Z/28 it came with, it is just another sbc block.

[ZLP955]

Originally Posted by NorCam

They are still an early block and most are 010/020 high nickel.

The 'high tin/ high nickel' story is actually just a myth, John Hinckley posted about this over at CRG:
"And, as it turned out after further research with the Saginaw Foundry (now called Saginaw Metal Casting Operations, part of the GM Powertrain Division), the old story many of us were led to believe about the 010/020 describing the tin/nickel alloy turns out NOT to have been true at all, although the magazines thought it was true and continued to publish the tale, and still do today.
Actually, the "010/020" cast into the front bulkhead under the timing cover turned out to be simply the identifier for the foundry pattern for the front bulkhead, which was shared by the 3970010 (350) and 3970020 (307) blocks; it had nothing to do with the iron alloy, which was never altered for any particular production block (although the alloy was altered for some later low-volume GM Performance Parts over-the-counter "Bowtie" blocks)."

[Mr70]

I just read that about the nickel too.

[NorCam]

Good to know. I've heard arguments on both sides and never knew what to take of that.

I like Sam's view on the blocks.