'68 SS Decoding Issues...

[Brett Slater]

Hey Folks,

First post here...

A buddy of mine was finally able to buy his old SS back after he'd been chasing it since the mid '90's. It's not often you hear people talk about the "one that got away" only to be reunited with it some 15 years later.

I stopped by his place yesterday and he gave me the VIN #s and some numbers from the trim tag in the hopes that some of you Camaro Gurus might be able to decode whether or not his car came out of the factory with the L35, 34 or 78 396.

Few particulars:

Big Block, 4-speed, 12 Bolt
Black Standard Buckets
No tachometer
TR 712
D 2
Grotto Blue
Black Vinyl Top

I have the VIN here which I'd rather send in a PM.

If any other info is needed, please don't hesitate to ask.

Thanks in advance!

[Unreal]

From your question, I assume the motor is long gone. Unfortunately, the 68 trim tag tells very little about the car's pedigree. Without original motor, or paperwork the best you can do is work backwards through previous owners ---made easier by the fact that your friend is one, so he can start backwards from the mid 90's.

If you can already establish that it was a b/b, then you can look for remains of which one. Most notably, the L78 had a single fuel line, so check that, as well as the fuel line clips and sending unit.

Good luck with the research. To me, that's part of the fun of the hobby.

[68SSCamaro]

All 68's had single fuel lines. Two fuel lines started in 69.

Get the rear end stampings off the forward face of the axle tube on the passenger side.

What engine does it have in it now and are there any pieces on it from the original engine?

Martin