My brothers 69 Camaro and questions about BB Chevies...

[moparguy]

I do not claim to know very much about BB Chevies but my younger brother is building a 69 Camaro and wants to go BB.
I have found a 454 in a salvage yard complete with pulleys and powersteering pump on it for $300 but I do not know what year it is?
How can you tell what year a BB longblock is?
This engine color is blue,has a very thick harmonic balancer on it if that makes any difference in the description.
Did any 454 from 1970 to 1990 have steel crank or forged pistons?

[Bill Howell]

Mopar Guy,
I would guess you are looking at a truck motor with it being blue. By the time GM started painting them that color, not many cars had 454s. There is a number stamped on the block somewhere. Either on the right front pad in front of head or around the oil filter. If you can get me a number, I can tell you exactly what you are looking at. Is the motor complete? If so, look at the flywheel and describe it. To answer your question, yes some came with steel cranks, but until we know what you have, it would just be a wild guess. Is it carb. or some type fuel injection? If you can not find any stamped numbers, try to get the block casting number, but the stamped number is best so we can tell what year it is,etc.
Good Luck!
Bill

[4FTTY4]

Mortec.com has some really good info as far as block and head identification goes.

[moparguy]

The engine is complete and it has a cast iron 4 barrel manifold on top of it. I will go back tomorrow and have another look see.