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I think I just answered my own question. The "L" from the partial VIN is Los Angeles. The original owner was in the service so i'm sure he bounced around a lot. I'd be up for a drive from L.A. to MI... ~Smokey

Bryon, i'd love to know that myself! The only thing that sort of makes sense is when I bought the car in VT, the family said they were originally from MI. I thought the V on the block meant "Flint, MI"? The rest i'd love to figure out.

"Custom Stock"...oh on the tires?! I always thought that was funny as well. And hell yeah, early 80's ya *had* to have raised white letter tires on your Camaro. You weren't badass if you didn't LOL. When I found it in CT, it was on jack-stands without any wheels on it. I could hear it run, but that's it. He said he had some "rollers" he could put on it to drive up the flatbed. Cool. The Rally Wheels were a bonus..he said that's what it had on it when he originally bought it. I bought it from him that day and just wanted it to my house as quickly as possible as I knew if someone else saw it like I did, they'd give him more as all I had was a handwritten "Bill Of Sale". I had to do a "Title App", I don't think you needed a Title in CT at the time, it was too old plus he only raced it, never put it on the Street so it didn't seem to be a priority with him. So I call a buddy of mine that owns a flatbed and he agrees to meet me in the sticks of CT and bring it to my house which is about 15 mins. No. of Boston. So I drive down there with my girlfriend at the time (thank God I brought her) and we're waiting and waiting and now it's getting dark and this guy is getting weird. So I got sick of waiting and I jump in it and drive it home (my girlfriend drove my truck home). No headlights, just running lights, no side glass at all, etc. I can't believe I didn't get stopped or arrested. The brakes worked but the pedal itself was a bit wobbly. The transmission (factory auto) was alright once you got it going but low gears were rough and it would idle really high before it caught and got going. It's a TH400 but I think i'm going to put a TH2004R in it so I don't have to monkey with the driveshaft (as in shorten it). I love the thought of "overdrive" in one of these.

Old and lingering memory problems and Camaro's in different Zip Codes i've held onto for 30+ years...check. My other two beasts are in my other garage, locked up and I rent out the house on the property. It'll take a few days to get over there (hopefully during the day when they're not home as I don't know if I want them to know what's in there..the windows are shaded out). My blue '69 SS has a weird racing history. I'd love to run the numbers off of that puppy. All three of these of cars found me by freak accidents BTW. The blue SS I found in a barn in CT ('82?) while getting lost to a wedding way out in the sticks. So I was looking for a place to turnaround and pulled into a driveway and there it was. His wife wanted a BMW so he sold it to me for $3K. It's definitely been raced, full old-school big roll cage, fuel cel, etc. I'm trying to attach the one of only two pics I have of it. It has straight headers on it and it makes small children cry it's so loud. I believe it has the original 350 in it, most certainly punched out to God only knows what. Sorry about the quality of the pic...it was taken the night I buffed it, then used this nifty disposable Camera. ~Smokey

Thanks again Bryon. Yeah, supposedly in MA if you can prove that you registered and insured the vehicle previously and currently don't have the title, the title app. is free to these old cars. Which, thankfully I did. Oh anything to torture the RMV i'm all for LOL. I'm calling my old insurance company tomorrow. What do I have to lose?

I know, right? I've spent most of the weekend trying to remember the family's name. I can't remember as it was 30+ years ago (I couldn't tell you what I had for Dinner two nights ago). I'm trying to research the approximate address (rural VT..shouldn't be too difficult) where I got it from and work from there as it's a way better lead than my memory. I've had several people write me that were kind enough to ask me if it's okay if they re-print/re-post the pics. *Absolutely*. Just if you find something interesting, feel free to let me know. Hell...flood the 'net with them (pictures) as i'm dying to know anything about this. I was also thinking if I take the title and work backwards, that might work. The MA laws are always changing and for a while you didn't need the title if it was such and such years old but a "Bill Of Sale" would do. Which is what I did when I registered and drove it that one Summer in the mid to late 80's. I couldn't find the title at the time as I know I didn't need it. Now my insurance co. is telling me that if I can prove I registered/insured it previously, they can get the title, free. Otherwise it's a $50 "Title Application". I'll gladly pay the $50 at this point. But I most definitely previously registered and insured it through them.... Again, thanks everyone for your help....seriously. ~Smokey

Yeah, i'm thinking it's not original as well. Of all the "engine pad" pics of '68's (and '67's...I restricted my search to MO blocks) i've yet to see another block with any kind of letters underneath the "partial VIN" and engine code. It's definitely a '68 302 with a Winters aluminum intake and what looks to be a huge 800 Holley 4-barrel carb. I'm the 2nd owner and the original family I bought it off of swears they didn't touch the engine. Which I believe them as they had no reason to lie..I had already bought the car, had the title in my name in hand and lived out of State meaning....I wasn't ever going to see these people again. What their Son did to it or had done to it, i'll never know, he died in 'Nam. But he had the car a couple of years before he passed so who knows. I'm thinking he had *something* done to it and the shop either stamped his initials, or the shop worker's initials onto it. Just a hunch.

Seriously how filthy could one car get? 34 years of storage can/will do that to you. Yes i've started it since then. It purrs like a kitten. The car is going to be taken completely apart (or mostly) and I had originally planned on scrapping this engine for a 383 stroker until I scraped away the grime and saw the numbers. I'm keeping it, needless to say. Thanks for all the info everyone, seriously. I really appreciate it. Here's another pic of the pad..don't know if it's any better than the one Darrell posted for me but here goes. ~Smokey

Darrell...again, thanks a million. The weirdest part is that the "MJL" looks factory to me for some reason. Or most stamping plates can be made/adjusted to look factory...don't know, this is new to me. I'm trying to re-size a couple of pics so I can attach them. Thanks for your input...it's helped a LOT. ~Smokey

I still can't figure out how to add an attachment. So I made the pic my avatar. Way easier. Thanks for any help.. ~Smokey
PS) Also, it has a "W" with what looks like a snowflake around it on the intake on the drivers side of the block. I have a pic of that as well. All I can get from the Internet is that it was made by "Winters Foundry". Were these common on '68 302's?

Hi! I'm new to this so please go easy on me LOL. I can't find this info anywhere so here goes. I have a '68 302 block that has the letters "MJL" stamped on it under the "V0520MO". Any idea what this means? If you want a pic please feel free to private message me or something...THX