Okay, first of all, I've never paid much attention to LS5 stuff. I do have an original engined 70 LS5 Corvette roadster, but haven't watched the Chevelles much outside of a casual glance, although I did have a 71 LS5 Chevelle in the late 80's.

Yesterday at Moultrie, walking through the swap meet I spied a Q-Jet type LOW RISE manifold, oval port, in aluminum with the Winters snow flake, looking just like an LS6 as far as the profile goes. Upon closer examination it said GM right at the front but where there should have been a casting number, there was none, only some ripples. The intake looked original with even a few traces of orange overspray around the edges. I walked around in the car coral looking for 70 big block Chevelles. Seemed like all the 396/350's had cast iron intakes and I saw one Chevelle, supposedly an original LS5, with cast iron, but nobody was around it to answer any questions. Next I saw an LS5 El Camino and it had an intake just like in the swap space, (aluminum) but with a very clear casting #. I was always under the impression that the only Q jet alum intake made for the old big block stuff with oval ports was the 68/69 427-390 Corvette which of course wasn't as flat as the 70 designs. My 70 LS5 Corvette has what I believe to be the original intake and it's cast iron. My 71 Chevelle had the original engine, and as far as I know the original intake, also cast iron.

Although my casting # reference material is somewhat limited after 69, I can't find any mention of an aluminum, oval port intake listed after the 68/69 Corvette unit. I'm sure somebody probably knows the answer off the top of their head.

[This message has been edited by 2BlueLS6's (edited 02-03-2002).]

I could be a marine intake. GM made a bunch of strange Qjet intakes for Mercruiser over the years. One has brass inserts at the water cross over to help control the erosion.

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www.muncie4speed.com (http://www.muncie4speed.com)
Gold 67
1967 Malibu, 2nd owner.
1971 Malibu, been in the family since new.
There is nothing like rowing through the gears at 7500. Stick cars are so much fun they should be a controlled substance!

Are you sure the 68-69s aren't as low as the 70. All of the ones I have run across were. If it is in a Chevelle there is no reason to run one. When I first got my 70 Elky with a 402 it had one I just changed to an earlier fac. std height one. To say it ran better was an under statement.

Mike, I'd say yes off the top of my head, but I've never measured one. What I'll say for sure is that the 427/390 HP Corvette intake looks different from the ones I saw 2 of at the show. I have an old 69 390HP intake on my parts shelf, but've never seen one like these two before. These 2 in question looked very similar in outside appearance to an LS6, which to me is UUU-GLEEE.

To the best of my knowledge, in the history of the entire world of Chevys, the ONLY BB, alum intake WITH a Q-jet bolt pattern was for the 68-9 Vettes with 390hp/427. And of course, it was for oval port heads. It was nearly a twin to the low rise, cast iron, oval port, Q-jet intake.

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Tom Parsons

That's what I've always said Tom, and the main reason I'm so curious. I wish now I'd gotten the casting # off the intake on which it was legible. The intake I have here from a 69 390HP Vette is a 3947801 and the 2 intakes I saw just didn't look the same. The one on the Red El Camino belonged to someone in Birmingham unless I'm mistaken. It'd be nice if somebody from around there knows him.

'68 and '69 427/390 in Vettes are the only two Big Block engines that came with an aluminum Q-jet intake on a production car. This intake is about 1/4" taller than the cast iron low rise so they look very similar. The '68 #s are 3919849 and 3937793 depending on early or late build date, and the '69 # is 3947801 of which I have one.