Don't spout letters and numbers unless your right!!

I get sick of idiots trying to sound knowledgable who spout off option codes, and are wrong 99% of the time. Not only are they wrong, they usually sound really stupid to people who do know. For the common good, I'm going to clear the air on a lot stuff these idiots are wrong on.  GM stuff- # 1 "Rock Crusher" 4-speed. Every moron there is with a 4-speed GM car says his car has a "Rock Crusher."  The reality is from 1963-1983, GM used Borg-Warner, Saginaw, and Muncie 4-speeds. If the car in question has a Saginaw or BW T10, it's not a Rock Crusher. And if it's a Muncie, chances are still good it's not. Here's why-GM Used three different "Muncie" 4-speeds. The M20 has a 2.52 1st gear, is called a "wide-ratio" and is the most widely used-in SS Chevelles, Camaros, Novas, Firebirds, GTOs, 442s, etc.  The M21 is the upgrade with a 2.20 1st gear and is considered a "Close-Ratio".  These were typically used in upgraded engine options-solid-lifter 396s, RAIII Pontiacs, most Corvettes.  The M22 is the "Ultimate"-the one called "The Rock Crusher". These were about 30% stronger than the M20s and M21s, because they had straight-cut gears instead of helical-so they didn't break under extreme hard use-i.e.-drag racing. They were used in Ultra-premium applications only- Z/28s, LS6 Chevelles, 427 Corvettes, RAIV and 455HO GTOs and T/A's, W30 442s, and a few others I may have missed. Because of the straight-cut gears they were noisier than the others making a grinding sound when driving-like a kid's rock polisher. Hence the nickname "Rock Crusher". # 2 Engine codes-This really drives me up the wall. Here's a few that really send my blood pressure soaring.  # 1- "W30" Olds. GM is at fault here. They shamelessly put the "W30" moniker on a variety of Cutlass / 442 models with everything from 200 hp 455s to 160 hp 350s, to 140 hp 307s to quad 4!s from 1975-1990.  The "Real" "W30's" were only built from 1968-1972. 1968-69 models were 400 cubes rated at 360 hp, and had special heads, a hot cam with 328 duration, an aluminum intake and a trick Ram Air system. 1970 only models were 455 cubes with the same heads, cam and intake, with a 4-speed, rated at 370 hp. Automatics used a slightly less radical 308 degree cam. 1971 models were still 455 cubes and rated at 365 hp. 1972 models were rated at 300 hp because of the change from gross to net ratings. The top 455 in 1973 was called the "L77".  It had the 308 degree cam, but had an iron intake. Any 1974 or later "W30" is just a decal package. # 2 "L88" Chevy. Every moron with a big-block Chevy in anything has an "L88".  In reality-the "L88" was an ultra-premium 12:1 compression, solid-lifter 427 with rectangular-port heads, an aluminum intake and an 830 cfm Holley carb, that was produced in very limited numbers-less than 200 a year in Corvettes from 1967-69. Most other Corvettes or Impalas with 427s had the L72-which had 10:1 compression, an iron manifold with a quadrajet, and a mild hydraulic cam. These were rated at 385 or 390 hp. Even almost all of the famous, ultra-rare, "COPO" or "Yenko" Camaros and Chevelles were 396 models that had L72 427s swapped in. Real L88s are extremely rare. # 3 "Ram Air IV / 455 HO Pontiac.  Like the L88, Ram Air IV's are exceptionally rare. They were all 400 cubes, they were only built in 1969 and 1970, and they were only available in GTOs, Trans-Ams, and a very few Formulas. They differed from standard 400s in that they had forged pistons instead of cast, freer-breathing round-port heads, with 1.65:1 rockers instead of 1.5, an aluminum intake, and a cam with 308 / 320 duration and .520 lift. They were only available with 3.90 or 4.33 gears in a GTO or 3.73s in a Trans-Am. The confusion comes from the fact that the Ram Air III engine code was "L74" for both 1969 and 1970. The RAIV was coded L67 for 1969 only. In 1970, the standard GTO / T/A engine was called the "L78".  The RAIV was changed to "LS1" for 1970. A lot of people mistakenly thought the L74 was the big dog.  Only 88 RAIV T/A's were built in 1970.  The waters were further muddled in 1971. The RAIII and RAIV 400s were dropped from the GTO and Firebird line. The standard engine in a GTO or Formula 400 was the L78.  The standard engine in a Judge or Trans-Am was the 455 HO. These engines had RAIV heads and intake manifolds, but used the much milder 288 /302 duration "O68" cam. They are often mistakenly called 455 Ram Air IVs.  They were an awesome motor-produced 480 lbs of torque at 2,700 rpm. But their were only 371 installed in Judges and 2116 in T/A's in 1971. In 1972 only 1,286 were put in T/As and although 5,807 GTOs were built in that strike-shortened year, only about 500 had 455 HOs. A few were put in "Formula 455" Firebirds. However, in those years you could also get a "station wagon" 455 in a GTO or Firebird, but they had standard D-port heads and iron intakes. # 4 "LT-1" Small-Block Chevy. Every Tom, Dick, or Harry selling any Chevy hot rod or race car has an "LT-1" Wrong again. The LT-1 is a 350 with "202" heads, a solid-lifter cam and a 780 Holley on an aluminum intake. They were built in very limited numbers in Corvettes from 1969-72, and in Z/28 Camaros from 1970-72. The 11:1 compression 69-70 models were rated at 370 hp. The 9:1 71 and later models were rated at 330 gross in 71 ( 275 net) and 255 net in 1972. Here's where the confusion comes in. Up until 1968 in a Corvette, Nova or Chevelle you could get a 327 rated at 350 hp. These had the big heads and holley induction but had a hydraulic cam. They were coded "L79".  GMPP to this day sells this "350 hp" cam. In 1969-70 in Corvettes only, they also made a 350 hp 350, which was an LT-1 with an updated hydraulic cam profile that had the same duration and lift as the L79, but less overlap to make them idle better and smog easier. These were coded L46. In 1973 because of emissions, the aluminum intake and 780 Holley and long-duration solid-lifter cam of the LT-1 couldn't be smog certified. The Lt-1 was dropped from the Corvette and Z/28 and replaced with the hydraulic-cammed L46, except now they had an iron intake and a quadrajet and were coded L82.  Confused?  So is everyone else that swears they have an LT-1. Unless it's a 69-72 Vette or 70-72 Z/28 with the original numbers-matching motor it's not!!!!  Hope this clears things up a bit. Mastermind