Thanks so much for the help , this is a buy or not buy situation for me , i will post some more pertinent info tomorrow , stamps ,vin cowl tag and so on , i refuse to believe a decked block should nix the deal if all else points to Original Z28
there is V0I9DZ on the pad but i can't see a VIN i will look very close tomorrow . thank you so much my stress level is less the more input i get
Just keep in mind for verification of original block without a deck stamp to be viable, you have to be certain the trim tag and vin tag have never been tampered with and are legit....AND...certain the vin stamped at the oil filter pad is also legit. In which case as I said, then you can be fairly confident it's still the original engine to the car regardless of being decked. If there is in fact a JM report on the car, this will likely be pointed out.
I've known this process to be used on some non x-code Z's as a way to verify the cars origin or authenticity, and how some cars have been discovered, so to say it's not a viable method of documentation on what is known as a real Z to check for it's original block that is missing it's DZ stamp is somewhat hypocritical.
It's just an area that has to be looked at carefully before laying down money. As others said, the 69 Z is probably the most cloned car in history and there is a lot of that to go around when there is money to be made. If the tags looks tampered with or off in any way, or the vin doesn't match up with other stamps of the period or looks off in any way, or the vin simply isn't legible which is very common, I'd walk away.