where do I look to identify the engine in my car? its a 66, and I was told it was a 327.. i know it is a small block...but I am so knew to chevy's i do not even know where to look to identify the engine. any special casting numbers or stamps I should be aware of?
thanks in advance

casting number should be towards the back of the block, on the drivers side... Here is a link if you can get a number off of it,,,,
http://www.mortec.com/castnum.htm

casting number should be towards the back of the block, on the drivers side... Here is a link if you can get a number off of it,,,,
http://www.mortec.com/castnum.htm

thanks so much!

Mortec will tell you what it started life as, and is a wonderfull site for info. If you can match the block casting # and the head casting numbers, you can feel pretty assured you have an original engine. But that's not a 'positive' ID. The 302, 327, and 350 share a 4.00" bore. If the motor is 'original' and unmolested then you can feel safe that it would be a 327 (assuming the casting number is for a 327 and not a 283). AND if original, a small journal 327 at that. (which would be evident by the casting number listing as pre 1968) In mid year 67 GM switched from the small journal to the 'medium' journal used through the end of the smallblock production (except for the 400 SBC's in the 70's)

But even identifying the 4" bore casting (small or large journal) doesn't tell you 'everything'. The small blocks are such wonderfull little animals that you can take that 327 block and make it anything from a 302 to a 383 and you would NEVER know it from the outside. What all that is leading up to,,, check BOTH heads for matching numbers, that match the block number, and use your best judgment if the engine has ever been apart and rebuilt. There are a lot of tale-tale hints to show if it's original 327, and or if/how much it's been modded. If you have any picts of the motor post them or send them to me and we'll be happy to offer 'opinions' of what it appears to be.

http://www.villagephotos.com/pubbrowse.asp?folder_id=1987128

on there you will see all pictures. thanks so much for the information.. greatly appreciated and informative.

Jamey

From the hip,, most probably is the original small journal 327. Aside from the look of 40 years of negelect,,,, A few things are good 'indicators'. First, the road draft breather intake. There was no PCV system back in the early days and they used a road draft block and intake. The road draft breather is the pipe thingy at the back of the motor behind the distributor (runs down the passengers side of the bellhousing). I thionk I see a pipe running back from under the carb to that tube. (a first hint of the PCV systems to come) Second the intake has the vent tube fill. Later motors used rocker cover oil fill caps. Another hint, the rocker covers are the straight across rocker cover bolts. Earlier 283 heads had a staggered bolt patern. I think (reads: be cautious of this statement!) the straight across bolt patern started on the 65 and later 327 (old shelf stock of the 283 heads GM had on stock were staggered) AND, the very fact that it is a 4bbl (isn't that an old Rochester 4v???) is GOOD indicator of the 327. The 283 would have only had the 4bbl if it was a powerpack mnotor, and hence staggered rocker cover bolt patern.

So,, that's what I see anyways (and remember of the evolution of the sbc in the 60's) IF anyone sees something they disagree with, PLEASE correct it.

Now the bad part,, Jamey,,, wow..., I hope you have DEEP pockets and LOTS of time!!! I think it's FANTASTIC that your keeping another elcamino custom out of the crusher. But OMG,, do you ever have a chore ahead of you.

Wow is all I can say... It needs alot of work but it does have some nice parts on it. If I'm not mistaken isn't that a 12 bolt rear end; I wonder if its a posi?

thanks Marv for the input.. yeah its a lot of work, but I have done nothing but mopars for the last 10-15 years and have been wanting to get into chevy's for a long time. so... on that note, I know for a fact it will be a heckuvalot cheaper doing this one than my mopes.

I did decode some of the numbers as shown:

block - 378270 which equates to a 327 62-67 2 bolt main
it had this stamp on there (what does it mean?): T05T4SA

the heads are off another engine: 333882 (74-75 350/400 76cc) are these decent heads? dont know the valve size

the front clip's base color is red and was painted white, so the front clip is actually off of another car (SS car?)

That is a 12 bolt posi, raised it up on a jack and the tires spin the same direction. I will go and look for the VIN now... thanks again.

boy, this mystery is not unravelled yet... there is no VIN tag on the dash housing on the drivers side of the car (nor does it seem like one was ever there)... the engine is not original, the front clip is not original, and I have no idea what the original drivetrain was on this car... hmmmm... it has some goodies, but I think this car is a frankenstein... are there any other areas on chevys that you can locate the vin (i.e. stamped on panels)?

Compared to the Mopars,, your in for a ATREAT. They actually HAVE NOS, good used, and aftermarket things to for these cars, and they don't take a second mortgage on a house to afford them! Your right, you can probably do a concourse restoration on' 'this' elky for less. I'm helping my body man with a restoration / recreation of a SuperBird,, what a NIGHTMARE!!!!


Look at this pic. (http://www.small-block-chevy.com/empty1.JPG) See that little hint of a rectangle (about 1" high and 2"-3" across) that is straight above where the steering column comes through the firewall, and just to the left of the hole that is where the windshield wiper motor mounts. That's the cowl tag your looking for.

The 67 327 sounds like we have an original block and it is a SMALL JOURNAL motor. Make sure any parts you order for the lower 1/2 of the motor you specify 65 SMALL JOURNAL. This motor has rods with the smaller rod bolts, smaller crank journals and the good news, there were no 327 4bolt blocks but the casting is hellbent for stout, don't sweat the core your starting with. And I don't think there were ANY 327 small journal cranks that wern't a forged crank. As long as the motor isn't siezed, cracked, rusted because someone allowed water down the intake, you have a great platform to build on. The heads are ,, well,,,,, what's a nice word for "some of the best of the stock emmissions JUNK",,,,, crap, will that word do? The 882 heads are a large chamber smogger era head. They are OK and probably not a bad choice for a 400 (which the 882 was one of the original heads for a late 70's 400's) BUT,, with the short stroke of the 327 your going to be VERY anemic in the compression department. I did a quick calc and IF you have flat top pistons in this 327, you have at best 8.1:1 compression, and more likely 7.9:1. That big 76cc chamber of the 882 heads is a bad idea on a 327. The short stroke is a little weak on low speed torque anyways, take compression away and it get's down right lame! No matter unless you doing a restoration, the early GM heads are all pretty lame in comparison to what is available in todays aftermarket. And a new aftermarket head is probably cheaper than it will cost to refurbish a 40 year old set of heads anyways. So, if the motor will turn over, I'd say you have a platform to start with if you want to keep the 327. I'm doing a restoration / recreation of a 67 and decided to keep the 327 for the period correct notion, and add the modern hi-tec ammities (E-tec aluminum heads, hydraulic roller, Holley MPFI fuel injection, serpentine belt drive, 700r4 trans...) everything to bring the 40 year old technology into theis century, and make the little 327 as efficient as possible. There a sweet little engine and don't be fooled by it's size, the 327 can be a SERIOUSLY impressive, just takes some thought and of course,, $$$$'s

All that to say, don't be too disappointed that the motor is not all original. Not very many of these things are, and it's not a big deal. Most of the parts you have would have to be rebuilt anyways, might as well upgrade.