[GLHS60]

My first decent car was a 67 Beaumont SD 396 / 360 HP with Holley carb and iron intake. I'm curious if anyone has any info on 67 360HP Beaumont engines. I know in the Chevelle world this engine only existed in 1966 but I have seen a few others years ago. Try and understand way back in the 60's and no one was interested in numbers matching etc. like today, just mostly how to find one and get it to run faster. One Dealer told me they used the engine in part of 67 as a response to the Holley carbed 396 / 375 HP engines that were starting to be seen in some Chevrolet products.
Or perhaps they were left over 66 engines used in early 67's. I've seen too many almost new ones to think they were all swaps. Any one with build sheets or G.M. historical 67 SD info that would confirm their existance??

Thanks
Randy

 

[1966_L78]

My first decent car was a 67 Beaumont SD 396 / 360 HP with Holley carb and iron intake. I'm curious if anyone has any info on 67 360HP Beaumont engines. I know in the Chevelle world this engine only existed in 1966 but I have seen a few others years ago. Try and understand way back in the 60's and no one was interested in numbers matching etc. like today, just mostly how to find one and get it to run faster. One Dealer told me they used the engine in part of 67 as a response to the Holley carbed 396 / 375 HP engines that were starting to be seen in some Chevrolet products.
Or perhaps they were left over 66 engines used in early 67's. I've seen too many almost new ones to think they were all swaps. Any one with build sheets or G.M. historical 67 SD info that would confirm their existance??

Thanks
Randy

Sounds like "decal engineering"...

There really is no difference between the 360HP and 350HP engines, but for some reason Chevrolet revised the HP numbers down (I believe they did this with Corvettes too, as the 1966 L72 was initially 450 HP, then changed to 425HP, with no change in content, not to mention the 425HP/375 HP L78 controversy)...

MOST '66 360HP engines also used the Holley carb, with only a few using the Q-jet (mostly California smog equipped that got the Q-jet, and were still "360 HP" engines). The iron Holley intake is a VERY common intake, not only used on Chevelles, but full-size models too (also for the '66 390HP 427s)...

The "dealer's" info doesn't make sense to me...

Try and understand way back in the 60's and no one was interested in numbers matching etc. like today, just mostly how to find one and get it to run faster

Exactly... Was you car NEW when you bought it??? Perhaps a previous owner swap to a '66 iron "Holley" intake and Holley carb thinking it would have better performance? They might have also swapped on the open-element aircleaner, complete with the original 360 HP decal, especially if they were swapping from a 325HP engine with the closed (single snorkle) air cleaner originally...

Beaumonts used Chevelle engines, and (someone correct me IF I am wrong), Chevrolet does not have records of a 360 HP 396 for 1967 (not just a "U.S" version). There has been research done on Big Block production at the Tonawanda New York engine assembly plant, where ALL 396's were built ( agian, someone correct me if there was another plant). Since Chevrolet used the same plant for all US BB engines... I know there were tariff issues, but I didn't think Canada had its own engine assembly plant...

 

[GLHS60]

Im not saying for sure it was sold new that way, just inquiring if anyone else remembers this. Your right it was two years old when I bought it and anything could have happened during this time. What now seems odd is I have seen a few others around that time and thought nothing of it then. I spent many hours at the Pontiac dealer then as I knew most of the staff and the car was not anything unusual other than SD 396's were always scarce. Someone brought up on another board a while back, I can't remrmber where, that his Dad or Uncle worked at a Pontiac dealer and told him that 1967 396 Beaumonts were more powerful than 1967 396 Chevelles and it got me to thinking about this car. I just surmised that perhaps there were a few 360 HP engines still in stock and they found their way into some early cars. Chevy 6 & 8 cylinder engines were built in Canada from about 1954 but I don't think MK IV's were built here.

As to the 450 HP 427's and 425 HP 396's etc.etc, I fully understand that whole picture right down to the red front marker lights on some 1968 full size MK IV's. and there is no controversery to me. I was just curious if anyone else had any knowlege of any 1967 360 HP cars.


THANKS FOR YOUR REPLY!!

RANDY

 

[CDN SS]

All cdn BB engines came from tonowanda .... the key is the engine designation "L34 " 360hp in 66 and 350hp in 67 identical engine possible an early 67 beaumont got a 360 decal L34 was the only BB offerred in 66 and early 67 Chevelles & Beaumonts built in oshawa ....I have seen GM canada docs with incorrect hp numbers on occasion ........ but engine id always correct ie L34 ....... chevelles and beaumonts built on same line ide ntical engines

 

[GLHS60]

All cdn BB engines came from tonowanda .... the key is the engine designation "L34 " 360hp in 66 and 350hp in 67 identical engine possible an early 67 beaumont got a 360 decal L34 was the only BB offerred in 66 and early 67 Chevelles & Beaumonts built in oshawa ....I have seen GM canada docs with incorrect hp numbers on occasion ........ but engine id always correct ie L34 ....... chevelles and beaumonts built on same line ide ntical engines

Any 66 L34's that I have ever seen had Holley intakes and carbs and had 360 HP decals and "almost" every 67 L34 that I have ever seen have had Q-jets and intakes and 350 HP decals. so in my eyes that would not be identical ??.

Thanks
Randy

 

[Keith Tedford]

A friend has the early '67 L34 Chevelle that he bought new. It came with the same Holley as did the '66 L34. Some time later, GM switched to the Q'jet. If anything, the Q'jet would improve the hp and performance despite what the decals say. The hp numbers were a little optimistic anyway.

 

[GLHS60]

A friend has the early '67 L34 Chevelle that he bought new. It came with the same Holley as did the '66 L34. Some time later, GM switched to the Q'jet. If anything, the Q'jet would improve the hp and performance despite what the decals say. The hp numbers were a little optimistic anyway.

This is the type of reply I was hoping for. And yes a 350 HP Q-jet version would out run the little Holley they had on the 360 HP versions. I never considered the HP ratings of the day as an actual guage of how powerful the engine was but more as a method of identifying the engine. There were many cases of engines with a higher rating that were less powerful than a similar engine with a lower rating. Do you remember if your friends Chevelle had a 360 HP sticker or 350??

Thanks
Randy

 

[Cam]

Any documentation for Canadian Chevelles & Beaumonts for 1967 (early & late build) showed the L34 as being rated at 350 horses. It is ironic that in 1966 with the 360-horse rating they used a Holley carb with a smaller cfm rating (685) than the 1967 engines (about 750 or so).

The Quadrajet 396 wasn't offered on Canadian Chevelles or Beaumonts until about the winter of 1967 when the 138-series SS396 & 738-series Sport Deluxe; at that time the 325-horse 396 (L35) was made standard on those models.

Oshawa was getting all big block engines from Tonawanda then.

For the record, in 1966 in the U.S. the L35 had a Quadrajet but sometimes came with the small Holley (denoted by an "H" as the unusual-for-1966 3rd letter in the engine code.)

 

[CDN SS]

Cam .you are right on .....I was involved in Stock class racing these cars back then and we watched for the q-jet release later that year and switched the early build L34 car from the holley ....also any suggestion the 66/67 Beaumont had a different Hp rating etcetc over the Chevelle is incorrect we had a choice of both same dealer owned both dealerships ..... in fact the 67 Beaumont was slightly heavier than chevelle .... Back in the day a lot of incorrect info was around esp if were trying to sell cars .no intenet etcetc if a 67 had a 360hp decal it was pbly a mistake or a very early build car ..............it was still a L34

 

[Keith Tedford]

With the L34, I think that the camshaft ran out before the restriction of the carb would come into play. My L34 '66 SD396 Beaumont got treated to an L78-L72 solid lifter cam and the car ran noticeably better. Sounded better too. That's seat of the pants and isn't always the best indicator.

 

[CDN SS]

With the L34, I think that the camshaft ran out before the restriction of the carb would come into play. My L34 '66 SD396 Beaumont got treated to an L78-L72 solid lifter cam and the car ran noticeably better. Sounded better too. That's seat of the pants and isn't always the best indicator.

Ah yep the carb was not the problem the cam was ......in local stock eliminator we ran a hydraulic lifter copy of the L78 cam "for testing purposes" our orders was to never let a non GM car beat us

 

[GLHS60]

I've always considered the H.P. ratings of the day more of a means of identifying an engine rather than actually how powerfull it was. eg 396 with oval port iron intake with small Holley = 360 H.P. Now I see there were lots of 396's so equipped. I was looking through the NHRA listings of what carbs, etc, are legal for Stock class racing and was suprised to see how many Chevrolet, not just Chevelle, engines were so equiped. 1965 325 H.P, 1966 360 H.P. and 1967 350 H.P. Surprisingly I couldn't find a Q jet listed for 1967 350 H.P ?? Small Holleys were legal on many 427's and 327's too. I always thought a 275 H.P. 327 was Q jet only, but they also list the Holley. So I guess my 1967 Beaumont with the little Holley was nothing unusual after all !!

Thanks
Randy

 

[Luke]

'66 L34 Holley was a 585cfm. Chev. rated vette 427 390hp with that carb thats even a bigger joke than the 360hp, but that HP number looks cool on my air cleaner.

 

[chevypower57]

I have a 67 SS convertible. It has an EF coded numbers matching pad. The intake is the Q-jet spread bore style and I got it with a closed original air cleaner with a weathered but ledgable 350 hp decal. The carb is a stick carb and the distrib is a 1111169. I have seen original 350 hp cars with holleys on them as well but they all seem to have open air cleaners. My intake casting date is matching as far as being cast as the same week as the block. The question is were there two styles of 350 hp engines and can you spot them by if they have an open or closed element? Second question: Did non A.I.R. cars use exhaust manifolds with square plugs in port tubes? I have found so many originals this way and have to think they are correct.

Look forward to the input on these questions. Regards, Jim Keegan

 

[Keith Tedford]

Just because a car has something on it today doesn't mean that it came from the factory that way. I had a '66 SD396 360hp Beaumont in '67. The original owner had installed the L78 cam and solid lifters. I put a Ram Air III cam in a '69 GTO that I had. A friend bought a new '67 SS396 350 hp in early '67 and it has the 585 Holley. Later on GM went to the Quadrajet. The 350 and 375 hp cars always got the open element air cleaner and the 325 hp cars got the closed breather.