The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop 216 water pump question- - - -

Can someone tell me when the 216 engines went from the single hole in the block that lines up with the water pump to the later style that has two holes side by side? I just bought an engine/trans today, and I'm not sure about the design. It turned out to be somewhat older than the seller thought it might be, but I'd already made a good deal, and I didn't want to back out on the purchase. He's got other bargain priced items I'm interested in buying. Thanks!
Jerry

1941 went to two hole.

OK, number crunchers- - - - -the stamped number beside the distributor is 32 I(eye) 4674. It's obviously a passenger car engine, because it has the tiny 3 speed torque tube transmission with the vacuum assist shift system attached. Any info on the year? Thanks!
Jerry

What are the casting numbers (part number and date code) on the block. That should nail down the year it was built.

Looking at the 1940 passenger car Vehicle Info kit, it says that the engine serial numbers start at 2697268 for Flint plant engines (Tonawanda plant engines have a B suffix). So if a factory serial number it makes sense that "I" would be a 1 (one) instead, putting it as the 517,406th engine off the line at Flint for 1940. Not sure if there were that many engines produced that year though. From the 1939 Passenger Car Vehicle Info kit, Flint engine serial numbers started at 1915447 and Tonawanda engines at B-10503. So half a million passenger car engines produced at Flint in 1940 sounds reasonable.

Another clue to the year might be the transmission serial number (assuming it's original to the engine.) For 1940, Saginaw plant numbers started at 0000001 and Muncie plant numbers starting at 3000001. In 1939, car transmission serial numbers were prefixed by SG at the Saginaw plant and MY at Muncie.

1940 was the first year for the three retaining screw oil distributor.

OK- - - -looks like somewhere in the 1940s- - - - - -This one will probably end up as a parts engine, depending on what I find during disassembly. Pre-1948 216s had slightly different size main bearing bores than the 48-53 engines- - - - -only about .004" difference on the OD of the bearings, but it's just enough to make the fit wrong for the 48-53 bearing shells. If I retro-fit the block for the Buick/Olds/Cadillac main bearings, or the small block Chevy 400 mains, that slight difference can be ignored, as it gets factored in during the line bore process when adapting to the same size bearings from front to rear. All of those later model mains are plentiful, and dirt cheap!
Jerry