The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot '60-'66 Trucks what's my engine?

Hi, the guy I bought my '61 truck from told me that it has a 1965 327 engine from a station wagon in it. Is there anyway to verify that, and maybe tell what the horsepower is, etc...?

thanks!

The engine ID code is:

F0804HC

I'd like to know what HP it is, and maybe what vehicle it came out of, so I can buy an engine manual to match. Also, what size carb it should have.

Thanks!

looks like it might be a '69 350, block casting numbers would help

Bill

HC did sound familiar to me. It was the code on my '65 327.

But I actually found HC listed for 4 different years including what Bill has also found above.

You need to find some Date Codes. The best one is on the back of the block, but may be too hard to see with the engine in the truck. But look for date codes on the Intake, Exhaust and Heads, if they are all original (the one on the Heads will be under the valve cover).

If it is a '65 here is some details on it:

HC 1965 327 Powerglide 275 4 full size

But I dis-agree with the "275". In '65, these engines were labeled as 250's. Even though they now sported the Small Double Hump Heads. In '66, they added the Quadrajet Carb and then started listing them as 275's. The Carb that was on the '65 was usually or always the 4GC Rochester (Same type carb that was on the '64 327).

If you can find some Date Codes, post them for us. The 0804 in your Engine Code tells us the Month and Day, but not the year.

That Code tells us August 4th.

Bill

Thanks, guys! Next day off I get I'll clean some (a lot!) of dirt, grime and grease off the engine. Hopefully, I can find some more numbers.

The valve covers aren't orginal, that I do know.

Thanks for the good info and the tips of where to start looking. :-)


P.S. Bill, I knew that little two-barrel carb it has on it needed to go. It doesn't even look right. Ha!

Okay, guys. Got a little time this afternoon to crawl around the truck with a wire brush looking for numbers. Here is what I found:

On the backside of the top of the intake:
3746826
GM 8

On the frontside of the top of the intake:
firing order
18486572

On the front of the rightside head:
850


And while I was having so much fun scraping, cleaning, and looking, here's what I found on the diff:

Front: 68219

Side by fill-plug: 3698535

On a small plate under the above number: 42

And a big stamped "1" next to that.


I'll continue scraping on the backside of the engine block, and see what I can find there. I didn't find anything on the exhaust.

Any info is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

The Firing Order is actually 18436572.

The Date Code will have what looks like a Slotted Screw Head, then a letter, then some numbers, then another Slotted Screw Head.

As mentioned, the ones on the Heads will be under the Valve Cover. The one on the back of the Block will be above the Bell Housing on the Drivers Side, but is really hard to see with the engine in the truck. A sample of your possible Date Code would be: *H44* or *H464* (August 4, 1964) although the Casting Date is usually somewhat before the Engine Date.

The numbers on the Intake (3746826) are the Casting Numbers and look correct for a '61 Chevy truck with a 2-Barrel.

Now that I think of it, the Date Code on the Exhaust is either most likely or always on the back side, where you probably won't be able to see it.

If the Heads are original, they will be your best bet for a Date Code.

Bill

F= Flint Michigan
08= August
04= Day of MONTH
HC= passenger car, 4 barrel, powerglide
Intake manifold appears to have been swapped...casting number is for an early model 283 2 barrel carb.

Oh yeah....250HP with a 4 barrel

Thanks for all the help.

These are the numbers on the heads: 3725306
GM 1
B236

So, it's a 1966 327 ??

Can I get your guys' opinion? I could leave the engine "as is" with the original 1961 intake and 2-barrel carb.

Or, I can get a 1965 - 1967ish intake that came off a 327, and upgrade to a 4-barrel.

I have heard that an engine will run the most efficiently with the original size and parts it came with. If I changed the intake and carb, then at least the "engine" would all belong together. More or less. It looks like there are plenty of intakes and carbs on ebay that would do the trick.

But, maybe performance-wise it really doesn't matter. Maybe it wouldn't affect things that much, and I should just leave it alone.

Oh, I suppose it might help to know what I plan on doing with the truck. She'll be my daily driver to and from work, with a trip or two to town once in a while. Not a show truck. I prefer a bit of a "rat-rod" feel, though I do not plan on dragging main street. :-) I've got friends who are looking for a newer front-end that we can use for power brakes, and a newer rear-end so we can change the gear ratio. The engine is already not stock. But the body is "all 1961", and I like the character that the few dings and scrapes give her. So, with the exception of patching some holes, the body will be kept as is.

Any ideas? What would you guys do if you owned the truck?

Thanks for the input,

Wow, someone changed the Heads too. Believe it or not that "6" in the Date Code doesn't mean 66, but '56.

With that Casting Number "3725306" B236 stands for February 23, 1956. Check to see if it has a Pyramind marking on the front of the Heads.

Bill

If you are happy in the way it runs, you could actually just leave it all the way it is.

Bill

Wow, that is a lot of years all in one engine. LOL

As far as how it runs, well, it runs fine. But it leaks. I'd like to replace all the major seals that I can get to without a complete rebuild. It's got less than 500 miles on it since it was rebuilt - even though that was close to 30 years ago. I figure the cork seals are just cracked and leaking. I hope. :-)

A Johnny Cash song comes to mind. "It's a '49, '50, '51, '52, '53, '54 ... automobile."

By the way, so what do I call the engine? I mean, does it go by the engine block, mainly?

Bill, I'll look at the front of the heads for a pyramid tomorrow.

Thanks for your help,

Carol,

As long as it is a '65 Block, you still have a 327.

By the way, those '56 Heads are special. They are actually 265, 4-Barrel "Power Pack" Heads which were also used on '56 Corvettes.

Some of those leaks could seal themselves in time.

Bill

Thanks, Bill, for the info.

On the front of the passenger side Head, I can make out what looks like an "M". There are other marks to either side, but too much grease and grime to scrape off easily. It's snowing, so I'll wait for a little "drier" day to clean more.

It's good to know about the seals possibly sealing themselves. Should I use some of that "stop leak" stuff, or is that not good?

Thanks for all your help, I know I have a lot of questions. This is my first project truck, so I'm new at it.

I like 327s with gm cam #3736097 and cammel humps with a small 4 bbls and a 4 speed. Not so much in a truck though... With the stock cam, 327s will pull in overdrive and get sweet mileage for an 8. They are my favorite smallblock. I ran 12 second quarter miles in an all steel street stock 4 dr 55 with the "30/30" cam, dad's old iron bowtie heads (unported) and flat tops. Did I mention I love 327s?

Longbed, thanks for the post. I have no idea what cams I have in that hodgepodge of an engine. That is a very impressive speed you did in the '55! By the way, what is an estimated "sweet mileage for an 8?" Just curious...

The engine is the main reason my husband was interested in the truck to begin with. The truck simply came with the engine. LOL That's a story for another time.

I thought I would post small progress made on the truck: The newer "funky" aluminum valve covers are soon to be a thing of the past. I found some bonafide 1969 steel valve covers off of a 1969 camaro used to race circle track. Breathers on the one side, and I'll add the oil fill on the other. Teeming with "old school", "rat-rod" charm. :-)

And, that 2-barrel is soon to be gone as well. I got a 1967 camaro intake with 4-barrel rochester that will fit nicely. And I think that will just about do it for the engine for a while.

Now it's time to work a little on "securing" the cab from rodents, wasps, road salt and the elements. I got the seat and the gas tank pulled this evening. Now I can get to all the holes in the floor, and the big one in the roof (where there had been a spotlight at one time).

Then it's on to changing out the rear-end and maybe finding disc-brakes. ....

If my memory serves me right it got around 19 mpg highway with a 600 holley with the stiffest secondary spring so it never used the secondaries and tremec 5 speed with 4.56 gears. That was with the 30/30 cam at that! Dont try that cam though. You won't like it in a truck.

Thanks, longbed. That really was awesome mileage! And, I'll make a note not to use a 30/30 cam. (I'm collecting lots of notes. This is a great forum!!)

The "30-30" moniker is slang for the solid-lifter cam used in some of the high-performance engines including the Corvette back in the mid-1960's. It was one of the high performance tricks Zora Arkus-Duntov had up his sleeve when he took over the design team for the small block V-8 in the early 1950's. Duntov's early performance work included designing a set of overhead-valve conversion cylinder heads for the Ford flathead V-8 engine, the famous "Ardun" heads. I don't recall the complete part number, but the last three digits of the casting number on the Covette cam was "098". The 30-30 designation came from the reccomended valve adjustment clearance, .030" on intake and exhaust. That clearance makes it noisy, and it has a very pronounced idle lope, not suitable for use with most automatic transmissions unless a high stall speed converter is installed. It's a pretty good drag race or circle track cam, but most of the aftermarket cam grinders have several stages of higher performance items for all-out race engines.
Jerry

Thanks, Jerry, I appreciate the explanation. I'm calling my truck a "rat-rod", but I understand that it really isn't going to be all that "hi-performance." It will have the understated looks, and be a smooth good driver = sweet ride. :-)

Technically speaking the '3736098 was the casting number on the gm Part number 3736097 cam I mentioned above. Lash hot was .012/.018 for 283s and published as .008/.018 for the 327s. That cam is a very streetable solid for a racy idle and midrange power. the 30/30 is part # 3849346. Very different animals.