I recently bought an a 1965 Chevy C10 truck, and a Chevy small block was under the hood. It was a Frankenstein motor with a 1971 intake manifold, and 1973 heads. The casting number on the back of the block is 3914678 which indicates it could be a 302, 327, or 350. The info on the top right front of the head has a serial number of 781129468 and then V0I04B4. From what I was able to gather, the motor is from a 1968 Pontiac based on the partial serial number. The second set of characters I believe tell me that the motor was cast in Flint, Michigan on January 4th. BUT, I cannot find what the engine suffix code of B4 stands for. Can anyone help me out with this?
Regards,
Chris
-- Edited by cgrocen on Sunday 10th of June 2018 10:15:51 PM
-- Edited by cgrocen on Sunday 10th of June 2018 10:57:59 PM
Based on the post that Carl linked having the same unknown B4 suffix in another Canadian Pontiac, cast in Flint, maybe I'm stating the obvious when I say its a 327.
Neither A 302 or 350 was offered in a 1968 Pontiac.
I would agree that it would "most" likely be a 327 but the question would be horsepower and trans type. The suffix code should correlate to a given combination and that is what Chris and the other post were/are looking for.
Sorry I was in a rush when I posted. In 1968 production shifted to Willow Run Michigan, prior to that they were built in Oshawa. The last Acadians were all built in Michigan 68-71 models.
Ding Ding Ding! 68beaumont, you just published gold and solid documentation.
You've got to figure that in the USA the 327 2-barrel was only used in the Camaro that year. To use it, specifically tailored to a car line, dressed and ready to drop into a chassis on the assembly line, means having an engine assembly with a traceable code to schedule into production. Thusly they assign an engine code. It is also important in warranty & succession of parts numbers.
Since only the Canadian Pontiac used the 327 2-barrel that would match that configuration, this Chevrolet engine is a bit of a ghost in terms of common knowledge and online published facts (& folklore). To the average US enthusiast it is a Chevrolet engine and not a real Pontiac (ha, it is a unique Canadian Pontiac code!). As the base V8 in in one of Canada's most popular car lines, they made a lot of them in their one year of existence. There is nothing to make them particularly desirable, but it was unique in that it was a crossover engine with the new larger bearings, but the last of the old style converted PCV system and oil filler tube on the intake.
For 1969 the 327 2-barrel became the base V8 in the full-size Chevrolets so they made a million of them. Up-rated to 235 horsepower due to a bigger 2-barrel for '69, a 210-horse version remained only as base in the Camaro line and would be dropped & replaced with the 307 during the run.
The 1969 Canadian Pontiac in lock-step with Chevrolet's 1969 upgrade in displacement on B-body base V8s, also went up and made the 350 2-barrel L65 base.
Many enduring changes made their debut in the small block engines, and their accessory mounting for 1969.
This has been a very interesting and informative thread!!
I'd like to respectfully comment on one line of Cams informative post.
"The 1969 Canadian Pontiac in lock-step with Chevrolet's 1969 upgrade in displacement on B-body base V8s, also went up and made the 350 2-barrel L65 base".
Before any Chevy got the L-65 Engine around Jan 1, 1969 Chevy used the legendary L-M1 255 HP 350 4 bbl.
The LM-1 was only used for 4 months alongside the L-48 350 4 bbl, but the LM-1 made a big drag racing impact.
LM-1's are still competitive today, mostly in 1969 Camaro stockers that are not the heavier SS models.
Due to the LM-1's advantages one rarely sees a 1969 Camaro SS 350 in drag racing.
Strangely, the 1971 L-48 350 was rated at 270 HP with a lowercompression ratio.
Someone at Chevy wanted to give Chevy drag racers a little bit of advantage.
The LM-1 later returned mostly as a pickup 350 4 bbl Engine.
On the Camaros in '69 the 327 was base, the LM1 was optional. Later in the run the 327 & LM1 350 were discontinued, 307 was made base & the 250-horse L65 became the upgrade option.
Same for big '69 Chevies, the 327 & 255-horse LM1 350 were dropped late in the run & the L65 350 became base.
L65s replaced the LM1s in Chevelles & Novas late in the '69 run. Like GLHS60 said, the 255-horse was an underrated sleeper. The drivetrain was the same as the 300-horse L48 that differed in compression & gained 4-bolt mains. The 250-horse L65 went downward to Saginaw transmissions & 10-bolt rears.
__________________
67 Chevelle Malibu Sport Coupe, Oshawa-built 250 PG never disturbed.
In garage, 296 cid inline six & TH350...
Cam, Toronto.
I don't judge a man by how far he's fallen, but by how far back he bounces - Patton
