Hello all,

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

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. 

cgrocen wrote:

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You could get a 350 Astro Econoflame (295 hp) in the 1968 Pontiac Acadian with the SS option.

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 They weren't built in Canada and its been established that the engine came from a car built in Canada. 

cgrocen wrote:

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73SC I learned something new.

Regards, Chris

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 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.

Hello did we ever find out what the B4 SUFFIX code is for a CANADIAN PONTIAC ? anyone!

The B4 engine code looks like its a 327 210hp from a 68 b body Pontiac. 

Here are some engine codes for Beaumont 

1968 Acadian engine codes:

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.

Here is 327 210 hp air cleaner from a 68 Parisienne. T

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 lower compression 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.

Thanks

Randy

https://www.chevyhardcore.com/news/youve-heard-of-the-z28-and-ss-but-what-about-the-lm1-camaro/

Edited trying to make the link live but forgot how??

-- Edited by GLHS60 on Friday 19th of April 2024 01:50:28 PM

I fixed the link Randy, it should work now.

4SPEED427 wrote:

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I fixed the link Randy, it should work now.

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 Right on Carl !!

Thanks

Randy

CdnGMfan wrote:

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Right on, Randy!

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.

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 Right on Cam, lots of great info!!

I tried to multi quote but obviously I couldn't pull it off.

Thanks

Randy

Another interesting thing GM of Canada did was they used 1967 carburetors for the 68 2bc production.