Hot Rods ID this engine from photos?

Can someone ID this engine from these photos? It is in a 1956 Chevy I have. Tag on cover says 1974. I don’t have access to the engine numbers and can’t get to it for awhile.. as always thank you for your expertise

 

366 based on nothing but it’s in a truck

 

It’s not the original engine of course

 

Isn't that a big block Chevy?

 

Quadrajet sideways? Does look like BBC VC's

 

Big block, can't really tell more without some numbers...

 

Yes. That’s why I’m guessing 366. Going with the oddball of the big blocks.

 

That is a tall deck medium/heavy truck engine. Look at the dual thermostat housing and the cast iron Holley pattern intake manifold. It’s either a 366 or a 427. Both very good engines, for trucks.

 

Tall deck 427 chevy truck

 

yeah, it's a medium duty truck engine. Read what it says on the tag...yeah....kind of hard to tell.

Also, s****e off the top of the block, behind the alternator, and get a picture of the stamped numbers there, it will tell us more (***uming we can find the listing for suffix codes for 1974 MD trucks)

 

Great block for a stroker

 

well...they used to be, but nowadays everyone uses low deck blocks. It'll have a steel crank, balanced for very heavy pistons.

 

It’s an adapter bolted on, and it’s not sideways.

 

Looks heavy.

 

What was the purpose of the taller deck?

 

If the intake doesn't have the word Holley cast into one of the front runners,then the guys guessing 366/427T are right I can't see the thermostat housing from a good enough angle to tell if it is a funky MD truck one,if it does have Holley cast into it then it could be an early 396 intake,it and the truck manifold were the only iron intakes to have the 4 hole holley pattern.

 

it is a double thermostat.

The tall deck worked out well with the 4 ring pistons they used.

 

A quick look at the top water pump bolt in relation to the deck surface will tell you if its a truck block or not. I believe the low deck water pump bolt is realativly close to the deck, and a tall deck deck surface is .400 higher than the top water pump hole. Heads are garbage for performance, special intake needed, pushrods and connecting rods are .400 longer... different pistons.

 

lo
Like squirrel mentioned, pistons with 4 rings way taller than low deck pistons

 

they used the short 3.76" stroke crank, normal rods, but had an extra ring on the piston, so the distance between pin and deck was taller to allow room for the extra ring.

 

You may have got me there, a could have sworn the connecting rods were longer. I do remember the extra ring on the piston. When we built our 505 from a 427 tall, we did use the .400 longer connecting rod with J&E pistons with regular ring orintation. Yes, the OEM tall had 6.135 rods.

 

interesting pistons....