I justr aquired an early hemi and we thought it was a 354 for the following reasons. It came with 354 heads...raised ports and water passages in the end of the heads. The stroke is 3.63, 354 stroke. I don't have anything to measure the bore except a ruler so accuracy is questionable. It appears to be close to 4". 354 stroke is 3.94 and the new pistons in the block are stamped .020 so that puts the bore at 3.96. Now here is the rub. From what I have seen, early 331 engines use the same timing cover as the Desoto hemi. As I understand when the extended bell housing went away the timing cover was changed to the 392 style. The early style cover aka Desoto cover fits this block. Another confusion is the number at the front of the valley cover that does not match any number that I can find. M354-5163 The M usually designated marine engines but this block doesn't have the lower water passages that marine engines have according to PWAs id page. http://www.earlyhemiengineparts.com/showpage.cfm?catid=1775Hemi This block has more space above the water port bolt holes at the top of the block like 392s but with the Desoto cover that's misleading too. I have attached pictures of all this stuff including casting number. Compare it with PAWs ID page...Any ideas????
1619829 is a 354, the M prefix would seem to indicate a '59 354 truck hemi. It also has the W mark that seems to be on truck engines, the heads # seems to be for a '55 331 car. Water openings @ the front?
All the truck blocks I've seen are cut for the poly heads, and have the W on the side, one more thing they are A1 castings. I have an identical block in my shop now. You can buy a new timing cover from Hot Heads and use a Chevy water pump.
Ok since this seems to be a truck motor what did the valve covers have stamped on them. I didn't get the valve covers with the engine. Being a truck motor were they Dodge Red Rams or did they still have Chrysler Firepower stamped on them? What should I look for???? I know Firepower would work but it would be neat if they made a set of Red Ram covers to fit this engine
I have a '56 331 truck hemi with the "W" cast on the side. The valve covers are plain with no stamping. I have heard they were supposed to have stickers that said "Power Giant", but they are not on my engine. It still has a set of stickers that say to use 3/4" inch reach plugs that are in good shape and look original, and the paint looks original. There is no evidence I can see that there were ever any other stickers on the valve covers. This engine had a different timing cover than a car (I know because I have a 331 out of a New Yorker in my dirt track car), but no water crossover. The crank pulley is different as well, using wide belts.
The valve covers on truck engines were blank (no script). Not ALL truck blocks had the pushrod holes like the poly blocks have. I have a truck block sitting on the floor right now that does NOT have these cut holes like the one shown here. Mine simply have holes, like standard blocks. It is also a 331 truck block and not a 354 truck block, though. Truck blocks and Poly blocks do all seem to have the 'W' on them for some reason. Still can't get anyone to tell me what the hell it stands for. BTW, don't reply on the PAW page. It's not completely correct.
By the way. VT usually indicates a Truck block while M indicates marine applications. However, I KNOW George has a bitchin' reference book, so I would listen to George.
Truck engines used the same front cover bolt pattern as the 51-54 331. A 331 with a crossover will be a 1955. I have seen truck valve covers with and without the Power Giant decal. I wonder if the decal material was sensitive to gasoline and easily removed. The long reach plug decal was used on the 354 to differentiate from the earlier 331 short plug. .
This was supposed to be a good running engine when pulled, so I have never taken it apart. It turns over easily and you can feel the air coming out of the spark plug holes when you turn it over, so I thought I'd try to start it. Plus, it has fresh, clean oil in it. I am just finishing up a universal engine test stand for it so I can try it out. If what you are saying is correct, what I have always thought was a 331 may be a 354? I believe the stamp on it is VT-448 (I'm out of town at the present), which I always thought was a '56 331. Ooooo, more good stuff for me, perhaps? Also, I have the timing cover and crank pulley off of the New Yorker engine (as well as the 4-bbl intake), which I am planning on putting on the truck motor if it checks out.
Post #26 here: Interesting... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=121000&highlight=hemi+tech&page=2
Assuming that you have truck heads, unless the NY engine was a 1954 model you will be left without a t-stat. My information shows the vt-448 number used on both engines. When you have the intake off, see if you can read the block casting number. .
Now that I think about it, the engine in my dirt car (from a '54 New Yorker) does have 3/4" reach plugs. I got so carried away with the possibility that I may have a 354 instead of a 331 that I didn't think about it. Rats.
I have seen the 1619829 used in several configurations, including both car and truck front face and 331 and 354 bore. After 50+ years, it is hard to say what this started out as. I am sure of a couple things. The heads did not come on this block from the factory....no matter what the application was. Also, all W blocks are not A1 blocks. What it boils down to is that you measure bore and stroke and insert the numbers. (bore) x (bore) x (stroke) x 0.7854 x (# of cylinders) = cubic inch.
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