Crate motor ID

What should I look for on a Chevy crate motor to identify the size and build configuration of the engine? I know there won't be the VIN normally found on the passenger side deck pad.
The engine is in a car so the rear of the engine behind the head might be hard to see.

Thanks

dave

 

it wont' have the partial vin sequence, but it will have the build info with plant, date, and 3 letter code.

The code might help...for example if it's XCH then it's an LS-7

 

tell us a little more about the engine...does it have iron or aluminum heads? center bolt valve covers or the bolt holes on the outer edge? small or big block?

i've installed quite a few chevy crate engines , but never really noted any numbers on them...is it REALLY a chevy factory crate engine? does it say " made in mexcio" on it?


the 350 goodwrench engine 260 HP has iron heads and the normal outer edge bolt valve covers

the 350 HO engine 330 HP has iron heads with center bolt valve covers

the 350 ZZ4 355 HP engine has aluminum heads with center bolt valve covers

hope this helps

 

I am going to lay an eyeball on the engine this afternoon so I havn't seen it yet but it is supposed to be a 350 Chevy crate motor and I know very little other than that. I will let you know what I find out.

Thanks

dave

 

36 gave you pretty much all the info you need...although if it's the aluminum head motor the ZZ4 thing is the 3 letter code stamped on the block, the first of the aluminum head series was the ZZZ about 15 years ago.

 

The ZZ series of SBC crate engines will have a code stamped on the pad. See the above photo. The engine in the photo is a ZZ3......the last marks in the numbers....

ZZZ
ZZ1
ZZ2
ZZ3
ZZ4 .....and so on.

Other Chevrolets will have a code too.in the same place......post the code and then it can be determined.....

Disclaimer.......the photo is not my engine........I took the photo from the internet.... But I believe the engine belongs to a HAMBer....

 

I've asked the same question with no concrete answers either.

I get V1201XCD

intake 3972116
heads 3991462
block 3970010
Factory push rod guide plates
It has the small balancer but the water pump had to be replaced with the short one to fit behind the radiator.




It appears to be a crate motor because it has no partial VIN and I Don't know a single hot rodder that would bolt the lifting lugs and the GM stock sparkplug wiring loom on if he replaced the intake with a HP GM unit. My guess is the intake has never been off the engine since it was assembled in the factory. I'm pretty sure these were mounted on the engine before it was shipped to the assembly plant.

I have never found an answer to my puzzle.

 

any chance of finding the casting dates on the heads, block, or intake? on cast iron Chevy parts the date code looks like

B 27 7

which in the case of the bellhousing I was just staring at it was cast on Feb 27, 1957. The last digit is the last digit of the year, so it helps to know the decade that the part was made. I believe the 010 block was only made from 69-79

cast aluminum parts sometimes had the month-day-year somewhere.

My guess is that the 350 is from the 70s....a crate LT1 or L82 engine.

As I said the XCH code was used on the LS-7 which was sold over the counter from about 1970 to 1990. The XCD code isn't far away from that.

 

Yeah, I had the date codes when I first started looking. All of them were 1970 ish and everything points to a LT-1. They must not have documented crate motors. This is the only SBC that I've ever had where we couldn't figure it out. Crate motor is the only thing I can figure. Only the fat wallets messed with crate motors before the 1980s in my neck of the woods.

 

Well I saw the engine and here is the only numbers I was able to see and they are from the engine ID surface in front of the passenger side head.
The first is: 2V0623 or 2V0628 and then in larger letters just in front of that (toward the radiator) is: OVP

The owner dosn't know jack about this as he bought the car from aomeone else.
He claims the engine has 15000 miles but from the accumulation of oil and grunge I would bet more on the line of 75-80000 miles.

Engine is TPI and does start and run but has a dead miss.


Thanks

dave

 

i have a 350 chevy crate engine numbers on pad on front of passenger side head are
2m1021 below that is 4vp can anyone tell me what they mean.