Hey gang. I THINK I know what I’m looking at here, but could use some confirmation. This engine is in a ‘62 Chevy 4wd I’m looking at. Truck is advertised as “Factory V8” and seller believes this to be the stock engine. I’m pretty sure it ain’t… most of these had the 292 L6. The GMCs had the 305 V6. “Not Stock” may be a good thing here depending on the markings. Any help is always appreciated. Engine in question. Stamp on the deck pad. Also head casting. Crop showing driver-side head. Thanks in advance, fellas.
FII25RP Flint, November 25 Really need the casting number to verify, as Highlander stated RP shows up as 64 Vette.
Yeah, man. Correct. J185969 is not part of the truck VIN. I got 250HP '64 Vette 327 as well. The heads aren't familiar to me...
When you or the seller says "factory V8" do you want to know if the truck came with a V8 or has the original engine in it? That engine as had been said is not an original 62 truck engine. The vin might tell if it was a V8 or 6cyl truck. Good Luck, Pat
Hey, Pat. I’m not concerned about “original”. GVWR tag shows info for a 230 I6. Stock V8 in ‘62 would have been the 283. Just looking to see “which” V8 was swapped into this once upon a time. Truck is a fairly scarce 4wd Suburban. Looking like 250HP ‘64 Corvette 327, but the head markings with accessory holes are unfamiliar to me.
But how would a Corvette engine have a J in the partial VIN? They didn't make Corvettes at Janesville. If you want to know more about the engine, you might want to look for the casting date code at the back of the block, and pull the valve covers to find the casting dates and casting numbers on the heads. Also there is no info on which engine was installed in the truck, on the GVW tag, It just shows what was available. I expect the build sheet is long gone. I found a build sheet in a 66 truck once, it was in the seat backrest. Interesting....
I'm "looking" at this truck over the interwebs with a seller that's slow to respond, so can't easily do all the investigating I'd like to do. The 327s supposedly were not available in the Suburbans until '66. Curious about the J in the VIN...
In that case, I wouldn't worry too much about the engine. You know it's not original to the truck. I'd assume the engine is not worth a whole lot. Chevy V8s are not that hard to find/build/whatever. The condition of the rest of the truck is much more important. I built a 64 4x4 burb for a friend many years ago, they sure get a lot of attention these days.
...but they weren't available in trucks. I think that the first year for the 327 in a truck was '66 in a 3/4 ton Camper Special.
The 327 was available in bigger trucks starting in 62. C60, etc. First availability in light trucks was 66, and they were in the half tons as well as 3/4 and 1 ton.
And that’s why I love this place. 27,468 years or experience at the click of a mouse. Appreciate the feedback, fellas. I’ll let y’all know how things shake out.
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