I decided to work on the TA today and also see if I could find out what my motor actually is. Can't check the vins because the block was swapped before I bought it. Anyway the kid said that a 350 was swapped in and Im not too sure. Its a standard, and a 2 bolt. Just above the engine mounts reads "638" on both sides. I have looked this up online and am pretty sure that this means its a 350 but I'm having trouble determining what kind it actually is. So I took off the valve covers with intentions of repainting them (which I did) and came up with some numbers. 14101081 and under that C207. I looked this up and found out that those are 305 heads! So a 350 block with 305 heads? Not too sure if this is common although I know it has been done before but I am having trouble finding any other sort of number anywhere to identify the engine. Any and all help would be great. Thanks! - Justin

 

http://search.yahoo.com/r/_ylt=A0oG7...evy/sblock.php

 

So 638 is a 327, 305, or 350 casting.

I'd rule out 327 just because they weren't that common (nor desirable unless they're in a numbers matching, original car) and it just doesnt make sense that you'd have one for a few reasons.

Its most likely a 305 because it has 305 heads. Those 081 heads are decent heads. That's what the 305 TPI cars got. In all likelihood it looks like a stock (maybe replacement) motor that someone put a carburetor on. But dont fret, the 305 TPI cars made more power than 90 percent of the 70s "350" garbage, and even more than 99 percent of factory 400's. So dont feel too bad. If you're LUCKY it's your factory 305, which means it has a roller cam, so if you wanted to upgrade cams you can make some decent power with it.

 

You could try looking behind the driver side head, on the edge block near where the bellhousing bolts are. GM started to put the displacement there on newer blocks. It might say 5.0L or 5.7L.

 

Blocks ending 638 would be 327/350 or 307, not 305.

They didn't put numbers on the side of the block in the eras when the 327 and 307 were cast, and those blocks have the dipstick on the driver side while it's clearly on the passenger side in the photo, so I'm going to say it's a 14093638 1 piece RMS 4" block.

 

So your thinking it was originally a 305 TPI and they took off the TPI setup and threw on a carb and intake manifold?

 

How sure are you of this, I heard it was a gmc truck motor but Im not positive by any means. I just wanna feel good and know that I have a 350

 

Would it be on a piece that pertrudes from the engine, or on the rear side, theres not a lot of room for me too see anything lol

 

Take a look at your VIN, specifically the 8th digit...

1. 'F' = 305 TPI
2. '8' = 350 TPI
3. 'E' = 305 TBI

At least that way you can figure out what motor it HAD.

From my experience, usually when someone tells you they "put a 350" in a car, it's really a 305 and they just got the numbers mixed up and don't care to know what the difference is.

 

Admittedly it is tight and hard to read but the full casting # is on the bellhousing flange behind the driver side head as already said. If it is 14093638 as Apeiron believes then he is correct. This will also give more info normally but we need all the #s.
As was just stated above many people say 350 but have no idea if it is a 350 or a 305. The last three '350' engines I went to look at turned out to be 305's based on the casting number. The last one was a 87 truck 305. I think that many do not know so they just call it a 350 because that is what you hear about the most.

 

http://outintheshop.com/faq/casting/castings2.html

Apeiron is right, I misread the charts. If you CTRL+F for 638 there are 2 305 blocks that show up, but the last digits of their numbers are 6381 and 6383, 638 wouldnt be the 3 digits that showed up on the outside of the block, it would be 381 and 383.

So you most likely DO have a 350 block. The only difference between a 327 and a 350 is the crankshaft, so it could be a 302, 327, 350, or a 383.