whats up well you may have seen a few posts of mine looking for a camaro well i finally found one... its a 82 camaro use to have a 6 cyl in it but the guy swapped it for a 350 and i just want to know how to identify the engine...(what year it is and if its a roller cam) im aware of the engine identification # but i dont know how to read it can anyone help me out?
thanks,
john

 

"What year it is" tends not to be real meaningful; people get a block from one place, a set of heads from somewhere else, whatever cam, random pistons, etc. Getting the "year" off of the block tells you ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WHATSOEVER useful about the ENGINE.

Same for the roller cam deal. You can take ANY block, even one tha tcame with a roller cam from the factory, and stock a flat-tappet cam in. In fact, that'd be more likely with a rebuilt motor, than to get a roller cam back in it.

Get the block casting #. That will tell you at least, whether the block is set up for the factory roller gear, or not. THat's about all you'll be able to learn from it.

Likewise, get the head casting #s, and that way you'll know if you have good ones, or if you need to be finding a boat somewhere that needs anchored more securely.

Post whatever numbers you have. The "stamping codes" on the front of the block are going to be utterly worthless though, because all those will tell, is what application the BLOCK came from. Won't tell what pistons are in it, what machine work has been done, what cam is in it or even whether it's a roller or not, and so on. Basically WORTHLESS, if the motor has been so much as TOUCHED.

 

The casting number can at least let you know if it's a 4" bore 350 block or a small bore 305 block.

The stamped number will tell you what the engine originally came from. If any work was done to it, you'll never know, such as grinding the crank, cam swap etc. If the block has ever been decked, the stamped number will be gone.

Look on the pad in front of the passenger side head. There will be a sequence of numbers stamped into it. They're usually hard to read because of paint, dirt, oil etc. Those numbers will tell you the most about the original engine.

 

thanks guys now i just really want to know how to tell if the engine has a roller cam or a flat tappet cam.... would i just go by the # on the head and if so how do i read that one
thanks,
john

 

You'd have to take it apart to know for certain.

 

This is why you have to just look inside and see.

This is all why the stamping codes are so totally worthless. The chances of your motor being exactly as it was when it was built, are so vanishingly small, they're not even worth thinking about. It's a BLOCK from somewhere, some HEADS from somewhere else that aren't in ANY WAY related to the block, some "rebuilder" pistons that might or might not even dimly resemble what came in whatever engine the stamping code is for, a CAM that some rebuilder jammed off in there (probably a 929 copy but maybe not, who knows), and so on. Meaning, all that the "code" will tell you, is where the BLOCK came from. Won't tell you a THING about the ENGINE.

Get the block casting number, and from that, it's possible to tell if it at least has the factory roller provisions. Won't tell you what kind of cam somebody put in it, but it'll tell you whether a factory roller setup will or won't work in it. Get the head casting number, and from that, you can tell if they're garbage or worth saving or what. Won't tell you the compression, because that depends on the pistons, whihc you have to take it apart to identify. Again, the stamping code WILL NOT tell you any of that. It's useless and not worth the effort of even bothering to try to read, let alone look up.

 

lol thanks for the info on how worthless the casting #s are lol guess ill just rip some shi t apart and look for myself

 

pull a lifter and find out:P