I have a chance to buy a complete engine for $600. The casting number is 3963512. Can I tell if this is a four bolt block without opening it up? Will the presence of oil cooler holes above the filter be a reliable sign? Is it guaranteed to be a tall deck?
Only info I can find shows 2 or 4 bolt 427. I've never seen a 2 bolt tall deck. Far as I know, all were 4 bolt mains. To tell from the outside if it's a tall deck, look for the riser cast into the front of the block with an 1/8" pipe plug hole near the front where the intake manifold would seal.
This is according to MorTec's list!..I would go by the cooler bosses to see if it's a 2 or 4 bolter but that's not a 100% accurate either since the bosses are on the the 2 bolt blocks and can be drilled and tapped very easily and someone could have done that at one time!....
BTW, it is not a tall deck!...
3963512....427.......69......2 or 4 bolt
3963512....454.......70-76...2 or 4 bolt
Snow, that 512 block is worth big $s to the chevy restorer. Place an ad in your local rag to trade for a later block plus money! That makes someone a 'numbers correct' muscle car. In case you didnt know.
GoFast, how do you know its not a tall deck? I thought all truck blocks were tall decks. CJ, my local population does not support enough motorheads. I was going to save it for myself.
That's the sure way, Fiat. I know that because the block you sold me had the same passage. Missed it on my build until I was priming the motor, never had a tall deck before. The engine runs great. Sometime soon I'll send you the particulars on what I did. Upgrading my rudder, rudder box, and the bottom now.
However, can I tell if its a tall deck from the casting numbers? I'm pretty sure that all I'll get from the guy is a casting number, some photos and a promise that it will rotate freely.
Gofast will have to tell you how he knows. Best I can figure out would be there was never a 454 tall deck. All were 366 & 427. The Riser is the dead giveaway. Never seen one without it. There was also a thin wall casting late model tall deck. It had a Big L cast into the side of the block. But it had the riser. I'll dig some more.
Update: all the info I can find shows it's a low deck 427 or 454 70'ish.
Originally posted by Snowboat
GoFast, how do you know its not a tall deck? I thought all truck blocks were tall decks. CJ, my local population does not support enough motorheads. I was going to save it for myself.
Ken, a 512 block is not a"Truck Block"!. A truck block don't mean it came out of a pickup, they were used in commercial trucks, bobtails, tractors pulling 40' trailers etc. The reason for a tall deck was to add another ring for oil control because of severe duty use. Genuine "Truck Blocks" were 366-427, they never made a 454 in a truck block!.
most pass. blocks have very little space between the water pump mounting hole and the deck. a tall block has almost a half inch above holes,(.400)
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