Tinman427

Got some questions on this engine stamp, every indication is that its a 65 300 HP 4-speed with a carter AFB carb, 5300 red line, etc, making it a HF code at the end, but I have never seen a three letter identifier before, any ideas?

Nowhere Man

Three letter codes where used on passinger cars and the third letter was for the carb H for Holley and R for Rochester

Tinman427

Geralds57

Restamped. Font of vin is too big and the 1’s should not have a foot.

65GGvert

If that says HAH,

HAH 1966 327 275 4 manual, Holley Carb

not Corvette

Tinman427

provette67

There are a couple other threads here now discussing this car already.

https://austin.craigslist.org/cto/d/...498167431.html

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...tin-texas.html

emccomas

I am wondering what size font was used for the VIN derivative for passenger car engines in 1966, at least at whatever assembly plant this engine was installed at.

It MAY be a correct engine for a 1966 passenger car.

Definitely not a Corvette engine.

R66

I have a Spare 300hp/327 in great condition.
Heads 3782461 (double hump) A266 (Jan 26, 1966), 62 cc, 1.94 intake, 1.50 exhaust
Block F020IHCH Flint, Feb 01, power glide, Holley carb - used in Corvette and HP cars, but no VIN stamp on the block 3858174 date code A266 (Jan 26, 1966)

As there is no VIN, I know it is not a Corvette motor. Could be a 67 Impala, Chevelle, or Camaro but I thought they stamped all HP motors with the VIN in this era of the early 60s.

Wondering if they only stamped VIN numbers on HP motors with 4 speed transmissions?

redsplitwindow

My buddy had the car expected.
Birdcage problems.
Also the cast date on the block is sept 3rd of 65 same as the HAH
Engine suffix.......it's a 65 327/275hp.
Car was inspected by a forum member.
Both frame rails are bad also.

redsplitwindow

Sorry it has a 65 date code for a 66 model year
Definitely wrong motor

Nowhere Man

nope. I know for Chevelle the only ones that got the vin stamp from 64-67 where 65 L79 and 67 L79 and SS BB cars. I think that is true for Impalas as well. so there is millions of 327 out there with only engine assembly stamps from my understanding this was only done for insurance and high risk stolen cars

W Guy

For what it's worth, Starting in the '62 model year, through '64, all passenger car plants were to stamp the VIN derivative on all 300hp and higher engines regardless of transmission. If one is missing, it's because the worker didn't do it.

That edict may have carried on past '64 but '64 is where my research stops.
Verne

emccomas

And ultimately they moved to stamp all engines. By 1968, all engines and transmissions should have had the VIN derivative stamped on them.

Having said that, I do not recall ever seeing a 1967 engine that did not have a VIN derivative on it.

R66

Now that I remember, I became the owner of a 327 that was removed from an old Massey-Ferguson combine. This may be that engine, which may explain the lack of VIN stamp.
The farm equipment manufacturers used the International and Chevrolet small blocks in motorized farm equipment for many years.

This SBC has almost no cylinder wear nor ring ridge and the valves and guides appear almost new so I am sure it had very few hours on it.

Old farm equipment bone yards might be the perfect source for a near perfect non-VIN stamped SBC when you are restoring the C1 and C2 era cars. They may have even used BBC engines on larger combines.

GearheadJoe

As noted in an earlier post, GM did not start adding the VIN derivative to all engines at the same time.

In the early days, before 1963 or so, the only stamping on the pad was the engine code stamping applied at the engine plant. This stamping showed the date of assembly and a 2 or 3 character engine code that specifically defined the engine build. Any change to what the engine factory installed in the engine (distributor, carb, water pump, etc.) resulted in the creation of a new engine code.

Starting around 1963, a VIN stamping was added to all Corvette engines. The VIN stamping was made at the Corvette assembly factory after the engine was installed in a car on the production line. So, compared to the engine stamping applied at the engine plant, the VIN stamping was done on a different day, in a different plant, by a different person.

I'm not certain, but I think the VIN stamping had something to do with tracing parts from stolen cars.

During the 1960s, VIN stamps were selectively added to certain "high value" passenger car engines, but not all passenger car engines.

I have a 1964 327 block from an Impala that has a vin stamp, and the engine plant stamping indicates it was a high performance engine. I also have a 1967 327 block from a low performance Camaro that had a 2-barrel carb and a Powerglide transmission. That block has no VIN stamp.

My guess is that the engine shown by the OP started life as a low power 327 that had an engine code but no VIN stamp. At some point someone decided to add the VIN stamping that now appears on the pad. The engine code stamp should be sufficient to determine what sort of car the engine originally came from, but the three letter code shows it was not a Corvette.

68hemi

They actually began stamping the partial V.I.N. on the pad in 1960 on Corvettes.