Oh knowledgeable ones...I recently purchased a '68 that has a 427 CE/TH400 but I am wanting to try and find out what engine the car actually rolled out of assembly with. I just registered it on the C3 Registry and there is an entry for the VIN right behind mine and one two ahead. Here is my question: Both of those show to have 327s. Would it stand to reason that vehicles coming off the assembly line in together would have the same engine? My first thought is that they would; however in the case of the VIN right before mine, it is a manual vert and mine is an auto coupe, so that kind of blows that theory. Any thoughts? Any other way for me to track down what this '68 actually came with? Thanks for the help!

 

C3s were built to order on the assembly line. VIN has no relation to options, including engines or transmissions. The CE block is a hint your car might have been a big block with an engine replaced under warranty. That said, without original factory documentation with the car, you may not be able to determine how it was equipped when it went to its first owner. Any chance you could contact the seller to see if documentation might be available?
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Hi, it sounds like you're trying to figure out if your car originally came with a sb or bb. There are a lot of knowledgeable people on here that will give you more, but here are a few items I can think of.......
* You can check and see if you still have a tank sticker on top of your gas tank. You don't have to drip the tank to see if it's there. Use a boroscope and see if you can see it first.
* What is the redline on your tach?
* Does your car have a rear stabilizer bar?
* Does your car have the original steel brake lines at the rear trailing arms directly to the rear calipers? If so, bb lines had 'armor' where the line does a nearly 180 out of the calipers. sb lines had no armor.
* Is there a return line going back to the gas tank, or only the fuel line running to the fuel pump?
* Do the half shafts connect to the diff with u-bolts or caps?

Those are a few questions that immediately come to mind. There are more. Answer these questions and we can give you more help. Best, Paul

 

Thanks Paul! This is super helpful and yes, you're right, I am trying to figure out what engine originally came in it. I am still waiting on the transport to deliver it so I can't answer some of the question yet, but have some pictures that may address some of the questions.

• Tank sticker - I will check that once it arrives
• Tach - Yellow begins at 5,000, redline begins at 5,500
• Rear stabilizer bar - I'm not sure?? See picture below to help out with this question as well as the half-shaft question
• Brake lines - Will have to investigate when the car arrives
• Return line - It appears that there is no return line. See picture below
• Half shaft - It appears that it connects with U-bolts
  
  

 

Thanks for clarification on the assembly line Mike! I was kind of thinking the same thing as far as a CE but then the more I thought about it, wouldn't it have been pretty easy to have a donor car with a CE 427 that was transplanted into this? I should have clarified beforehand that this is a newly rebuilt 427. Thanks--Lee

 

Yep. Big block swaps were common.

 

Dear Looker...
There is a 'traveler sheet' pasted to the top of the gas tank.

By borrowing a BORESCOPE and gently peeling back the rubber boot around the gas filler, you can slip the scope down onto the top of the tank and look at the traveler sheet, IF IT'S STILL THERE.

This will help with the 'born-on' info.

Unkahal

 

You are most welcome. What I'm about to share I believe to be correct. These are 'indications', but not 'verification'. If I'm wrong on some of the comments, a more knowledgeable forum member will correct it.
* Tank sticker is the best way, but after 50+ years it's a crap shoot. Bore-scope is your friend.
* All BB had rear stabilizer bars. I haven't reinstalled mine yet, but they attach at the top of each trailing arm above the spring bolt. You can see where it would be on the attached.
* All BB cars had armor on the rear caliper brake lines as you can see in the attached picture. If you still have the original lines and they have armor, this is a good indication.
* All '68s had front stabilizer bars. Base suspension and SB cars had 3/4 inch diameter bars. All BB and F41 (hd suspension) had 15/16 inch bars. I don't believe your car has F41 because you have a 9 leaf spring (F41 has 7 leafs) and it looks like the original spring. So if you have a 15/16 inch front stabilizer bar, that is a good indication.
* I believe all SB cars had return lines to the tank and BB cars did not - but it may be that only tri-power cars did not have return lines - I can't remember for sure.
* SB cars used u-bolts from the half shafts to the diff. All BB cars used caps as shown in the attached pic. It's possible that someone may have changed them one way or the other, but not highly likely IMO.
* Not sure about the tach redline - someone will have to step in here. This is what I think, not what I know, except for the L71, L89, and L88 which for sure have a 6500 redline: I believe the 390 hp 427 had a 5600 redline (and maybe the 400 hp too); I believe the 350 hp 327 has a 6000 redline. A pic of your tach when you can will help.

Keep us informed of what you have and what you find. Stay well, Paul



Half shaft caps


Brake line armor; rear sway bar mounts just to the side of the brake line on top of the trailing arm.

 

Thanks again Paul! I have included two more pics: 1) instrument cluster. Not the clearest picture, but it looks like a 5,500 redline, or possibly 5,400 if that even exists. 2) found a picture that had the rear brake caliper and it does not have the armor.

So, if I am following along correctly, the indications seem to be pointing toward a SB. The half shaft u-bolts, no rear sway bar, no brake line armor all seem like items that would not have either been replaced or removed. Gas tank (no return) and tach both seem like parts easy and reasonable to be replaced during a resto. Hopefully the tank sticker is still there! Any other thoughts are most welcome! Thanks--Lee