Engine ID Numbers and Which Head Gasket

[tbonebanjo]

I recently found out the engine in my truck is a stock 350 from a 75 Caprice with a t400 police transmission (the engine number on the pad in front of the passengerside head is V0217CMJ and the partial VIN is 15J200496) If anyone has any more information from this please let me know. The engine was manufactured in Flint on Feb. 17, 1974. The car was assembled in Janesville, Wisconsin. The pistons are flat on top with 4 dimples in each.


I was told when I bought this truck it had a 355 in it, but the cylinder bores are 4.001". There is some scoring in the direction of piston travel on the cylinder walls, but most of the walls you can still see the honing marks, so I'm operating under the assumption that this engine was rebuilt at some time.
Is there some way to "read" these marks, to find out how I should proceed?


http://www.s10v8.com/photoplog/index.php?n=8359


The reason I have the top end apart is I need to replace the head gaskets. I decided not to rebuild the lower end, and put it back together the best I can as a stock engine. The head gaskets that came off look like plain sheet metal. If anyone has a suggestion as to what head gasket to get, that would be appreciated.

Also, the engine came with a 670 street avenger. This carb seems aggressive for a stock 350. I have a friend who told me I'd be much better off getting a quadrajet to put on it. Quadrajets are 750 cfm usually, but have a much smaller primary, so I believe I'd get better milage driving around, but still have ample capacity in the secondaries. I hope I'm not asking too many questions at once. If I change out the carb, I would save the Holley for a future high hp project.

Any and all comments would be appreciated.

[SassyV8]

definitly a 350 police eng. I looked it up.but says it a 74. but may be a late 75 model.and was w/th400

[94jimmy]

Not to hijack your thread, but where did you find that info on the engine

I have a 350 I just dropped off at the machine shop today for cleaning and boring etc, etc

The block numbers I have from mine are 3970010 and the numbers on the front pad are V0311TDR under that is C85172078. Kind of curious as to what where it originally came from - my buddy I got it from said he pulled it from a van style box truck. It is a 4 bolt and thats about all I know thus far other than the guy at the machine shop said it was a good block.

[SassyV8]

1975 350 convers. van or a 1980 conversion van ans it is a 4 bolt.K10-20 or C10 or a C15...and no you didnt hijack ....you just asked a question...I got it from nastyz28.com

[94jimmy]

Thanks- Just looked at that site and I had no idea you could get that much info about engines.

[SassyV8]

yea , I swappped out an eng .for my dad and found out from that website what it actuall came out of...so I help other guys on here as well.Allen

[manyfire]

if your not sure what bore your cylinders are you will have to measure them to get the correct diameter headgasket. If you want to increase the cylinder size you put on a thicker gasket, you need to find your compression ratio, bore size, and head size, then you can figure out how thick you want to go with the gasket.
I have a 9.78-1 so I use a thicker gasket so I don't put my compression over 10-1, just make sure you get a quality gasket if you go thick so they dont pop between cylinders. You can get a head set with all of your upper gaskets for like 55 at autozone, they will be oe size headgaskets. It is cheaper to get the entire set that way.

[tbonebanjo]

Manyfire,
Thanks. I've been following your saga "Something went wrong" and you mentioned a layered stainless gasket. What are those?
Also, I saw a Fel-Pro set, one for about $24 and one for about $55 the diference being "embossed steel shim head gaskets" (I don't know what that is).
I saw SCE copper gaskets, the competition gaskets being $180 and they require O-ring wire and sealant (I don't even know what that means).
I don't plan to change the cylinder size, so I don't need a thicker gasket than stock. I'm looking for the gaskets that will hold up best under street use.
My engine has stock bore 4.00

[manyfire]

these are the ones I bought, they fit UP TO a 4.060 bore, we'll find out if they are any good in about two weeks!!


http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/SBC-CHEVY-350-383-Multi-Layer-Steel-Head-Gaskets-MLS_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem58844c39b7QQitemZ38 0176710071QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAcce ssories

[spacecadet]

tbone by looking at your motor pic it doesn't appear to have been rebuilt. Its got too much nastys on it. Not that its a correct way to tell but you understand. 355 means that it was bored 030 over. The pistons that you have are stock for the 74 and newer emision motors. They have a slight dish to them and people consider them 'flat tops'. The 'real' stock flat tops don't have that raised ridge around the top of the piston. No big deal... don't worry about it.

Head gaskets. Just like what said there are a few different types. Unless you plan on having the block surface trued and refaced and redoing the heads and having them machined too, then the MLS gaskets aren't a good choice for you. They are superior in a new motor or a motor you want to build for power but the sealing surfaces have to be perfect. Same with the copper. Rubber coated and the sealer just make sure you have no leaks. You can't use sealer on the new compostie head gaskets or they will leak. The thickness of the head gasket also changes the compression ratio a thicker head gasket will lower the ratio and a thinner one will raise it. According to the thickness an 015 mls and a 050 could be worth @ 3/4 pts of compresion. Which will increase horsepower a little. In a street driven truck not noticeable. But in a track truck could be worth a tenth or 2.
To sum it up, a stock set of Fel-Pro's would do just fine.
Space