I bought 2 455 from an old guy who didnt remember what they were out of. I was wondering if there was any way to tell what they were out of. Cast numbers are 396012 F looked that up says from what i can tell 70-72 455. They have steel 2bbl intake num 388625. Both have C heads. But the thing that got me wondering was they both have drivers side center dump exhaust manifolds. 1 has pn 384785 and i cant see the other 1 looked that up they say 67-69 LH full size 425. I quess the question is was there any 455 that used those manifolds thats why i am trying to fig out what they came out of. But i am figurin they were prob switched for some reason.

 

They are 455's. they both came from a '68 full size Olds, maybe '69

Gene

 

If you look under the head on the driver side, right in front is a little pad. It should say 38m****** or 39m******* the 8=1968 the 9=1969

Maybe the motors where in some kind of racecar of some sort that the rules called for stock type pats. the center dumps flow good.

 

Sounds like 68/69 delta 455's. Nothing wrong with those.

 

The guy thought they were out of early 70's cars but didnt remember. Hopfully they are out of a 68 or 69 so my odds of finding a nodular crank are better. The center dump manifolds are a only on the drivers side and they have the crossover pipes hooked up. I assume the manfolds were switched but was just wondering if they were supposed to be that way. Also that guy never raced so i dont know why they would be there.

 

Ok just went to the garage ad checked the motors i could get to and these are the numbers

38x128642
39c107848
38x162750
31m414647

I would assume that the 2nd number indicates the year 68 69 68 71? What do the rest of the numbers mean?

 

The letters are the assembly plant at which the car was assembled and the last 6 numbers are the order in which the car was assembled starting with 100001.

Here are the assembly plant codes.

B = Baltimore, MD
C = Southgate, CA
D = Doralville or Atlanta, GA
E = Linden, NJ
G = Framingham, MA
K = Kansas City, KS
L = Van Nuys, CA
M = Lansing, MI
R = Arlington, TX
W = Willow Run, MI
X = Fairfax or Kansas CIty, KS
Z = Fremont, CA
1 = St. Therese, Canada
2 = Oshawa, ON Canada

 

Sounds like you got a bunch of good motors over there!

 

38x128642 = 1968, Fairfax, KS
39c107848 = 1969, South Gate, CA
38x162750 = 1968, Fairfax, KS
31m414647 = 1971, Lansing, MI

The leading "3" means Oldsmobile division and the last six digits are matched tho those of the VIN from the car the engine came out of.

 

Does a 396021 Fa mean anything?

 

It's a 73-76 block. The slightly modified the casting is all.

 

Modified better or worse? The number on the Fa block is 33m224626. I seen on 442.com that Fa could be a marine motor said "L vin derivative" i asssume since it has a M its not marine. Are the marine blocks any better? Is there any diff between marine and normal blocks.

 

Nope. From what I know the marine blocks are the same.
I think they upgraded the oil drain back in a couple spots on the FA and that's about it, but don't quote me on that.