As the title states, going to look at a 401 Buick motor and trans tomorrow. Guy says he thinks its from a 1959 which is exactly the year I need for my 1959 Buick. How do I verify that 1) it's a 401 and not a 364, 2) it's a 1959 motor. Any help is appreciated. Thanks guys. Jim
Try these sites: http://www.teambuick.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?76-Nailhead-264-322-364-401-425 http://www.buickperformancegroup.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?54-Nailhead
Block Cast # Year Displacement 1169334 56 - 59 322 Chev Truck 1173201 59 - 61 364 1174372 59 - 61 364 1185484 59 - 60 401 1185404 61 - 66 401 1196546 61 401 1196547 61 364 1340146 63 - 66 425 1346046 61 - 66 401 1349046 62 - 66 401 1354713 64 - 66 425 1354714 64 - 66 425 1364704 63 - 66 425 1364705 64 - 66 401/425 1364707 63 425 1364714 64 -66 401 This is not a complete list, but should contain the most common casting numbers used.
The only thing that I have found on location is this..... Buick/Oldsmobile Casting Numbers Buick production numbers are at the front of the engine block, near the cylinder head and follows a format similar to "1234567" Oldsmobile tends to follow this pattern also.
One way to tell 364 from 401 is to measure the width of your 401 intake and compare to this guy's motor. 364 is lower deck and a tad narrower across.
Look for 4F on block edge in front of valley pan this would indicate 1959-1960 would be 4G-1961 would be 4H
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