Engine identification
 

This is probably a newb question but I can't find an answer and I know there will be people here who can help. Is there a tag on the engine block to make sure the 440 is the 370 horse motor and not something out of a family car? Thanks for your help.

Jake

As old as all these cars are getting to be, there is no defacto way to ID "an engine" simply because over the years it may have been rebuilt with different components You CAN dig up the casting and stamping numbers on the block--and this is well documented on the www, and find out "where it started" but this hardly tells you anything at all about "where you are."

THE BLOCK Even though a block may originally been out of anything from a motorhome or truck to a HP musclecar, the internals of the engine over the years means that whatever numbers on on there are irrelevant. There does not seem to be any really important difference in RB blocks except a few alleged to be of better alloy Many many truck blocks have been built into successful HP engines

THE HEADS You'll have to pull the valve covers at the very least, to get the head casting numbers, and EVEN THEN someone could have dropped different valves into them.s

THE CAM Of course ANY cam could have been installed over the years

GENERALLY You have all the other little bits that make or "don't make" an HP engine,---forged crank, oil pump, high quality cam drive, different (high/ low) compression pistons and on and on. All of this stuff could have "come and gone" over the years. No reason to assume it is all there now.

On the machined pad behind the water pump it will be stamped HP(67-69) or HP2(70-71)