383 id number questions
 

I recently bought a what was suppose to be 383 commando out of a 67 fury. But after looking at the id numbers i don't. think it is and i was needing a little help figuring out what i got and what all these numbers and symbols mean. On the pad near the distributor it hasa d 383 and then a maltese cross under that is the numbers 11 and 16 and under that is the letter R. On the block it says the casting numbers are 24681308 LL. With the date of 10-31-67. But the d on the engine stamp would make it a 68 right. Im confused with what i actually have. If anyone can help i would sure appreciate it.

67 383
 

your motor with build date that late would be 1968...maltese cross just mean the crank is .01, .02 under? check a manual for that...

And the D in front of the 383 means it's from a '68 car. Still a nice engine :)

the model year started in late sept. so the 10-31-67 means it was cast on that date then assembled at an engine plant on 11-16 by the id pad. of 67. the r represents more factory corrections to the block like the cross. it stands for the crank is .10 under standard on the number 3 main journal.I thnk the r means something on the rods. If it was an h.p. or comando motor, there would have been an h.p. stamped on the id pad next to the 11-16.The big thing about the h.p. motors is totaly over rated, all the h.p. means is that it got a different cam and carb. If your an exacto freak more power to you. the cranks, rods, heads. pushrods. all that garbage is the same from a new yorker 440 to a gtx 440.the motors a great builder, go through it and have fun w/ it.

The only downside of not having the actualy commando motor HP motor is if you are not planning on rebuilding it and it is all original..The HP motors had a higher compression ratio and a more aggressive cam. Everything else is the same. Also In 1968 the 906 heads came out which are very good heads but they are of the open chamber design which will bring your compression ratio down further. It looks like you have an original 2bbl 383 motor. Not a big deal at all if you are rebuilding it. Sucks though if you paid extra for the HP.