I know there was a 220 hp 283 4 bbl option on 64-66 Chevelles and possibly the 65-66 Impalas, but I have never seen anything to suggest that this engine used the 327/300 double hump heads.
..thanks guys for everything. I will get the rear block #'s and the number from George Zapora and see if collectively we can get to the bottom of this. I'm fascinated and appreciate all your knowledge. I know a fair bit about 60's cars of all types but not as much as most of you guys....thanks again!!
And to top it all off, our mechanic, who's right now building two mid-60's Mustangs (one a super-rare 64 1/2 prototype (with factory 4-piston disc brakes!) that almost made it to the crusher..!) a '69 El Camino and a '70 440 'Cuda and who's a walking f----ing encyclopedia of car knowledge, told me today, "Oh no Neil, you've got a 327 in there." So go figure...!
Ches, look at the front face of either head just above where they meet the block. Do they have two semi-circular "bosses" there cast into the head? If so, then the engine has the 327 'double-hump' or 'camel-hump' heads with the larger valves.
As an aside, how do you afford gas for that thing in Britain....??
................................................
Well, I looked at my heads today (and started her up for the first time since I broke my pelvis in January) and immediately saw what have to be witches hat bosses, so I guess it's a 195/283.
On the gas question, it is a problem as we are currently paying C$1.78 per litre. However, I am in the very fortunate position where I can get enough Avgas (which of course has lots of lovely lead in it and is 100 octane) for most trips in the Parisienne. Every day, at the airfield where I work, they have to sample a gallon of fuel from each of the three tanks for testing. By regulation they cannot put the fuel back in the tanks and they have to keep each sample for a week. As a result, since I know the fuel guy well, I get my 5 gallon can filled pretty much whenever I like for C$1.05 per litre which I believe is only just above the Canadian average price. We also have two other advantages in the UK that ease the cost of owning any car built before 1973. Firstly, the Road Fund Licence for such cars is issued free of any charge (it's normally somewhere between C$300 - C$600 per year) and also insurance for classics is very cheap - providing you have a daily driver insured normally - the Parisienne is on a policy that includes 4 cars and 4 drivers, including my wife, and my share of the cost is only C$105. That's fully comprehensive and agreed value. We also have a '72 VW Camper that works in the same way. Without those breaks I certainly couldn't afford the hobby.
So this is interesting for everybody who's been following this thread. Ches has "witch's hat" heads on his 283/195 and we have double-humpers. When I finally get all the numbers off the GM docs and the engine, it'll be very interesting to see exactly what combo we have...stay tuned...
