Hi everyone thanks for being there for all of us who have ???s I'm sure glad I found this site. How do I tell what motor my 68 firebird came with? My friends parents owned this since new but his brother Blew the motor back in the 70's, and replaced it with a 326 tempest, the block is long gone, but the car has only 26000 original miles on it.I know it was a 350 because of the hood emblem, and this car has never been molested, it's all original, 4 speed, except the motor. Is PHS documentation the best way? How do I tell if it's a WK or what not? I hope I'm not beating a dead horse, but I did look through many pages and found nothing on this topic. Thanks for the help.....Joedirt

Hey Joe! Great name and I'm expecting great posts in the tradition of the famous Joe Dirt.
PHS is the only way to tell for sure short of having a block with the VIN on it.

Welcome Joedirt.

Thanks for the help guys, I'll be filling out my PHS documents this weekend, remember "Lifes a garden.....Dig it" JoeDirt

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JOE, PHS IS INTERESTING AND WELL WORTH THE $50, BUT IT WILL ONLY TELL YOU WHAT ORIGINALLY CAME FROM THE FACTORY. SINCE YOU ALREADY KNOW THAT THE ENGINE WAS REPLACED, YOU NEED TO FIND THE CODES FOR THAT ENGINE AND POST THEM HERE. I'M SURE ONE OF US CAN TELL YOU WHAT YOU HAVE WITH THAT INFORMATION. LOOK ON THE FRONT OF THE BLOCK FOR TWO LETTERS STAMPED FAINTLY THERE, JUST BELOW WHERE THE HEAD JOINS THE BLOCK ON THE PASSENGER SIDE. EXAMPLE "WZ" "YS" ETC. ALSO ON EACH HEAD, WHERE THE CENTER TWO EXHAUST PORTS ARE SHOULD BE TWO OR THREE NUMBERS CAST (RAISED) THERE. EXAMPLE "670" "17" "42" ETC. THESE WOULD BE HELPFULL TOO........JOHN

Hey Joe,

What's your plans for the car?

What condition is it in?

hey joe,

try this link

http://www.pontiacpower.net/engcode01.html

it will tell you everything you need to know as far as your current engine!

Robert, my friends parents owned this since new,and gave it to his brother when he graduated in 1976,he was a drinker and blew the motor, then replaced it with a 326, but sadly he was killed in a car accident in 1979. We graduated in 1980 and it went in to storage, in 1988 a brush fire went through their place and burned down their house and garage, luckily, they saved the Bird. Knowing that I always wanted the car, and my friend had moved to Spokane, WA, and never had a place to keep it, they called me and offered it to me. The 326 they had didn't run too well, and the top was tore up, I put a new top on and one day my kids took a shingle cutter and sliced the crap out of it. I was pretty bummed out so I just let the car sit in my garage for 14 years, until my friend keeped bugging me to sell it. I said hell no and then started to restore it. So far here is what I've done. New 400, Went through the 4-speed and rear, new TOP, new interior, exhaust, this car has 29,000 original miles and is in excellent shape, just waiting for paint, which I plan on doing myself. I do plan on keeping it for quite some time I'm a little sentimental, I've had my 68 Camaro 396 4-speed since I graduated in 1980.......Thanks for all the tips you guys, this is an excellent site.........YOUR MY SISTER, YOUR MY SISTER

Thanks Drew, I went ot Pontiac Power, and as far as I can tell it should be either a WK,(4-Speed) or WR(Manual). Both have the same cast code and HP and both with Manual trans. Will check again when PHS shows up, Now I can find what 400 I have in it I think its a date correct motor, I'll let you know, Thanks again
"you call these Queer", quote Joe Dirt

joe,

if you need more info i know of a few more sites to look on. some have head/valve size and you can narrow the block search with that! you'll be able to better determine which engine is in there and what it came from! let me know if you want it.

I looked at the #'s on the block I have in my Bird this morning and will look it up on pontiac power website you showed me. here are the#s 676155 YC, I'm curious to see what it is, I was told a 400 from the 1960's when I bought it (the Motor)........Thanks for the help and the info

This is a good site:

http://www.teufert.net/identify/identify.htm

I looked at Pontiac power.com and could not find my cast # there, there are some YC codes but none with my #'s, I'll try your site Sam, thanks.............I'm saving all these sites in my favorites so pass them along.........Whisker do's and Whisker dont's

Joe,
That's not the casting number(676155). What you need is the date code near the distributor to narrow it down.

Well I can't seem to find this # anywhere (676155)YC, Did I write down the wrong #, I took it from the front of the block passenger side, [censored] now i'm not sure if I got it from the head or the block, I was in a hurry and wrote down the 1st # I seen, did I miss it??....I'll check back at noon, better get back to work.......thanks.........

The YC helps. And then you need the date by the distributor. Here's an example;

Or the casting number on the upper rear of the block, behind the passenger head.

The number you recorded on the front is the Engine Unit Number, it matches up to PHS billing history.

Thanks everyone, I'll look for the other #s tonight

OK finally to to put this to rest. The cast code # is 9790071.
YC, Acording to Pontiac Power here is the details.
B-body, Year 1968, CID 400, HP 290, Trans Turbo 400, Carb 2bbl, Mains 2, Well at least it's the correct year:):) Now if I can just find out what was originaly in it, then I can start looking for the correct matching motor. I'm in no hurry as the car runs great, and I don't plan on parting with her for quite some time, but it's always good to put feelers out there. As soon as my PHS docs. show up I'll let you all know the code, I'm pretty sure it's a WK, or WR motor, anyone have a few of these laying around??:):) Thanks so much for all the tips, this site is awesome.........."WHERE"S MY AUTO TRADER MAGAZINE"

Hey Joe... hmm, sounds like a Hendrix tune.

In skipping through the thread, the W* code blocks are manual and the Y* code blocks are auto trans. IMO don't worry about finding a correct code block. To much time and money will be spent trying to find one. Ask me how I know, a '69 WZ block is as rare as a hens tooth. I settled for a WT (GTO) block.

The original specs of your motor don't mean a thing other than the original CID. What it was rebuilt with is what counts.