1961 283/270 Engine Finally Home

[Tom Bryant]

In 1975 I removed this 1961 270 horse engine from a 1955 Corvette. I put it in a GM engine crate and set it in the corner of my Dad's garage where it sat undisturbed until last week. Dad passed away in January at the age of 92 so now I'm in the middle of settling his estate. Part of that is moving my engines out of his garage. I had originally intended on putting this engine in my '59 but now I'm not so sure. It's a cool thing to have though.

It's a very late 1961.
The block is cast 3789935 and casting dated F201. Block is stamped FO622CU.

The heads are cast 3774692 and cast F161 and F181.

The water pump is cast 3782908. Is this a correct pump?

The carbs are Dec 1960 and the valve covers are old castings without the seams.

The distributor was MIA and I reused the starter so I have no number for that. The car had a 4 speed in it and it remained.

There is no VIN on the stamp pad so I think this was probably a parts counter engine assembly with carbs installed from another source. I think it would be nice to see this engine in a quality restored late June or July 1961 car more than to use it for a driver engine in my '59. Time will tell.

Thought you would like to see an original unmolested survivor engine. The one picture shows it sitting in the corner of my shop. Will it set unmoved for another 30 years?:eyerole

Tom

 

[firstgear]

In 1975 I removed this 1961 270 horse engine from a 1955 Corvette. I put it in a GM engine crate and set it in the corner of my Dad's garage where it sat undisturbed until last week. Dad passed away in January at the age of 92 so now I'm in the middle of settling his estate. Part of that is moving my engines out of his garage. I had originally intended on putting this engine in my '59 but now I'm not so sure. It's a cool thing to have though.

It's a very late 1961.
The block is cast 3789935 and casting dated F201. Block is stamped FO622CU.

The heads are cast 3774692 and cast F161 and F181.

The water pump is cast 3782908. Is this a correct pump?

The carbs are Dec 1960 and the valve covers are old castings without the seams.

The distributor was MIA and I reused the starter so I have no number for that. The car had a 4 speed in it and it remained.

There is no VIN on the stamp pad so I think this was probably a parts counter engine assembly with carbs installed from another source. I think it would be nice to see this engine in a quality restored late June or July 1961 car more than to use it for a driver engine in my '59. Time will tell.

Thought you would like to see an original unmolested survivor engine. The one picture shows it sitting in the corner of my shop. Will it set unmoved for another 30 years?:eyerole

Tom

Tom, I don't really know much about the engine....but I know a little bit about Dads.....and I am sorry for your loss.......I am sure he is looking down form above getting a chuckle as he sees you wrestling with all this stuff from you that found it's way into his garage....dads never say anything about that stuff........they just love us......

good luck with your stuff......

 

[dennisb]

Tom,

Interesting. Mine is a July 1961 build date and missing the original engine. For a minute there, I was holding my breath hoping you were going to list my VIN on the engine stamp. That would have been almost beyond belief. If finances were different and I were able to do the work myself, I'd give some consideration to buying it from you. But alas, mine is a driver and not what you would probably consider a quality restored car.

 

[Tom Bryant]

Tom, I don't really know much about the engine....but I know a little bit about Dads.....and I am sorry for your loss.......I am sure he is looking down form above getting a chuckle as he sees you wrestling with all this stuff from you that found it's way into his garage....dads never say anything about that stuff........they just love us......

good luck with your stuff......

Thanks. He was a good dad and I'm just thankful that he got to live out his years in his own home. He had a bicycle shop in that garage for years so my stuff was just a drop in the bucket. It took a month to clean out that garage. I sold to a few different buyers of obsolete bike stuff and even then ended up scrapping a lot of parts, many of them new but just no market for the stuff. I even gave stuff away to some high school kids that were into restoring old bikes.

Tom

 

[Tom Bryant]

Actually I would be happy to see this engine in any Corvette that matched the dates, like yours. The problem is that this engine has become worth a lot over the years. The late Dale Pearman told me not to take less that 4-4500 for it without the carbs. That takes a lot of people out of the market, including me if I was looking to buy an engine. That's why I say quality restored. Not because I don't think that the driver is good enough for my engine but because I feel that to spend that amount of money for virgin numbers you should be putting together a car that is going to be Top Flight all the way. If you didn't deck this engine and had your vin properly stamped on the pad not only would this engine look correct it would absolutely be correct.

On the other hand if I could find a correct cast, dated and stamped block for my '59 that has never been dinked with it would be fun to put it in the car just to have the correct engine. It would be strickly a luxury thing since my car has no chance of ever Top Flighting but would make the car a better converstion piece than it is now. If that bare block ever showed it'self I would have to have it if I could somehow scrape up the $$ assuming it was priced somewhere in the realm of reality.

Tom

Tom,

Interesting. Mine is a July 1961 build date and missing the original engine. For a minute there, I was holding my breath hoping you were going to list my VIN on the engine stamp. That would have been almost beyond belief. If finances were different and I were able to do the work myself, I'd give some consideration to buying it from you. But alas, mine is a driver and not what you would probably consider a quality restored car.

 

[Vette66AirCoupe]

My '60 has an NOM built in 4/60 while the car itself was built in 10/59. I've thought of replacing this mill with something a little spunkier some day and wondered if there would be a market for the motor I'd be taking out. I guess it's just a matter of finding someone who really wants it in a limited market place. At any rate, if I can't find a buyer at that time mine will end up crated up like yours biding it's time until somebody needs it.