WTB 1959 Vette engine

[1965 Tommy]

I am looking for a correct 1959 engine for a really nice car. thanks for the help.

 

[liketotally]

I am looking for a correct 1959 engine for a really nice car. thanks for the help.

I have a 3756519 engine if that will do you any good.

 

[Beobachter]

I have a 270hp just torn down and ready to go to machine shop. No carbs, but manifold distributor, etc. Sept build date.
Let me know if you are interested and we can talk.
Thanks for the consideration

 

[Tom Bryant]

I have a 270hp just torn down and ready to go to machine shop. No carbs, but manifold distributor, etc. Sept build date.
Let me know if you are interested and we can talk.
Thanks for the consideration

Sept '58 or '59? Has it ever been decked and what are the stampings?

Tom

 

[Beobachter]

The block is stamped F923CU, it is 519 block, never decked, 892 heads, steel crank, solid lifters, windage oil tray, etc.
Be glad to answer any questions.
Best
Jeff

 

[Beobachter]

It is" I 58" for the date

 

[Tom Bryant]

1965 Tommy,

What '59 engine are you looking for? When was your car built? The engine can be dated up to 6 months before the car build date for judging but that would be unusual. I'd look for something close to a few weeks at most. Talk is that they were built and sent off directly to St Louis and installed soon after that. You would need a car built a couple days after Sept. 23 1958 at the earliest. This block was cast Sept. 5, 1958 so it is in the ball park. Some say the blocks were still warm from the foundry at Saginaw when they started machining at Flint but others are further apart. I think it makes a difference on how deep they were stacked.

I would be happy to help you sort out what you need and if this will be a match to your car if you want. The one thing I see wrong is the heads. All early '59s, all horsepower ratings, had heads cast 3755550 with stagered valve cover mounting bolts. Late '59 went to heads casting number 3767465 with straight across valve cover bolts. I'm not sure what these heads are as I don't find any 892 heads. The only thing close I find is 3774692 which was for all 1960 and sll 1961 except Fuelys. If these heads have staggered valve cover bolts and a triangle symbol on the end they would work since NCRS doesn't remove valve covers to judge head casting numbers.

My original heads were cast Oct. 1 and Sept. 26, 1958 so this block was assembled before my heads were cast so I can't use it. It is the closest CU (270) to my car that I have ever found though. Most I have found have been cast after my build date or way too early. The car was assembled on Nov 14, 1958. My original block is missing in action.

Tom

 

[Beobachter]

The heads are 692's with build date of Sept 3 58. Went back to check. These are staggered bolt pattern. Sorry for the confusion

 

[Tom Bryant]

Ok. The 3774692 heads were used from 1958 to 1964 on 283. They must have been made with both staggered and straight vc bolt patterns. I'd say the use was passenger car but externally, with the valve covers on, they would appear correct. Valve and port size is the same as the 550.

Tom

 

[cptchevy]

This is a SEP 58 motor which would be a 59 production year? I guess you would want a motor dated about a month prior to the car assembly date? I'm not very familiar with the time frame stuff of these early years. I saw this ad on my local Craigslist and thought I'd send it to you. Below is the URL. If it doesn't appear as a link, cut and paste it at the top of your screen in the address box

1958 Corvette 283 completly rebuilt

 

[Tom Bryant]

Now that's an interesting engine. That's a lot of overbore on a 3 7/8 bore block (4.030). It's been done before but a little too much for me. The "M" suffix doesn't show up in any passenger car usage up to 1964, which is the book I'm looking at. A single suffix letter is usually a truck block. All Corvettes had 2 letter suffix codes back then. Some passenger car 283s used a single letter but none were "M".

Those exhaust manifolds were not correct for any year Corvette and weren't even made until the late '60s. Also sounds like he put new lifters on an old cam. That won't last long in most cases. The intake is also a non Vette mystery.

The one shining part of this engine is the head casting numbers. They are 1957 only 283 horse fuel injection heads. They alone could be worth the price of this engine if it's not too much. Sell the heads to the right person and you could finance a complete engine build.

Tom