Engine ID #0484876

Im like 95% sure thats what it says on the block. Ive found a couple pages that had all types of engine id numbers but none of them come close. Ive googled a bunch of other stuff as well and that number dosnt pop up for anything. The id is in the same location that the pontiac sites say they are so im pretty sure im looking at the right number.


The car is a 1970 Firebird. I was told it has a 350 but I have my doubts.

EDIT: The vin number does check out to a 350

 

In those years they put an Olds engine in them I believe. Like a 403. Check on that.

 

I think the 403 was something like 79-81 or 80-81 when they discountinued the 400. I had a 1981 T/A and one of the engine options was the 403 and another was a 301?turbo.

 

Yeah the late 70s, Pontiac and Oldsmobile swapped engines at least as far as the 403Oldsmobile and 400Pontiac. You would find Pontiacs with the olds 403 andOlds with Pontiac 400s. Strange. I had a 79 TA with the Olds 403, loved that car, miss it. The WS6 versions had the higher performance Pontiac 400.

I am pretty sure the 400 and 403 were options only around 78 and 79. In 80 they went to a small block I think 301 and a turbo, they even had six bangers. I bought the 79 TA because I liked that body style and that was the last year with the "big" engine. Prior to the 400 Pontiac had the 455 Super Duties, but supposedly the performance of the 400 and 455 were very similar. Don't know, I had the 403.

The 400 was a big block, the 403 was a small block, least that is what I read. But this doesn't answer that guy's question.

I vaguely recall that Pontiac also had a 350 engine that was different from the Chevy Small Block 350. I think, but could be very wrong, that the Pontiac 350 was a big block.

Maybe there is a website that caters to Pontiacs, sometimes nicknamed Ponchos, so maybe...


Just more confusion,

Jim Henderson

 

Buick, Chevy, Olds and Pontiac all had 350's and they were all different. What was unique about Pontiac engines is that there was no separate "small" and "big" block, it was one basic engine. Ford also confused, with three different 351's, but not separate Ford, Mercury and Lincoln ones.

Jim

 

Thanks for the info guys, however i still need to find out what the engine is. The intake manifold (i found the #9794234 stamped on it) is a pontiac and it has a holley 4barrel. Ive read that there was a 350HO which came with a 4barrel. Other than that i think only the 400s and up came with a 4barrel. Then theres always the possiblilty that somebody just put that carb on as aftermarket. So im quite confused.

 

78 was the last year for a Pontiac 400. 403 and 400s were available in 78. The 400 had "T/A 6.6" on the shaker and the 403 had "6.6 Litre" insignia.

A turbo 301 and an NA 301 were available in in 80 and 81 ... the last true Pontiac motor.

In 1970, there are several versions of the 400 ... the 400, the Ram Air 2 and the Ram Air 3. As you went up, the head, intake, exhaust, carb and camshaft differed to give more HP/TQ. RA 3s are quite rare and each have specific casting numbers on the heads. I wish I could remember them.

I do not recall the Pontiac 350 being offered in the 2nd gen cars, but that doesn't mean it wasn't. It very likely could have been. The Pontiac 350 was a real dog, meant for entry level cars, not Trans AMs or Formulas.

If you relly want to know, go here

http://www.phs-online.com/

and order the car's lineage.

Other Pontiac links ...

http://www.classicalpontiac.com/
http://www.dapa.org/
http://www.jimwangers.com/

 

You know i was thinking, i did an oil change a while back on it. I used an oil filter for a 350 because at the time i thought it was a 350. The filter fit into the block perfectly. Would the filters be the same between a 350/400/403 etc?

 

quote.. 78 was the last year for a Pontiac 400. 403 and 400s were available in 78.

No, 79 was the last year. I had a 403 1979 model and the other WS6 was a 400. In 1980 they came out with the whimpy little all new design 301 block some with turbo. Performance was about 1 sec slower than the 400.

The 79 TA WS6 model had better performance and rated a wiser buy than that years Porsche. Performance back then was pretty pitiful. I think the WS6 did the quarter in 17 seconds. The next year Turbo did it in 18.

My recollections based upon intense interest since I owned one and an article in Car and Driver from 1979. Don't know if I still have that issue, I think I do.

Jim Henderson

 

All of the pontiacs used a similar oil filter adapter, and the 326 fit all the way up to the 455, even the 421. Not to get everyone confused.
Take a look at the numbers over the center exhaust ports. There is a head bolt there, and those numbers will tell you which head is on it, and by that you can, determine the displacement. Before anyone jumps all over me here, I am very aware tha some one could have installed dfferent heads on any engine, but trying to run say a "670" 400 head on a 455 just makes crazy compression, and trying a head from a 455 on a smaller engine just does the exact opposite. Too small a head actually runs the valve right into the side of the cylinder so that is out.
Most people that would have changed heads for performance reasons would not have left a cast iron intake, so it is prety safe to assume that these heads belong to the block.
Any 400 plus inch block will have two very important letters stamped into the block just below the head, look for an "X" "Y" or "J".
Chances are if you can't find any there it will be a 350.
Can you get to the balancer? The 350 was pretty narrow.
Many 350's in that year had the end exhaust bolts missing. Might have headers, and new holes were machined, but some of them simply had no bolt hole.
Few other ways to tell, but why not just scrap what you have and go out and buy a 455? Will bolt right in, every nut and bolt, and that firechicken should go baby, go.......

 

You guys are right about the 403 My brother-in-laws T/A was a 79. With that motor. My brother had a Formula 400 in 1974. So 1970 would almost have to be a 400. They did put the 455 in the early T/As I believe. But the base engine was the 400 I think. Man you guys are making me go back along ways. I worked for a Pontiac/Olds Dealer in 73-74 as a mechanic. I belonged to the Olds Service Guild in those days. My memory is slowly going BYE-BYE.

 

Good catch ... thanks for the clarification.

 

The displacement chould be on the side of the block. Driver's side, I think. It should say "350" or "400". You could pull off the intake and look in the lifter valley. If there is a "50" in the lifter valley, it's a 350. If there's a "00", it's a 400. Just for the record, I had a 76 Formula that had the original 350 in it. Hope I've helped or at least added to your confusion.

 

Could it be a 326. It looks a lot like a 350.

 

All pontiacs look like one another. They were all the same size block.
Valve covers, timing chain covers, intakes, all interchanged, from the 326 to the 455.