How to tell engine make?

I own a classic car, but my fellow classic car owners are such intense gearheads that I’m too embarrassed to ask them this question:



How can you find the make of a car’s engine if it’s been replaced? I had my car’s engine rebuilt over 20 years ago, and I honestly can’t remember whether the guy rebuilt the original engine or one from a different make. Is there some specific place on the engine I should look for this info? Thanks in advance for rectifying my ignorance…

If you’re into the hobby, it’s uh kinda required knowledge. Anywho, take a look at the block and see if you can find some casting numbers, make note where it’s located on the block. Then search the web for where the location of the casting number is on certain engines. This will narrow the field down. Once you have some possibilities decode the casting number and see what turns up. The chevy smallblock is ubiquitous in classic cars that have had their original engine replaced.

Thanks – there are casting numbers on there, so I’ll see what the Internet turns up. I have a vague memory of it being a rebuilt Chevy V-8, so that’s a good place to start.

As for being into the hobby, I’m into driving the car, not spending every waking moment discussing camshaft bushings and lock-away torque converters!

Are you unsure who made it (FORD,CHEVY,DODGE etc.)?

What kind of CAR is the engine installed in?? Year, make model would make answering car questions so much easier…

What year and vehicle we talking about.

If you’re talking about a chevy V8 from over 30 years ago…there were different flavors of a GM V8. Each of the divisions made their own V8.

By around 30 years GM started consolidating their engine manufacturing. Pontiac no longer made a 350. They used the Chevy 350.

More information is really needed.

Okaaay, I appreciate the quick responses, but I can do without the snootiness. In any case, I plugged the casting numbers into the magical Internet, and I now know that it’s a '56 Packard V-8. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction!

I think you did have a good question. Studebaker and Packard had just merged. The 1956 Studebaker Golden Hawk did use a Packard engine. By 1957, the Studebaker Golden Hawk used an engine built by Studebaker that used a Paxton supercharger. In 1955, American Motors purchased the Packard V-8 and installed these engines in the Nash and Hudson cars. By 1956, AMC built its own V-8. If you are driving a Studebaker Golden Hawk, I’m really envious.