NOT JUST A NUMBERS GAME

Shortly after graduating high school I got a great job working for Lamar Walden down in Georgia. It was a great experience for me right out of high school.  Early on I did not get to do any cool machine work like a 3 angle valve job or  any block boring.  What did get tasked to do was organize a huge collection of old motors that were sitting out in the back lot. There were hundreds of them including small blocks and big blocks. I saw it all. My job was to tear them down, identify what they were, do a pre-inspection for damage, then put the blocks in the vat for cleaning. I quickly learned what to spot. I learned what a set of 292 heads looked like verses a set of  boat anchors 305s.  I could tell what had a steal or cast crank looked like.  I could get in the ballpark of basically any Chevy motor out there was before pulling it apart. I learned to spot the harmonic balancer from a distance to see if it was worth further investigation. I learned to tell if it was a 4 bolt main without taking the oil pan off. It became a game. A game that has been with me for many years.

Today I decided to write a little article and throw down a challenge. Here it is:

By the way, I know I have only spoken about Chevy’s, but this site is about all hot rods. If you have any knowledge about a Ford, or a Dodge, or any hot rod out there please send us the details.

Finally, looking in another direction this marks on the sides of the heads are in a certain sense artwork themselves. They are similar to a LOGO. They identify the type of head through a visual representation. So for all you designers out there, the next time you’re at a show look around for other things that could be considered a logo on a car besides the traditional things we think about as the art.

What can you tell about engine from this photo?

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What about this one?

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Comp Cams 11-443-8 Xtreme Energy Camshaft 2800-6100rpm Competition Cams 11-443-8 114438 Xtreme Energy; Camshaft; Opt. Retro-Fit Hyd. Roller; 2800-6100rpm; Adv. Dur. 294 Int./300 Exh.; Valve Lift .540 Int./.560 Exh.; Lobe Angle 110 deg.;