what year is my 383 from?

[66chargeragain]

My '66 has a newly rebuilt 383 and runs and sounds great. I purchased the car from a 3rd party that could give me no real history on the car. My question is, how can I tell if it is actually a 1966 motor. For all I know it could be a low compression engine from the 70's. Are there any casting numbers on the block and or heads to tell me a bit more about the history of the motor. If so where do I look and how do i determine what it is with these numbers? As far as being matching numbers I have no fender tag or build sheet and I believe I would need one or both of those to determine that. Any helpwill be appreciated. The serial number tells me it came with a 383 originally.

[A383Wing]

there will be casting dates on the side of the block. There is also stamped numbers & letters in the flat pad under the distributor. We will need to see those to tell you. The pad under the dist will have a letter then 383 after the letter. What is the letter that's there?

Bryan

[66chargeragain]

The letter is "D".

[A383Wing]

"D" is 68 block

[66chargeragain]

Thanks Bryan. I am guessing this would confirm it to be a high compression engine. Is there anything else that can can be learned from this about the original build? I think there were different versions of 383 in '68. What about the heads? Any way of checking those as again I think there were different versions. Sorry if these are stupid questionsm just trying to get more history on my car.

[A383Wing]

there were 383 2bbls & 383 4bbls....each used a different cam. You will have to pull the valve covers off to determine which heads you have...if they are 68, they should be "906" heads

To determine if this is a 4bbl or 2bbl engine, heads would have to be pulled to see pistons...or get a scope to see through plug hole. 2bbl pistons are lower compression and look like a dog dish on the top of piston.

the motor is not from your 66...all the 66 Chargers with 383 had 4bbl carb and were 10.1 compression ratio

Bryan

[kab69440]

The 383 was available with a 2v in '68. The year of manufacture does not guarantee a high performance engine.

[66chargeragain]

Thanks, learned a lot today. I will check for numbers on the heads and go from there.

[John_Kunkel]

The pad where you found the D 383 can have additional numbers/letters stamped there...look for a stamped HP that denotes a high-performance engine. Of course, after 45+ years you never know what's inside now.

[Mytur Binsdirti]

Having received many D's in school, that letter has left me traumatized. Where's my disability check?

[71 SE3834V]

This might give you an idea of where to look for the "HP". I don't know if in '68 they used the same configuration as my '71.