i scored a 68 hp motor, need alittle help id ing it

[BigBlockSam]

hey guys
i bought a hp2 motor

whats the differance between a stock motor and an hp motor? whats the differance between an hp motor or an hp2 motor?
here are the #'s off the pad

d  440

3 2  hp2

he said it was out of a 68 gtx. thanks Rene

[694spdRT]

HP was first shift and HP2 was 2nd shift. There are no real differences between bare HP and non HP blocks. 

[max]

HP was first shift and HP2 was 2nd shift. There are no real differences between bare HP and non HP blocks.  

i agree and the only differances between the non hp's and hp's are in the cam, carb and exhaust manifolds and possible the distributor.

looks like it was built March 2 1967

the vin # is located on the rear of the engine on the top of the block where the trans meets the engine on the drivers side.

[cudaken]

 Rene, I am not a numbers guy, but on the bell housing there maybe part of the vin. Not all got them but some did. By the way, HP on the block mean's High Compressiom, Premium Gas. As far as block being stronger, no all the HP gives you are bragging right.

                Ken

[BigBlockSam]

thaanks for your help guys . i was told it was from an early 68 gtx. makes sense.  Rene

[hemigeno]

I would say the motor was built in '68, rather than '67, wouldn't you think?  It's a D-series 440, which means 68 model year, so that part jives.  A March 68 built car wouldn't exactly be an early 68 car, but it is right in the heart of production, to be sure.  I don't think Chrysler would have assembled the motor in March '67 and let it sit until August '67 when they started building the '68 model year cars.  Most times the assembly date is just a few days or weeks prior to the build date of the car itself.

With this being a 440 HP car, the SO number should be stamped on the rear bellhousing flange, near the oil pressure sending unit (like has been mentioned by a couple of people).  It has been mentioned before about how the HP motors had an ID stamp, but the non-HP motors did not. The fact that the ID pad says HP2 means that it should have gotten the ID stamping.  You can't do much to decipher that stamping unless you have the fender tag or build sheet from the car it came from though.

As far as differences between an HP and non-HP engine, they are all bolt-on component differences (I've heard this mentioned as the A-134 package, or Power Pack).  The blocks are identical.  As mentioned, the HP components include carb, cam, distributor, and valve springs.  The exhaust manifolds are HP units too, but Charger's didn't have a LP 440 option (that was pretty much a C-body thing).  Charger LP exhaust manifolds were only applicable on 383-2 cars.

Geno

[max]

I would say the motor was built in '68, rather than '67, wouldn't you think?   It's a D-series 440, which means 68 model year, so that part jives.   A March 68 built car wouldn't exactly be an early 68 car, but it is right in the heart of production, to be sure.   I don't think Chrysler would have assembled the motor in March '67 and let it sit until August '67 when they started building the '68 model year cars.   Most times the assembly date is just a few days or weeks prior to the build date of the car itself.
Geno

humm, now that interesting. wouldn't the casting date on the block be in 1967 even if the block was stamped D 440 which is 1968?

i have one sitting in the garage that is stamped D 440 hp on the pad which is 1968 and the casting date on the side is 9/26/67 and on the top pad it is mark 10 7 and from what i have made of the partial vin # on the rear of the block it is for a 1968 GTX/Coronet.

i know that the casting date on the side of the block is usally the year prior then what the top of the pad reads.

i'm asking because i am courious and wanting to learn not that i am trying to be smart.

[Chryco Psycho]

blocks were Generally used 3-4 months after being cast so a 68 block can have a 67 or 68 casting date depending on the build date of the car / engine 

[694spdRT]

The 440 in my Charger was cast on August 5th, 1969 and it is a 1971 G440 HP with a 1971 Vin# on it. They must have lost track of it at the factory for a while there. 

[hemigeno]

I would say the motor was built in '68, rather than '67, wouldn't you think?   It's a D-series 440, which means 68 model year, so that part jives.   A March 68 built car wouldn't exactly be an early 68 car, but it is right in the heart of production, to be sure.   I don't think Chrysler would have assembled the motor in March '67 and let it sit until August '67 when they started building the '68 model year cars.   Most times the assembly date is just a few days or weeks prior to the build date of the car itself.
Geno

humm, now that interesting. wouldn't the casting date on the block be in 1967 even if the block was stamped D 440 which is 1968?

i have one sitting in the garage that is stamped D 440 hp on the pad which is 1968 and the casting date on the side is 9/26/67 and on the top pad it is mark 10 7 and from what i have made of the partial vin # on the rear of the block it is for a 1968 GTX/Coronet.

i know that the casting date on the side of the block is usally the year prior then what the top of the pad reads.

i'm asking because i am courious and wanting to learn not that i am trying to be smart.

max, like Chryco said, blocks were usually used within 3-4 months of their casting.   The 1968 Model Year started production in early August, of 1967.   That means they probably weren't using 1968-cast blocks until perhaps late January, and more likely February or March of 1968.   What made me think that the motor Rene was looking at was assembled in March of 68 is the assembly date and Model Year series code.  

Chrysler cast the blocks, and they usually sat around for a month or more (although I have heard of blocks that were "aged" for only a couple of weeks before being assembled).   Then, they were machined and assembled with all of the components, painted, and shipped off to the car assembly plant.   The machining and assembly work is recorded in one or two places on the motor.   The first date is found on the ID pad by the distributor, and it will indicate the model year series and the assembly date.   In Rene's instance, March 2 is the date the motor was assembled, and the motor was intended to go in a 1968 model year car requiring an HP 440.   There is another series of numbers that normally includes a 10,000 day calendar date code that is stamped on the lower part of the block, usually near the starter flange.   I'll bet that Rene's engine has 2409 in that series of numbers, since that's the code for March 2, 1968.

I stated in my earlier reply that I do not believe Chrysler let a long time elapse between when a motor was assembled and when it was installed in a car.   Normally, an assembled motor is installed within 3 weeks or less (sometimes a LOT less) from the date on the ID pad by the distributor.   That's why I mentioned that a March-assembled engine wasn't likely to be installed in a car from the next model year.   Since it's a D-series (68) motor, it was almost certainly a March 68 assembled engine.   There are always exceptions with Mopar, but the likelihood of it in this instance is remote.

The engine Ty (694spdRT) has is an example of a block that was cast, sat around for a year or more   , but was then machined/assembled and correctly stamped with its model year series code (G = 1971 model year).   I would hazard a guess that the engine assembly date is pretty close to the build date of the car it came from, correct?   I've heard other people talk about motors similar to that over on Moparts.com.

Anyway max, to answer your first question, a whole lot (approximately half) of 1968 model year cars will indeed have a block cast in 1967.   The block you have sitting in your garage was probably installed in a car with a mid-late October (67) build date.

Hopefully this helps you out!

Geno

[max]

thanks for the patients with me on this, i have been very confused over the years when it came to the actual build dates and it really dosen't help when the new car year starts in Augest plus when you hear of things like 694spdRT car. that really puts the icing on the cake.

and i had read years ago that in the case of the hemi blocks there were 1967 castings used all the way up to 1969 but they are sort of a breed of there own so i could see that one.

thanks guys for helping clear that up for me, now if i can only keep it in my short track mind for future use i will be fine

[BigBlockSam]

interesting, this motor has no vin #'s on it. i guess this motor is correct for  a 68 charger r/t.