1963 coupe deville

[lamar]

How do you identify a cadillac 390 engine? Looking at a possible trade and i don't know much about cadillacs, any help would be appreciated.

[Rusty Shepherd CLC 6397]

Cadillac actually produced two different 390 engines.  The first one which was introduced for the 1959 model year was a bored and stroked version of the original OHV V-8 which came out in 1949 at 331 cubic inches.  The second version for 1963 had the same bore and stroke as the '59-'62 390's, but was completely re-engineered with few parts interchangeable between the two engines.  The easiest way to tell the two 390's apart is the location of the distributor; on the '59-'62 engine it was at the back of the engine up against the firewall and on the '63 it was at the front of the engine.  The '63 was a one-year engine; it was enlarged to 429 for '64.

[Warren Rauch]

  Rusty has given you a good introduction as to the different 390's. The other problem is telling a 390 from a 429. There were changes to the exterior components.  The air cleaner inlet tube is cone shaped in 63 and cylinder shaped in 64. The exhaust pipes were slightly (2 1/4 vs 2 1/2) bigger in 1964, and the exhaust manifold on the right was changed, the starter changed .The best way to tell  are the two numbers on the engine. The serial is stamped on the right side below the soft plugs. It can be hard to read.IT will start with 63 for 1963. The other number is the engine unit number. It is stamped to the rear of the cylinder heads on the top of the crankcase area.For1963 it will start 36x ,36K 37X or 37K. the 3= 1963,6=most models,7= limo or Comm Chassis,X= non air cond, and K= air cond.Warren