[1963vert]

sorry for the flood of noob questions but i have never built a pontiac motor. i am trying to consolidate my questions into one post. thanks in advance

1. can i get an hei that will fit my 63 326?
2. is there an off the shelf header that will work or should i fabricate my own?
3. i was looking at my motor and i do not see how the valley pan is held in place, what am i not seeing?
4. upon closer inspection of my motor it has a 326 block and 389/421 heads. is this a good thing or a bad thing?
5. i am assuming that i can pick up a 4 barrel intake manifold for a 389? is there a specific year i should be after?
6. is a 15 inch rim that is 8 inches wide with 4 inches of backspacing going to fit? the car is stock.

[Bill Hanlon]

I have a junk yard HEI from a '77 Pontiac 400 in my '57 347 Pontiac. Bolts right in. Need to bypass the ballast resistor/wire to supply 12 volts when the key is in the run position.

[Doug]

1. can i get an hei that will fit my 63 326?

Don't know specifically but I would think a regular Pontiac HEI will fit. If clearance to heater ductwork is too tight there are smaller diameter HEI's that will probably fit.

2. is there an off the shelf header that will work or should i fabricate my own?

As far as Iknow, there are no "off-the-shelf" catalog order type headers available. As you appear to have abilities to "fabricate your own", I would suggest looking into using a set of the late-60's long branch factory exhaust manifolds. It requires a bit of fitment problems (crossmember, side-to-side motor relocation, etc) but it is not a big deal if you can do it yourself. The long branch are available from aftermarket suppliers for around $400 but you also need a "special" oil filter mounting bracket too at about $60.


3. i was looking at my motor and i do not see how the valley pan is held in place, what am i not seeing?

I don't know about the 326 itself but Pontiac V8's typically use a couple of bolts down thru the cover. (It is difficult to see these bolts with the intake manifold on.)

4. upon closer inspection of my motor it has a 326 block and 389/421 heads. is this a good thing or a bad thing?

I think perhaps the heads you have are the standard 326 heads (#543797) which were also used on some 389 and 421's.


5. i am assuming that i can pick up a 4 barrel intake manifold for a 389? is there a specific year i should be after?

A 63 will fit and I'm fairly sure a 64 will. A 65 and later intake will not fit a 63 head. I don't know about 62 and earlier manifolds fitting a 63.


6. is a 15 inch rim that is 8 inches wide with 4 inches of backspacing going to fit? the car is stock.

I am pretty sure you will have clearance problems on the front. Rear will probably be ok.

Do some more looking at your engine and get some part numbers and other info and list them here.

Lots of info on this board site and everything you seem to panning on doing has been done numerous times.

One word of caution is that the drivetrains of these cars do not hold up too well with "powerful" engines (and that includes strong 326's) if they are driven agressively every now and then.

[ahnuld]

i have a 1965 389 block and it has the 389/421 heads also, my headers are tri y's from a 64 gto i believe. i'll have to check.

[1963vert]

cylinder head casting numbers 538177 1961-62 389/421
cylinder block casting number 548211 1963 326

64 gto.header i will have to look into that thanks.

[mechanickeith]

The 177 head is the stock head that came on my 10.25 to 1 compression 4 cylinder. 177 head was used for several years in the early 60's.

Dont think the rim will fit the rear. Stock is 5 inch with 4" back space. If you use an 8" rim with 4" back space, That would be what?, 3" more sticking out than stock?? Dont think you can get it under the fenderwell.

[Doug]

It sounds like maybe your car was an "early" 1963 car built in late-1962 model year and they maybe used leftover 62 (538177) heads.

You can research a lot of engine info in the Pete McCarthy book "Pontiac Musclecar Performance 1955-1979". You can also get info on this site:

http://www.wallaceracing.com

Assuming you are unacquainted with the 63 Tempests, I have a few more bits of info that you may want to keep in mind.

The 1963 326-inch engine is actually 336 cubic inches (all later 326's are true 326's). This info is important if you are ordering pistons, rings, etc.

The 326-inch crankshaft is the "same" (stroke, journal size, bearings, etc) as a 389-inch crank. However, since the 1963 326-inch engine was the only 326 that was used with the transaxle drivetrain, that 63 326 crank has it's flange drilled for bolts that connect the "driveshaft" apparatus. What that means is that you can use your 1963 326 crank in a 389 engine (or later year 326's) and keep your transaxle setup but you cannot use any other Pontiac V8 with your transaxle unless you have that engine's crank flange drilled like the 1963 326.

HOWEVER, the 62 Tempests (also transaxles) had the optional 215-inch aluminum V8 motor as an option. These 215 V8's "bolt up to" the 63 drivetrain and that engine is perky and of course, that basic engine evolved into a very powerful racing engine and was later used in Land Rovers. Parts are readily available. I have a friend who installed one of the 215's in his 63 Tempest and it is a very nice combination.

Like I said, about anything you may be wanting to do has been done by somebody on this forum and the members are collectively an encyclopedia's worth of knowledge and will bend over backward to share it.

P.S. I would be curious to know what the casting date numbers are on your parts are.

[GaryK]

Originally Posted by mechanickeith

The 177 head is the stock head that came on my 10.25 to 1 compression 4 cylinder. 177 head was used for several years in the early 60's.

Dont think the rim will fit the rear. Stock is 5 inch with 4" back space. If you use an 8" rim with 4" back space, That would be what?, 3" more sticking out than stock?? Dont think you can get it under the fenderwell.

The 177 head is on both my low compression 1 bbl motor and my high compression 4 cyl motor.

I have 6 inch rims on my 62, any wider and the tires will rub.

[mechanickeith]

The 177 head was used on all 61-62 4 cylinder motors. They used dihed pistons for the low comp motors. In 63 on the 4 cyl motors, they used 2 different heads for compression change.

[1963vert]

thank you gary doug and keith for your insight

the po said that when he bought the car that the heads were nowhere to be seen so he had to source them.

also on a side note i have not seen a timing tab for the motor can i buy one for a 389?

[1963vert]

i found the pointer