VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1916-1922 - Model 490 Need Help ID'ing Engines

I need some help IDing engines I've found.

The first two engines are in Nebraska and have serial numbers T3478087 and T5012005. Can anyone decipher the year?

The next one is definitely a 1920 (just what I'm looking for!) that has the following IDs:
Head: Mason 407 F&MPCo 2 2 20 H
Block: 1 7 20 967-1
The manufacturing date is clear enough, but does anyone know what the other letters & numbers mean?

This 1920 engine has early style rockers with valve adjustment at the bottom of the push rod. I'm pretty sure adjustment on the rocker arm was in production by 1920. Are the early and late rocker designs interchangeable, or are there other engine differences besides lifters, push rods and rocker arms?

These may be Model FB engines, there was a discussion earlier about cylinder heads with just the 407 number, i think they where 407 B heads .
My 1920 head is 407-9 ( from memory)
I would suggest you have some pictures emailed to you, and have a good look at them. I previously posted some picture of the 490 and FB engines in the members photo forum.

I can add that 407 is a Part Number, and it is the identical Head for the 1914 to 1916 Model H, the Four-Ninety thru 1921, and also fits the Model F and FA, but not the FB.

The threaded botton pushrod is for the same years and models, thru 1921, except the Model FA was different.

I believe the "T" prefix on the engine number indicates originally a truck application (otherwise the same animal mechanically) but am not 100% that this was always true.

Given production volumes, these were almost definitely 1920 Four-Ninety parts.

Suffix numbers or letters after the 407 Part Number are just mold or edition numbers, and the part is the same casting print. Higher numbers simply mean later production.

On the Mason information, "F&MP Co" is "Foundry & Machine Products Co." I don't know about the "H."

Here is the link to the pictures of the 1920 490 and FB model engines.
https://vccachat.org/ubbthreads.php/galleries/192846/1920_engine_pictures_for_490_a#comments

Thanks to everybody for the comments. For some reason I had it in my head that the rocker arm adjustment was introduced prior to 1920. I stand corrected. This is a good thing though since I already have rebuilt rocker arms & shafts, resurfaced lifters and brand new push rods that will work with a 1920 engine.

I have posted photos of the 1920 engine here: 1920 490 Engine

I would appreciate someone with more experience than me look these over and tell me if the engine is a good buy. The seller says it turns freely and has no ridge at the top of the cylinder. The head has very good valve seats; valve guides are tight and the plug threads are good.

The other parts come along with the engine although I don't need them. My transmission, prop shaft housing, etc are in better condition. But spares won't hurt. And yes I know the transmission top cover is installed backwards.

Don - Thanks for the info. You say the two "T" prefix engines are "almost definitely" 490. Do you know of a source to verify this? It's a long drive to see these engines.

Do you have the casting information on those two engines or can it be obtained?

The 2 Chev 4 engines in the midwest are:
T3475087 is a 1927 truck engine, with the 1927 engines running from #2674999 to #3863595.
T5012005 is a 1928 truck engine, with the 1928 engines running from #3863596 to 5069697. The 1928 engine with a serial # just over 5 million would of been built in the fall of 1928. Chevrolet actually build 5 million engines starting with the 1916 490 with engine #H1. After they built H99999 490 engines in Spring 1917, they started over but changed the prefix to A1 and then went up to A99999 in about 1918. Then B1 up to B99999. By 1920 they were in the C and D prefix engines. During late 1924 they had reach the M series and switch at M26815 to just numbers at about 1214780. You should find out the 1920 engine # off the flywheel.
kenK

Ken - Thanks for the help IDing the two "T" engines. They belong to a gentleman who lives in Nebraska but is working in N Dakota, so getting more information is difficult. He owns a pile of old Chevy parts in addition to these engines that he picked up at an estate sale. I advised him to inventory everything and sell in G&D - but he's too far away from the parts to get to it for a while.

I will ask for the flywheel number off the 1920 engine. The seller's asking price is unreasonable (1000 Euros + shipping from Ireland); he'll have to come down before I'll buy.