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Hello everybody!
This is my first time here and I'd like to avail myself of your expertise, if I may.
My query concerns my new ride, a 1964 Chevy Bel Air four-door sedan with a 230 Six and Powerglide that was assembled at GM's Continental plant in Antwerp, Belgium. Currently, I'm in the process of nursing it back to life after much neglect and abuse by an unknown number of previous owners.
Things have been going well so far, but now I've run into a few problems that you guys may be able to help me with.
Problem # 1 is more a matter of curiosity: The engine number on the car's cowl tag (F0117B3269) does not match the number on the engine itself (F1216LA1089), which means, of course, that there was an engine replacement at some point in the past. I've looked into decoding Chevy engine numbers a little bit, but the "LA" part is what I have been unable to decipher. According the the casting number (3877178/73), the engine is period-correct, but it could be either a 230 or a 250. Any ideas?
Problem # 2 is the carburetor. My Bel Air came with a retrofitted Holley four-barrel that leaked quite badly. Since I prefer originality, I've decided to convert back to an OEM Rochester BV, which I've already got. The original intake manifold was in the car, fortunately, so bolting it back on was a cinch.
The problem is the throttle linkage. The bellcrank was twisted to accommodate the Holley and all the original fittings for the fuel line etc. are gone. Right now, I have no idea what parts I need or even what the original setup looked like. If anyone could enlighten me in this respect, I'd be most grateful.
Finally, problem # 3: While the engine did run fine when I drove it home from the Netherlands, where I bought the car, to Germany, where I live, most of the gaskets on the engine turned out to leak, unsurprisingly, and need to be replaced. Thankfully, a full set of gaskets is available.
However, the gasket for the front of the oil pan is odd. The old one on the car has six boltholes to match the six screws on the engine, but the replacement gasket from the Fel-Pro set has only two boltholes, one on the extreme left and one on the extreme right and none in between. This just doesn't look right. Nevertheless, the respective gaskets from other suppliers look exactly the same. Am I supposed to believe that one can simply install the gasket over the four boltholes in the middle? This seems like a disaster in the making to me. Am I wrong?
Well, that's what I'm confronted with right now. Needless to say, I'm very fond of my Bel Air and would greatly appreciate any help from the community.
Thanks very much in advance.
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