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When you are looking to purchase something like an Impala "SS" be sure you check all the resources you can. I know someone who paid big bucks for a "442" Olds Cutlass convertible. After they got it home, they checked with an Olds book and guess what, it's a Cutlass, but it ain't no 442! Makes a BIG difference in what it's worth now and in the future. Someone "cloned" it, and passed it off as genuine. I have a friend who bought a 1968 Camaro "SS" clone (he knew it was a clone, as advertised) off a musclecar dealer in Kentucky over the internet. It had "327" badges on the fenders- well my buddy got the car delivered by a transporter, and called me up all excited. I had him read me the casting number off the passenger's side rear of the block, I then looked it up at the local machine shop- guess what? 283!! He called up the place he bought the car, and the response he got was "We're just the broker- the car was cosigned to us" So ALWAYS check the casting number- ignore all the BS! Next:Four bolt mains are over rated. Unless you are building 500 horsepower and pushing 11:1 compression ratio, two bolts are fine, and more plentiful. Many engine builders use a two-bolt main block and modify it with aftermarket splayed main caps, so it becomes four bolts but stronger than the factory set up. Unless you are building for a restoration, 350 cubes will make more power than 327 given the same compression ratio, cam, valve sizes etc. Now you may hear that the 1966 Corvettte had a 350 horse 327 from the factory- keep in mind that back in those days horsepower was measured gross at the flywheel, on a dyno, with no accessories on the engine, usually with dyno headers, high octane fuel, ideal ambient air conditons. The other myth I always here is guys saying they have a "Vette motor" or "It came out of a police car" when they talk about the engine they have. When you get down to it and check the casting number and such you find it's the same basic engine that went into a 3/4 ton van, maybe with a different cam, but that's all. People think that the word "Corvette" and "4 bolt mains" adds 100 horsepower automatically. The bottom line is ask questions and don't let yourself be fooled!
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