# Worth of a engine?



## tiger13 (May 4, 2012)

Hi guys
I have an engine that I would like to get an opinion as to what the value of it might be. I got it thinking I might use it for my Le Mans when I was restoring it but ended up keeping the original 326 in it. At this point I am confused as to even what it IS, I thought that it was a 400, but after having gone to the Wallace site, it seems the the (YH) on the machined pad would indicate it being a 455?? Perhaps those with more experience could chime in here? What I am looking to do is a guy that owns a body shop is looking for a Pontiac V8, any V8, to put in an old 52 Chief. He is going to take out the straight 6 so he can be able to drive it on the highway. He is willing to barter some of the painting costs for the engine if we can come to an agreed upon price. I really don't know what to ask for this, it is complete except for the intake and carburetor, but I have an aftermarket aluminum one for it, and it runs well.
Here are the numbers that I have off of it.
Block #481988
Number by the distributor 2D N F282
Head 4X
Machined pad 008224YH
Back corner of the cylinder head on the drivers side GM 11 4X

Any help with this is much appreciated and of course any guess as to a ball park value to put on it would also help
Thank you very much!


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## PontiacJim (Dec 29, 2012)

1974 400CI. 190HP. 8.0 compression. Worth? $300-$400.


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## oldskool (Apr 26, 2015)

It came with a 2-barrel carb. You say "it runs well". So, IF it is in good running condition. And that's all the guy wants, is a Pontiac engine in good running condition, then it could be worth more than $500, to him. 

But a good 481988 block is desirable, and is good for stroker builds. If it will bore .030 over, it should be worth $300-$400 easy. More in some areas, less in others, where they are more plentiful. 

They are getting harder to find in some areas, thus the prices can only go up.


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## BearGFR (Aug 25, 2008)

Something isn't lining up... F282 date code indicates June 28, 1972. Right on the line where it could be a very late model year 1972 or a very early model year 1973. 1972 YH would be a 455, but should also be block casting number 485428. 481988 is a 400, and a good 400 too, in both '72 and '73.\, but none of them show to be YH's. Are you positive that you've got the date, casting, and engine code numbers right?

Bear


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## Pinion head (Jan 3, 2015)

to reiterate what Bear is noting, a YH coded engine block dated F282 should be a late '72 model assembled as a 455 2bbl with 7L4 heads, block casting 485428. The 2bbl carb should be one of the large 2G's sought by many circle track racers, etc. No YH coded Pontiac engines for '73 models. 

Now, if the block is cast F28*3* then, it makes total sense, very early '74 production 400 2bbl with 4X heads...


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## oldskool (Apr 26, 2015)

PontiacJim said:


> 1974 400CI. 190HP. 8.0 compression...



If the block is a 481988 and has a code of YH, then this info that PJim posted is exactly what I found--regardless of what the date code is.

The 400 blocks that were sold in 1978 & '79 were all cast no later than 1977. At least, I have never read of anybody with a 400 black cast in '78.

So, maybe this 481988 block was cast in 1972, but was not installed in a car til the fall of '73, in a '74 model car. Maybe sales were down because of the Arab oil embargo, and they didn't need as many 400 blocks as they had thought, when they cast all the 400 blocks in '72. Lots of weird stuff happened on the assembly line. 

http://www.wallaceracing.com/enginesearch4.htm

http://www.classicalpontiac.com/cgi-bin/cp/global/engine.cgi

http://ronspontiacpage.com/reference-pages/1974.htm

http://www.wallaceracing.com/blockcastnum.htm


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