Brad may be on to it. The 55 & 56 Chevy 265 and the 57 283 used the single letter "F" in the suffix code. The same Corvette used FG for the Powerglide. The oil fill tube you mention was used up through 1968 so that's not an issue. The 55 did not have an integral oil filter, i.e., no canister on the driver side rear of the block. There was an optional oil filter system but it was an add-on the sat on top of the engine.
Looking into more resources the early engine codes were as yours appears. 0552582 is the sequence number of the engine (although my source says this should only be 6 digits F is for Flint engine plant 56 is the model year F is the engine code and in 1956 it's a 170hp Powerglide passenger. Again, Corvette used a 2-letter code and did not use a 2-bbl intake. I'd really be interested in seeing a readable photo of it. Dale [email protected] -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of [email protected] Sent: Thursday, September 30, 2010 7:40 AM To: The Chevelle Mailing List Subject: Re: [Chevelle-list] engine Identification --- On Thu, 9/30/10, [email protected] <[email protected]> wrote: > checked on the number 0552582F56F is the number stamped ahead of the rt > cyl head, on the block, there are no spaces, the engine is in a 55 chevy, > and is a small block, the valve covers have chevrolet written out on > them (the factory type) it is a 2 BBL, and has the oil filler pipe that > sticks up from the manifold. IIRC the single-letter suffix was in use up until the early 1960s. Does the engine have an oil filter? According to nastyz28.com "F" could be a 1955 265 or 1957 283 and the early 265s didn't come with one. I don't recognize the format of the rest of the number. Brad
