1960 348 tripower #s

[tailfins]

I just bought a '60 belair hardtop that has a factory 4speed.i'm wondering what the correct engine/txmn codes would be for a tri-carb optioned 348 which is supposedly what this car was.thanks in advance.

[Tom Kochtanek]

In 1960, a tripower setup would have an engine suffix of either:

FE 1960 Pass. Car 335HP 348 V8 3-2 bbls, manual trans and High perf. solid cam

or

GB 1958-60 Pass. Car 315HP 348 V8 3-2 bbls, Powerglide, High perf. solid cam

or

HA 1958-61 Pass. Car 280HP 348 V8 3-2 bbls, Turboglide

I may have missed one, check out the source:

http://www.348-409.com/suffix.html

Good luck!

TomK

[oldskydog]

According to Chevrolet Tech Service Bulletin DR #451 dated Oct 31, 1960, the FE suffix 335hp engine with 3x2 and 3spd or 4spd was replaced with the FH suffix 335hp engine with the new heads and pistons (1147) about April 1, 1960. If your engine was built before April 1 then it would probably be an FE if it is 335hp and after April 1, FH. There was no change to the 280hp 3x2 engine with 3sp or 4spd suffix code FA or Turboglide 3x2 HA engine. There was also a 280hp 3x2 engine with powerglide coded GB.

[tailfins]

thanks for this info.how can i estimate when my car was built?

[MK IISS]

The Suffix Code Chart needs some corrections. "GB" is a 348/280 with Powerglide and it has the standard hyd. cam. "GD" is a 348/305 with Powerglide, hi-perf. sold lifter cam, 11.0 pistons, and it has a single 4-bbl AFB carb....not 3X2bbls. The "GD" 348/305 did not exist before April 1959 and was replaced by the "GE" for the 1961 model year. Unlike the mid-'59-60 "GD" 348/305 the 1961 "GE" 348/305 no longer had 11.0 pistons and solid lifters.

[bobs409]

Thanks Richard, I changed the GB to a 280 hp and dropped the special cam. The GD was correct so I didn't need to change anything there.


Bob

[MK IISS]

The history of the 348 engine is confusing. In 1959 there were at least 7 distinct different 348 engines and some versions were available with several different transmissions. Lots of Suffix codes.