The first 327 is the only true SBC 327 fitted to a Holden. There was about 900 of them. It is simply an L73 327 as fitted to US full size Chevrolet and also Pontiac and Chevrolet in Canada. Everything is the same except for:

Sump.
LH exhaust manifold.
Carby (more on this later).

The engine itself is identical to the 1968 Impala and Parisienne as assembled here by GMH, except for the sump, carby and LH exhaust manifold.

A.I.R. (Google it) was introduced into California in 1967, and then across the board in the USA 1968. We got something similar with the first ADR27 engines around 9/73. The GMH 1968 Impala and Parisienne have the A.I.R. carby as per the USA auto L73 7028212DH. The GTS327 got a 1967 version carby hence the 7027213 DZ, it is just a manual 4BBL carb as fitted to any 4BBL Quadrajet equipped 327-350 in 1967 (1967 non-AIR Quadrajets are 702 prefix, AIR are 703, but for 1968 they were all AIR so they were all 702). This is why we have unique numbered Quadrajets after the first HK 327 engines, and they go back to normal Chevrolet numbers once we got ADR27 in 8/73.

The later HK 327 is not from a Chevrolet engine plant, so is not a true Chevrolet engine. It is a SBC design engine. It is a special build made for the last 300 or so GTS327 - there were no more 4BBL 327 produced in the USA after 8/68. This engine is a bitza built for GMH, most likely just a truck 327 with a 350 intake and carby. It is not either of the 1969 2BBL 327's (210hp from Camaro or 235hp from full size) with a 4BBL intake and carby as the heads are too low in compression for that, those 2BBL 327's had 69cc chambers for 9:1 compression, most likely 3927185 heads. Our Canadian 327 engine had 75cc 3927188 heads for 8.5:1 compression.

The 1968 Impala and Parisienne were assembled and sold by GMH into 1970, almost up until HQ Statesman replaced them. They continued with the same engine as they has at the start of 1968.

Edited by user Thursday, 15 November 2018 3:20:42 PM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

I said about 900, it isn't exactly 900.

Until 1969 there were two Chevrolet engine plants producing engines for Chevrolet vehicles - Tonawanda and Flint V8. McKinnon Industries in Canada built SBC design engines also for Canadian and export vehicles, but not just for Canadian Chevrolet. They built other design engines too, but built SBC design engines for Studebaker, Pontiac, Holden and Statesman amongst others but also for marine use. This is why they do not have Chevrolet scripts on the rocker covers (down below is a link to a 1968 Acadian sale brochure, shows a cross section of 1968 SBC engines in something that is not a Chevrolet. The other link shows you a 50's SBC design engine in Pontiac livery). Sometimes these engines came back to the USA too and were fitted to a Chevrolet. GM restructured in 1969 and formed a separate mechanical division that was formed off all the old engine and driveline divisions. So after 1969 none of them are really Chevrolet engines anymore, they are a GM engine. GM slowly retired the Pontiac, Buick etc engines and the SBC style engine became the corporate standard engine. However most recognise all of them as Chevrolet engines until the SBC engine finished in the 90's and the GenII GM powertrain engine (heavily based upon the old SBC design) took over. Today the GenII style engine is still made in Mexico as a marine engine and as a crate engine. We probably got some of the last true Chevrolet engines in HT and HG with the Tonawanda assembled GTS350 engines. By the time the final HG GTS350 manual engines were built at the Canadian Plant (name changed to St Catharines' at the restructure) they were no longer a true Chevrolet engine anymore, particularly since when these were built late in 1970 there were no high compression 350 4BBL L48 engines in a Chevrolet anymore - the 1971 low compression L48's were now in use from 9/70 (same engine we got in HQ) in the 1971 model Chevrolet vehicles. Again the Canadian plant had to build GMH a limited number of bitza specials so that the HG GTS350 could exist until the end of 1970 and the Chevrolet SS could exist in South Africa until around 1972.

All of the SBC style engines used in locally assembled Holden, Pontiac, Chevrolet or Statesman or supplied by GMH as "crate engines" from the start of 1968 are numbered consecutively, but the sequences are across Acacia Ridge, Pagewood, Dandenong, Elizabeth and Mosman Park. Acacia Ridge starts at 00001, Pagewood at 10000, Dandenong at 40000, Elizabeth at 74000 and Mosman Park at 90000. The sequences reset around the start of HQ. So GTS 327 numbers are mixed up at all assembly plants (other than Mosman Park which didn't assembled GTS327) amongst the far more numerous 307 numbers and also the far more numerous auto 327's in Impala and Pontiac. When HT rolled around GTS350 numbers are mixed with 307 and auto 327 engines. In HQ there is only Holden and Statesman engines. Plus amongst all that the "crate" engines GMH sold, mainly for Marine usage.

https://www.autopaper.co...s-brochure-canadian.php

https://www.jalopyjourna.../a-stb-004a-jpg.3577210/

Edited by user Thursday, 15 November 2018 6:04:19 PM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Just under 1200 total is the accepted figure. They started fitting the McKinnon engines in December 1968, so as far as regular production cars goes that is about 5 1/2 months of production using the Tonawanda engines, late June 1968 into December 1968.

It is a Chevrolet number, used on a truck or Canadian GM vehicle like a Pontiac that would normally have a Pontiac engine in the USA but got a SBC like most Canadian assembled Pontiacs, possibly even made purposely for RHD export. I think I recall seeing a NOS one for sale on a US site at one stage, and they quoted 1968 C10 truck or something like that.

Number 161-H5 would be maybe October, possibly late September 1968 production. Is it a May assembly engine or does it have one of the March/April assembled engines? I don't think it is quite late enough to get one of the final Tonawanda engines assembled mid July 1968.

Yes 0404 is 4th April 1968. H5 is just the application. Chevrolet ran out of Hx suffixes in 1968, that is why they changed to 3 digit soon after. I have seen H3 mentioned in GM literature for some obscure application, so the GTS327 got H5 as the next number issued. There must be H1, H2 and H4 out there somewhere too. It is probably the last one issued or close to it as these engines weren't made until March 1968 and they started with Hx numbers in August-September 1967. 1968 engine production wrapped up at the end of July 1968, not long after the last of the Tonawanda GTS327 engines were completed.

The car is built after mid August as that is when the crossmember was made.

Your engine is the last of the initial batch of probably 500 engines. There is two more batches before the Tonawanda engines ran out.

Edited by user Saturday, 17 November 2018 3:02:01 PM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

It wasnt uncommon for these expensive cars to sit around at the dealership for a few months.
Mine was completed mid December 1968 but wasnt registered until August 1969. 8 months!