what engine do i have and where does this wire go?
 

The VIN tells me I should have the small 267 V-8 and in my searches, no one makes an actual header for this engine, I can only find manifolds, working on it today, I found it has headers, also found that this has been used as a drag car, with it's air shocks in back and supplementary fuel pump. This leads me to believe it's either a really odd hack job or at least a 305. How do I tell if there's been a swap and what engine I have?

Also, I have an electrical connection/plug that is, well, not connected to anything, pics below...

Just a few things I did today that got this ball rolling was repaired the headlight ring, the tabs snapped off, so as a temp fix I took a roll of carpenter's tape to makeshift some new tabs, rehung the exhaust that scrapes the driveway since it hangs just an inch from the ground, bled the brakes, and attempted to remove the inner door panels (to see how I would be fitting the new key tumblers and door handles).

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Apologies if any of my questions seem a little noobish, but that's only because this is my first carb'd car and I'm just jumping in and learning as I go. It's a blast and I've already made pals with a fellow classic owner, some random person pulled up in a stellar 77 Corvette while I was under the Camaro just to talk.

You may want to try this site to find out more about the year of your car in particular. You didn't say what year you have but from your avatar picture and the pic of the headlight I would assume a 78 - 81 model and going further with the 267 engine I'll say an 80 or 81 model.

To find out what motor is in there you can go here to find out the casting numbers location and what year and size it is. Get that information and we can help you even further. :)

You'll have to get the numbers off the back of the block and use a decoder to find out exactly what you have there,someone will probably chime in with a link to the decoder soon.
You probably have a 350 but it could be any smallblock,they all look pretty much the same on the outside.
The 267 would use the same headers as a 283,305,307,327 or 350 or 400 etc.
That wire looks like it could be for the temp gauge or idiot light sending unit.

Yeah, I've never seen a 267 but I would assume it's the standard small block config with just different bore and stroke.

Also, that looks like the stock tachometer hook up with it being brown. Possibly the electric choke since he's now got an aftermarket Edelbrock carb sitting on top but it looks like it's hooked up already. Sorry about not addressing that sooner but I just got into my post and forgot.

Is that a 1406 or 1411 Eddy on there?

kyphur, that's the exact site where i deciphered my VIN to see it came with the 267, it's a 1981 by the way. I'm hoping to gosh that the plug is for a tach, but since there isn't a stock (or even aftermarket) tach in the gauge cluster, I may be dreaming a pipe dream. I want a tach to help tune the carb, which I have no idea what model it is (it's some sort of Edlebrock quad with two gas screws though), I'll have to double check another day.

So lemme get this straight, all small blocks can share headers for the most part? My searching on Summit, Rockauto, Year One, Jegs, etc... all came up with the the 305 can share headers with the larger displacement engines, but under applications all I got were manifolds for the 267.

Just like Y2K said, you can get the casting number off the back driver side of the block. There's a link on the mortec site that will show you where it is and what it looks like.

You should be able to get a handheld tach/dwell meter fairly cheap. There's a guy out at the flea market here that sells a bunch of 15 - 20 bucks and they work well enough. That'll help you tune the carb easier than actually having one in the dash too! Ha ha.

If it's a 600cfm carb it will be a 1406 and a 750 will be a 1411. You can find it on the front of the carb on the bottom passenger side foot.

I've never dealt with a 267 so I have no clue first hand. I'll let someone else chime in on that setup.

I'm not familiar with the "newer" 267 engine, but don't all the Chev V8's have the boss on the block in the front where the head meets the block? The old one's had their code there, which ID the year, and make/model car it came from.

Yeah, that's the engine VIN and the production number IIRC. The casting number should be on the back driver side. :icon_teeth:

How I found out what mine was I just looked at the back of the block (drivers side) and stamped on the pad in front of the flywheel read "GM 5.0 LG." Mine is a 305 so I'm assuming a 350 would read "GM 5.7 LG."

that's insanely good news if it's that simple of a stamp, mine should in theory say 4.4 if it hasn't been swapped. i'll check when i retune the carb for the cold arse weather we're having.