73 Pontiac Grandville convertible

[sharp2506]

I have a 1973 Pontiac Grandville convertible I got from a friend..... It is in rough shape and I can't find any numbers on the engine and I do know it's a V8 and I was wanting to know if I could get some insight as to what size engine the car has.... I am thinking it's a big block 455 and I was also needing some info on some possible sites that you can enter the VIN to find out more on the car.... It is kind of a odd VIN number I thought they was supposed to be 17 digits but my VIN is 13 digits long ....Any help with these issues would be great.... And thanks in advance...

[Frosty]

You are in luck. Pontiac Historical Service (PHS) Online can help. Pontiac is one of the few GM marks were most of the build records still exist. For a fee of $75 and your vehicle's VIN #, you can get all the information about how your Grandville was built, what options it had, and a copy of the original window sticker.

The website is: http://www.phs-online.com/

Now as far as the motor, I will bet you have a 400 or 455. Starting in 1969, Pontiac cast the engine displacement on the block. You should see a 400 or 455 on it, either between the freeze plugs or near the motor mounts.

FYI.....Pontiac never had a big block/small block program. All their engines were externally the same size, all their engine sizes varied with different bores and crank strokes. That was unique in GM. That's why it was so easy to replace a 326 and put in a 389 in 1964 to turn a Tempest Lemans into a GTO with virtually no changes.