Engine Assembly at Tonowanda

[James W.]

Hello,

Were all big block 396/425 engines that left the Tonowanda, NY assembly plant equipped with the water pump, or was the pump installed at St. Louis before installation into the car?

I'm trying to determine if the nose of the water pump on a 396 engine that protrudes through the water pump pully should have oranage paint showing when assembled.

Thanks,

James West
Omaha, NE.

[Duke W.]

Re: Engine Assembly at Tonowanda

Maybe an eyewitness can verify, but I'm quite sure the answer is YES! All Chevrolet production engines were subjected to a "hot fire test". Complete engines less carburetor were installed on dynos and tested for about 30-60 seconds.

An adaptor was lowered onto the carburetor mounting flange and, which supplied a premix of air and natural gas. Exhaust and coolant connections were made and voltage supplied to the ignition system. The engines were then turned over and fired.

During the test a leak check was performed, and initial timing set to spec. Upon successful completion of the hot fire test the engines were ready to ship.

Duke

[John H.]

Re: Engine Assembly at Tonowanda

The water pump was installed before the engine was painted and hot-tested, and had a cardboard tube over the exposed pump shaft and hub to mask them off.