When it was first introduced on September 26, 1963, Chevrolet’s all-new mid-size car was an immediate success. Enter the new Chevrolet Chevelle. Fans of the Chevrolet brand instantly liked the new Chevelle, and in subsequent years, it even pulled sales away from the Nova. Blank order forms allowed buyers to order body styles ranging from a sporty Malibu SS Convertible, to the mom-friendly 300-series two door station wagon. In between, was a wide-ranging array of body choices, with several engine options and available accessories. Musclecars were just cars at the time, but the burgeoning concept was associated with small, lightweight vehicles that possessed very few “extras”, in regards to options, but did deliver large amounts of horsepower from their over-sized engines.

The entire Detroit car industry had been stricken by the fact that car buyers wanting them to build faster vehicles. The Chevelle flirted with this then-new musclecar definition, but went a step farther and added versatility and convenience. When introduced in 1963, its 327 cubic-inch V8 engine produced 300 horsepower. While it was initially no match for the GTO’s 389 cubic-inch V8, in the years that followed, Chevrolet would answer the challenge with larger, more powerful engines.

The new ’64 Chevelle was built on an entirely new A-frame suspension platform. The suspension was comprised of unequal-length double A-arms on the front of the car, and the rear suspension utilized a four-link rear suspension supporting a live axle. In an attempt to please everyone, the Chevelle could be ordered in either a two or four door body style. This included the station wagon. While the base model was the 300 series, the Malibu SS was top-of-the-line.

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Frugal Chevy buyers could opt for either the 194ci Hi-Thrift six cylinder, the Turbo-Thrift Six Cylinder, or one of two available V8s.

The hottest ’64 Chevelle was packing either a 250 or 300hp 327ci V8, while other options included a 283ci with 195 or 220hp. Rounding out the available engines was the ever popular six cylinder. The instant success of the first year Chevelle saw somewhere in the area of 330,000 models produced.

In 1964, Chevrolet owners ordered a total of 149,506 Chevelles with six-cylinder engines installed. Of those, 84,400 were the 194ci, and 65,106 were the 230ci. Eclipsing that is the fact that a whopping 221,328 eight-cylinder engines were installed in the Chevelle. If we break that down, a final tally shows that  212,993 of them were the 283ci engine, and 8,335 were of 327ci variety.

In an attempt to help you guys figure out how to decode the engine, let’s choose an example engine, and see if we can decode the numbers to tell us when and where it was built. The engine assembly code on our example engine reads like this: F0428SS. We know that the first letter stands for the engine assembly plant. In 1964, the following letters meant the following: “F”, stands for the engine assembly plant in Flint Michigan, “T” stands for Tonawanda, “K” is used for McKinnon Industries, and “S” is used for Saginaw Service. So, on our example engine,  that would mean that this engine was assembled at the Flint, Michigan, engine plant. The next two digits stand for the month in which the engine was assembled. In our example, assembly was completed in “04” or the fourth month, which is April, and the “28” stands for the 28th day of the month. One thing to keep in mind, is that sometimes, the letter “I” is substituted for the number “1”. We don’t know if this is because someone in the plant broke the number “1” stamp or if there was an elaborate scheme developed in 1964, designed to confuse enthusiasts in the 21st century.

So, if you’re looking to purchase a ’64 Chevelle, we hope this little tutorial will shed some light on identifying the engine, so you can do your research, and know you’re getting what the current car owner says that you are.