looking for year of casting number 574865 4 oldsmobile ingine 54 or 57

 

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looking for year of casting number 574865 4 oldsmobile ingine 54 or 57

Is the number "574865" or is the "4" part of the number too? I can't believe someone would use "4" for "for" when asking a question like that.

Some things that may help ID it:

FROM HAMB:
"Instead of wrestling with block casting numbers, I'd check the actual motor number assigned to your particular block, the one that is STAMPED into the angled i.d. pad surface located along the far back and upper area of the block on the driver's side, roughly between cylinders #5 and #7. According to my copy of the Hollander Bible of Interchange, 1953 Olds motors begin with #R-215001; 1954s begin with #V-1001 up; 1955s begin with #V-400001; and 1956s begin with #V-1000001. Please check this info. with a known Olds expert before ordering expensive parts or having labor done on your block, and good luck!!"

If there's any original paint on it, green would be the '54-'56 324 cid engine, the '57-'58 371, w/gold paint.

Flywheels:
Olds 1949-'53 (303)- 145T coarse teeth
Olds 1954-'60 (324 and 371)- 176T finer teeth
Olds 1961-'64 (late 371 and 394) - 176T teeth(?) or 166T smaller flywheel
1957-up went to external balance.

Stock rocker arm ratio is 1.5:1 '49-'51; used 1/4" pushrods.
1.8:1 for '52-'64. '59-'64 are offset, '57-'58 are straight; used 5/16" pushrods. I don't know what '52 to '56 are like.

HEAD ID:
'49-'50, I don't think these were marked.
#2 early 303, '52(?)
#3 1953(?)
#7 1954
#8 1955
#10 1956
#14 and #16 was '57-'58 371
#18 is '59-'60
#20 is '61 non-Starfire
#23 is '61 Starfire and all '62-'64.
Heads can be swapped from engine to engine, so aren't as reliable as a block number.
'49-'53 heads had round exhaust ports.
303- round ends, oval center.
324 square ends, rectangular center.
Early 371 larger than 324.
Late 371 divided center port.
All the above have two bolts, one above the other.
394 heads have three bolts for center port, two above, one below.

INTAKE PORT SIZES-
303- 1-1/8" x 1-5/8"
324- 1-1/8" x 2"
Early 371- 1-1/4" x 2"
Late 371 and 394- 1-3/8" x 2-1/2"

Distributors:
'49-'55 were originally non-windowed caps, the 56-'58 has a window to adjust the points and the advance weights are under the rotor.

The '49-'58 has a "D" shaped shaft that goes to the oil pump, the '59-'64 has a hex shaft and a different cam gear.

Cams and Lifters:
The 1949-1955 (journal ~1-3/4"; .842" lifters) then the 1956-1958 (journal ~2") then the 1959-1964 are the same (both use .921 lifters).
In '56 the cam bearings got longer, and in '59 the cam got longer.

Cranks and Rods:
The 1949-'56 almost same (different bolt size for flywheel and damper).
1957-'58 ¼" longer stroke, larger mains, rods
narrower on crank, external balance.
1959-'64 larger mains and rods longer.
Rods '49-'58 6.625" center to center.
'59-'64 7.00" center to center.

Miscellaneous:
From http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=47584&page=2
Bare Blocks:
The 1949-1953 same.
1954-1955 larger bore.
1956 larger cam.
1957-1958 larger bore again, larger mains and lifters, deck height +1/8".
1959-1960 larger bore (394 engine) and mains again, oil pump drive changed to hex shaft, deck +1/4" more, cam longer.
1961-'62 oil pump changed.
1963-'64 front cover changed.