Wierd motorcode on my Buick Riviera 1964

[Intronaut]

Hi!

I am a proud owner of my first American car, and it happened to be a Riviera 1964.
I live in Sweden, and from what I can gather, my car was originally sold here in Sweden. 

Now, I want to learn more about my vehicle, and I started out with investigating the numbers. 
The serial number on the car and the engine doesn't match, so it's not a matching numbers car. 
What confuses me is the motor id code. It's stamped as KY, and I cannot find a reference to that anywhere online. 
I'll attach a pic for you to look at. 


Next, how do I find out what transmission I got?

Best regards from Sweden!
choose files...

[dr914]

well the K is the correct prefix for a 64 v-8 nail head. (could be 301 425 or 425 dual quad (kt kw kx) but looks like something is missing after the K

[RivNut]

If the car was originally sold in Sweden, the Y could be for an export (low compression) engine.   I’ll look through some literature that I have (somewhere) and get back to you.

[RivNut]

I found the Buick Dealer Svc Bulletin - 66-106A- which gives the ID codes for 1964 - 1966 engines.  In 1964 besides the 401s - KT, and 425s - KW, and KX . there is a KV code.  It's for a 401, 4bbl, with 8.75 to 1 compression ratio. With this following the specs.  "(export low compression.)"  So your Y is a mystery as far as the info that I have.

 

Ed

[MikeJS]

FWIW, a quick search found the same info on-line on the Team Buick site ( https://www.teambuick.com/reference/us_35-76.php )   1964  V8  KV  401  8.75:1  435  315  4V      Low compression, export only.

[Wayne R]

 Hello  Intronaut,  good on you for  your first purchase of  a great American classic.

What you   could do  being in Sweden,--is check out  your local  Buick or American clubs 

actually in  Sweden,, as i know they have  a huge collection in Sweden of american cars 

and Buicks,--as you may find there in Sweden another 64-65 Riviera  owner with 

similiar  numbers to yours and  give you more information.

I always remember when i purchased Buicks in Sacramento--when i missed a particular  car that 

was for sale  nearly always it  sold to Sweden.

[XframeFX]

Does California have any inventory of vintage rides left to export? Any left west of the Missouri River? Will have to bring some back!😛

[XframeFX]

11 hours ago, Intronaut said:

I live in Sweden, and from what I can gather, my car was originally sold here in Sweden.

Aside from ID numbers, what other clues are there? Speedo in KMs, stickers under the hood/trunk, rust, mud-flaps (I hear Scandinavians like them), carburation (4 BBL), right side OSRV Mirror?

 

When did Sweden switch to LS drive vehicles anyway?

 

 

 

 

Edited May 12, 2022 by XframeFX (see edit history)

[RivNut]

The archives will have pictures of European Rivieras that were shipped to Belgium for assembly. Those cars will have two data plated, one from the US and a second one from the assembly plant in Belgium. Use the search feature.  I also found links by Googling "1964 Buick engines code KV"

[SwedeDownUnderR63]

2 hours ago, XframeFX said:

Aside from ID numbers, what other clues are there? Speedo in KMs, stickers under the hood/trunk, rust, mud-flaps (I hear Scandinavians like them), carburation (4 BBL), right side OSRV Mirror?

 

When did Sweden switch to LS drive vehicles anyway?

 

 

 

 

Sweden was very different in that it was having the steering wheel on the left side even before it switched to driving on the right hand side of the road in 1967.

[Intronaut]

Thanks for all responses! 

I did some further digging, looking at some casting numbers on the block, head and intake. 
What I found was: 
Block number: 1364705-3. That translates to a late 64-66, 401 or 425 block
Head number: 1196914: Same thing here, seems like it's a shared number for 364/401/425cui between 63-66.

Intake: 1185976: This number refers to a 4bbl 401. First clue! Although teambuick.com lists it as a 1963 and my engine is clearly a 1964. Maybe the intake manifold got replaced at some point. 

The investigation continues! 
 

Edited May 12, 2022 by Intronaut (see edit history)

[Intronaut]

2 hours ago, XframeFX said:

Aside from ID numbers, what other clues are there? Speedo in KMs, stickers under the hood/trunk, rust, mud-flaps (I hear Scandinavians like them), carburation (4 BBL), right side OSRV Mirror?

 

When did Sweden switch to LS drive vehicles anyway?

 

 

 

 

Speedo is in KM, and as for rust, it's pretty well preserved. The rust that I got and the repairs that have been made, aside from the wear and tear, are consistent with being used in our climate. 

The carburator is an Edelbrock Performer. 1406 i believe. 4bbl. 

[1965rivgs]

4 hours ago, Intronaut said:

Thanks for all responses! 

I did some further digging, looking at some casting numbers on the block, head and intake. 
What I found was: 
Block number: 1364705-3. That translates to a late 64-66, 401 or 425 block
Head number: 1196914: Same thing here, seems like it's a shared number for 364/401/425cui between 63-66.

Intake: 1185976: This number refers to a 4bbl 401. First clue! Although teambuick.com lists it as a 1963 and my engine is clearly a 1964. Maybe the intake manifold got replaced at some point. 

The investigation continues! 
 

  Your engine is a 401

 

Tom Mooney

[Intronaut]

46 minutes ago, 1965rivgs said:

  Your engine is a 401

 

Tom Mooney

Yeah! All evidence points to that. 
Since I am kinda inexperienced at this, how do I tell what transmission I got? Dynaflow or TH400?
I cannot drive the car atm, since I am redoing all electrics. 
 

[RivNut]

Should be an ST400 - Buick's name for GM's Turbo Hydro 400.  The ST400 shift pattern is PRNDL. ZIf it were a Dynaflow the pattern would be PNDLR.  

[Intronaut]

7 minutes ago, RivNut said:

Should be an ST400 - Buick's name for GM's Turbo Hydro 400.  The ST400 shift pattern is PRNDL. ZIf it were a Dynaflow the pattern would be PNDLR.  

Thank you! It's an ST400. 
Glad to have figured this out!  Couldn't have done it without you guys!

[dr914]

10 hours ago, RivNut said:

The archives will have pictures of European Rivieras that were shipped to Belgium for assembly. Those cars will have two data plated, one from the US and a second one from the assembly plant in Belgium. Use the search feature.  I also found links by Googling "1964 Buick engines code KV"

Please Ed, do you have any links to the pictures?

[RivNut]

Not saved.  When I Googled 1964 Buick Engine Code KV and opened the images link, they appeared.  Give it a try.  If you don't find something, let me know and I'll see if I can duplicate my original efforts.  It's just a search (and not destroy) mission.

[XframeFX]

16 hours ago, 1965rivgs said:

Your engine is a 401

So that clinches it. Definitely a Euro assembled car. All 64s were supposedly built wit 425 Nailheads. The exception, export models. Hence KY?

Strange with that huge space between the K (for 64) and the Y (engine)

[Intronaut]

11 hours ago, XframeFX said:

So that clinches it. Definitely a Euro assembled car. All 64s were supposedly built wit 425 Nailheads. The exception, export models. Hence KY?

Strange with that huge space between the K (for 64) and the Y (engine)

Still haven't found out what KY means, it really should be KV to be 100% sure. 
But all evidence points to it being a low comp 401. 

[JZRIV]

The factory has been known to mis-stamp codes. Especially on the infrequently used codes like the export KV would have been. Could have been as simple as the line worker looking at the Y stamp and seeing a V because he had too much to drink the night before.

Another possibility is; looking at alphabet, VWXY, with W being the most common stamp, then X for the Super Wildcat option, maybe early on in export builds there was a miscommunication and someone assumed Y would be the logical letter to use for export rather than the V which is before W....😳

Until documentation is surfaces that indicates Y was used for something, a stamping error is probably plausible.

Edited May 13, 2022 by JZRIV (see edit history)

[JZRIV]

13 hours ago, XframeFX said:

Strange with that huge space between the K (for 64) and the Y (engine)

That spacing looks about the same as the KX stamped super wildcat engines. Its wider than the KW

[XframeFX]

3 hours ago, JZRIV said:

Until documentation is surfaces that indicates Y was used for something, a stamping error is probably plausible.

 

3 hours ago, JZRIV said:

Another possibility is; looking at alphabet, VWXY

I think it is intentional. "Y" is the 2nd last letter and was probably the next free letter to use. There was no "KU" for lo comp 401 as there was in 63 with JU. Maybe KY designated not only lo comp but also replacing 425 with 401? For Riviera only?

Fun to speculate!

[OldGerman]

Just for an ID overview for other Readers.

The Engine ID is stamped on passenger side, not on the driver side. 

[Chasander]

There must have been repair long blocks that dealers would have used for replacements. What codes were used? VIN would be different. Comments?

[RivNut]

An ROA member from Central Kansas has a 65 Gran Sport with a factory warranty replacement engine.  No numbers on the block. Just as plain as white bread. But he has ample paper work to back up the no numbers block.  He said that he would not have purchased the no numbers car without the supporting paperwork; too easy to clone.