About Don Mallinson Expertise Questions about most classic cars from the mid 50's through early 70's. Some repair questions, I am a decent home mechanic. I have more knowledge on Pontiacs and Chevy's but have some on all models. Also on storage, maintenance, detailing
Experience Have owned and worked on many classic cars in the years mentioned. Have won several national awards at car shows. Run a national car club for the Ford Taurus SHO, but have been active in many local/regional clubs. Have worked on my own cars for many years.
Organizations SVTOA, POCI, SHO Club,
Publications Auto-X magazine (now called Grassroots Motorsports), Old Cars Weekly, SHO Registry, Dodge Cummins Diesel Register, Ford Powerstroke Registry. Muscle Mustangs and Fast Fords.
Education/Credentials High School, College Degree (Bachelors). Continuing education.
Awards and Honors National awards for a 58 Impala, 66 Grand Prix, 71 Camaro, 72 Buick GS. all unrestored originals.
Question Don, dont know if you can help me or refer me to someone. My question is i have a 1969 chevy 396 c.i. motor that came with the two barrel carb. This engine came out of a impala. Do you know how many of these two barrel carb 396 motors were made? It seems like they didnt build many, and i have to believe this motor could be a rare piece and might be worth some decent money, or a parts engine to part out,say like the intake manifold which is a cast two barrel intake oval port, these have to be rare too. Any help Don would be greatly appreciated. Dan from Mich.
Answer I couldn't find any easily accessible production numbers for your engine. I am sure though that there are several books that would give you the answers you want for the production numbers, and you could search for clubs like the National Impala Association. I used to be a member, they sell all sorts of things, probably the book you need. Find them at:
The President and his wife are nice people that may have most of the information right off the top of their head.
But as to value, you need to understand that while a 2bbl 396 might be more rare than the 4bbl version (I don't know if that is true, but it could be) that has nothing to do with value.
In the collector car world, the most valuable engine would be the one with the highest HP, and the least valuable would be the one with....you guessed it, the least HP.
Now if someone is restoring a 69 Impala without an original engine and it came with the 2bbl and the date code numbers on your engine are close enough etc, etc, then MAYBE that engine would be worth more than normal to that specific person. But not a lot of big Impala's are getting restored compared to Chevelles, and Corvettes. Also, if they do get restored, the owner probably wants a 4bbl version.
The engine is worth some money, but being a 2bbl makes it worth less than other versions.
