63 Fury decoding Help

[LR1970]

Hi, I am thinking of buying a 63 Fury Canadian built car. The fender tag is missing so I cant tell for sure the options. The owner says its a Golden Commando but the engine is a 64 cast block 2128854-1 and from my research 361 and 383 had same casting in 64. The engine id is strange with T(63)V(64) and HP. I read that 361 Police engines had HP stamped on them. I can't remove a head and measure the bore to tell for sure if 383. Are there any other ways to tell between 361 and 383.
I have pretty much worked out it is a Plymouth V8, High Series, built in 1963 in Canada from the door tag number. He swapped the fenders and trunk lid for better ones from another car but he said the golden commando badges were from the car.
It's all sounding a bit dodgy I know but I'm not worried if the car isn't a real Golden Commando because the body is in good shape and the interior is also very good. The motor and gearbox are also in great shape, I.m worried its a 361 not a 383.

Any help would be great. Thank you.

Engine ID Pad
TV-HP
14253C

The door tag is 3339155760

The build tag is

T-P2-H-23
327
DD
TBN

 

[khryslerkid]

It's definitely hard to tell what engine it is with that pad stamp. Normally there would be numbers in front of the letters HP, 36 or 38. Don't know if the Canadians had any doings with stamping on the pads.

I'm wondering why there would be a '64 casted block in a '63. Maybe that was done in Canada also? Red or orange paint?

Anyway, if the body is in good shape and the price is right, go for it. Not telling if the engine is original to the car could be a bargaining chip. Good luck!

 

[Dave6T4]

The fender tag is still with the car; you show a picture of it. The Canadian tag looks nothing like a U.S. tag and does not give option info on it. Also, broadcast sheets were not left in Windsor-built cars like they were in U.S. cars. This makes it hard to tell how a Canadian Mopar was actually built. Your tag decodes as:
TP2 = 1963 Plymouth V8
H23 = Fury 2-door hardtop
Body Number 327 = 327th Plymouth Fury 2-door hardtop built of ? total for year
Paint DD = medium blue metallic, top and bottom
Trim TBN = ? (I have no trim decode info for 1963 Plymouth)
The stampings on the engine pad are a mystery to me. T = 1963; V = 1964
36 = 361; 38 = 383
I would expect an engine code to be something like T36 or V38, or other similar combo. HP would denote High Compression 4 Barrel. I don't think this was available as a 361 on a 1963 or 1964 Canadian Plymouth. American Plymouths had the engine size as a call-out on the stand-up hood ornament, but I do not believe this was done on Canadian Plymouth. You are correct that block casting # is 1964, but could be either 361 or 383. Canadian big blocks were painted red. Generally, 1964 big blocks had 6-bolt valve covers, while 1963 had 4-bolt.
I am sending picture of my 1964 build plate to show what it should look like.
My 1964 Canadian Dodge showroom brochure does not show 361 availability, just 383 2-barrel or 383 4-barrel. I would lean towards the 1964 block being a 383. Just my opnion.

 

[LR1970]

Thanks for the info, yes I decided to buy it. One day I will measure the engine bore to find out exactly which engine it is but in the mean time it will be driven as is.