Errrrrrr, my heart was broken this past weekend. I was looking up the casting numbers on the "454" engine I got and found out that it's really a 1960 348 big block. Yes, you read correctly, a Chevy 348 Big Block....It's called a W motor. One good thing is that they are kind of rare, but parts are expensive for them. I've never heard of W motors.....or of a 348 big block.
It's among the first of the big blocks, the 409 came shortly after the 348, which these led to the 454 in 1970...