i am trying to figure out what engine came out of my truck. when i bought the truck (74 F250 4wd) i was told the motor was a 390. i actually ran into the original owner and he said the guy he sold it to put a 428 in it. i ran the casting numbers off the heads (c7ae a) and the intake (d4te 9425 cb). both are from 390's i believe. but i can't find any numbers on the block. there is no 352 on the lh front of the block and there are indents/holes in the side of the block like where a side oiler cross bolts would go. my 428cj has the holes in the same place. where are the factory stampings? i can't find any numbers on this thing.
thanks

 

also, it has a revers 105 on the left front of the block and a front sump oil pan.

 

While I have no idea if the location is different on the big blocks, here is the location above the starter on the small blocks.

 

Right side of the block, pic here:

Ford 352, 390, 406, 427 and 428 Engine Blocks

 

thanks!! good link

 

I have that book, good info in there. Just never had the need to look at the big block sections yet.

 

I wish I knew what happened to the copy dad had years ago.....

 

The reverse cast 105 means it's a 73 and later truck block. They often have the extra webbing around the mains, and can Rarely be bored .080 over to 428 bore (sonic check everything of course).
Most casting numbers won't tell you squat about what CID you have. You need to do the dowel test.
Remove the spark plugs for the #1 and 4 cylinders. Insert a wooden dowel in #1 and bring it up to TDC by manually turning the crank nut. Make a mark on the dowel at this point. Now put the dowel in #4 (which will be at the bottom of it's stroke) and make a mark. The measured difference between the two marks is your stroke.
3.5"=352/360
about 3 3/4"(3.784)=390
about 4"(3.984)=410/428

If you get 3.5" or 4" then the only way to tell which of the two cid it could be is to pull a head and measure the bore.
4"=352
4.05"=360/390/410
4.13"=428

I left out the 406 and 427 because they are super rare and I very much doubt someone would put one in a truck.

One casting that will at least tell you the date of the block is the small date casting between the filter pad and oil pan on the bottom side of the block.