I got a 351W crate motor in my 83 bronco, and I'm trying to figure out exactly what year the motor is, so I can ensure I get the correct pushrods and lifters.
The number i have which is right next to the starter, is E3AE-6015-BA1
( The first E, could possibly be a B ) tough to tell.
Any help would be appreciated. Also, if it matters the only numbers I see on the heads after taking the valve covers off, are 5023 on one side and 5H30 on the other.

 

E = 80's
3 = 3rd year or '83.
That tells you the vintage of the mold that was use to cast the block but it doesn't tell you when the motor was built, that could have been any time between 1983 and the day the motor was installed in your truck.

Look at the outside corner of the heads near the valve cover for a capital letter cast into a flat surface and post it up if you do.

 

Thanks Paul! So it's obviously an 83 Block. As for the Heads, unless another letter is covered up by a bracket, the passenger side has a capital "R" on the front right corner of the head, and the drivers side has the number "31" in the front corner. Just so you understand why I'm so concerned about getting the correct push rods and lifters, this attached picture should explain. Also this motor only has maybe 10 miles on it. I have been working on this puppy for a long time, and never bothered taking the valve covers or the intake off. Oh well. Live and learn.



This is exactly what it looked like when I removed the intake. Can't imagine why it was not sounding right.

 

Looks like it had a wee bit of rocker arm to valve bind. Or turned 10 grand 1 time.

 

Oh crap.. that's not good. But now that you have the intake off you will be able to see the head casting numbers with a small mirror, they are cast into the underside of one of the central intake ports.. see pic below. An R on the outside corner of the head suggests E5('85) castings, be sure to check that both heads are the same casting number. With the pushrods bent like that you had binding going on for some reason, either they were too short to begin with, fell out on one end and got bent the next time the lifter rose up, or the cam simply produces too much lift for the valve springs(doesn't look like that is the case to me.. the lifters on my 5.0 stuck further out of the bores that yours are in the pic) or the valve springs are just way too stiff for non hardened pushrods, or the springs are binding on the valve seals.. have seen this happen with dual springs. There are some other possibilities too like the timing set not installed correctly but let's hope that wasn't the case because that would cause more damage you haven't seen yet.

P.S. Stock pushrod length for a 351w flat tappet motor is 8.152"

 

Hey Paul! Again thanks for your help. The casting numbers on the heads are the same.
"EA2E" (unless that's backwards) and then below that there are the two letters "CA"

 

Second character should be a number and I suspect it is a 5 which can look like a 2 if you're looking at it in a mirror.

 

Thanks! Yea it's most likely a five.
I guess I'm just going to go with stock pushrods and lifters for a mid 80's 351w.
After removing the lifters I took a flashlight to see if there was any noticeable marks on the cam, and I didn't see anything. After removing the rockers, I did see these numbers on the top of the heads, (pic included) if they mean anything. Anyway, thanks for the help and I will let you know what happens. It may be a couple of weeks before I put it back together.

 

What length are the current pushrods.. best you can tell.

 

Best I can tell is nearly 8 1/8

Most things I see online, say mid 80's should be 8.182"

Thanks for your help.