Hi Folks,
Yesterday I was out wistfully looking at my old '53 wishing I had all the other stuff done so I could get a start on it. I never paid a lot of attention to it before. I was always told it has a 302 in it. From the look of the hack job I doubt if it ever ran. Anyway, I happened to notice that the automatic transmission was cast iron and the seperate bell housing was aluminum. This got me to thinking that there is a good chance that the engine might not be a 302. It could be a 289 or even a 260. I have no idea what the condition of this engine and transmission are and I don't intend to use them in my build. Just as a matter of curiosity I would like to know what is actually in this truck. Does anybody have any suggestions what to look for so far as markings on the engine are concerned to make an identification.

Like I said, it's no big deal, I'm just curious. I will probably tear it down after it's pulled. Most likely its a dud but you never know. there might be something there worth something.

Later Folks...

 

Dave...

casting numbers on SBF are on the passenger side of the block behind the starter, but you can see them over it... there will also be numbers on the heads between the middle two plugs/ports... if I remember correctly...and the intake manifold had them in front of the carb...

find your numbers and report back here pronto and we can decipher them...

later
John

 

What John said. Another way is to count the number of bellhousing bolts. 6 will be a later 289 or 302, and will devoid any thought of it being a 260. 5 bolts, and it will be either a 221, 260, or early 289. If you think the paint on the engine is original, then if it is black, it will not be a 302. The trans could very well be the FMX.

 

Like Havi said, If the trans center section is cast iron, it's a FMX. If you think the trans and motor are from the same donor car the motor is most likely a 302 as i dont recall 289's ever using a FMX trans.

Rick

 

The 289's I have seen also had 289 stamped on the head inside the valve cover around the valve springs somewhere.
My 69 302 has an aluminum bellhousing c4 not sure what that means.

 

Thanks John,
I'll have to wait until tomorrow because the '53 is outside under the back deck. But I will get back to you as soon as I can. Like i said, I'm just curious.

Later Man...

 

Scott & Rick,
The tranny is definitely cast iron and it is on an aluminum bell housing. From what I can tell from this hack job is that it most likely never ran. The left side exhaust manifold opens out right over the steering gear box, I can't see how they would have ever gotten it hooked up. It's definitely a real mess. They ruined the frame with a lot of masty looking welding of all sorts of junk and cut out the cross member under the front of the cab.

Thanks for you response...

Later Guys...

 

Hey Dave, Another idea for you, remove the valve cover and look to see if your motor has rail rockers, if it does it would most likely be a 289 as I never knew ford to use them on 302's . if you dont know what rail rockers are, instead of the rocker having a round recess for the pushrod to sit in, the rocker has 2 raised edges ( rails ), 1 on each side of the pushrod to keep alignment. also the hole in the head where the pushrod passes thru will be rectangle shape not round as in a 302 . Hope I didnt confuse anyone, I can see what im trying to discribe perfectly but writing it for everyones understanding proves most difficult. If needed I may have some parts lying around that I could take pictures of for reference.

Rick

 

Hi Rick,
yeah, I know what they are. However, Since I have never had a 289 apart I probably wouldn't have known that was an indication. I have done some 302s but the earliest was a 1968 model I believe that came from a Mercury Montego. My question is, was this the case in all 289s and 260s.

It will be a while but when I get the time, probably this Winter, I will tear this thing down I need to make some decision about keeping or junking this stuff sooner or later because if the stuff is no good I don't need to be tripping over it all the time. Thanks for the info. These are the kind of things that the book boys can't tell you. This knowledge comes from people who actually work with this stuff. Now if we were talkin' 390s, 360s and 352s I would know a lot more. I also had a 429 in my street stock dirt tracker back in '79 which I knew quite a bit about. And then there's the other end of the spectrum which was the old 144 and 170 sixes. Of course there were other things too but we can't mention them here.

I'm not sure why, but I kind of had a thing for the 289. My mom had a '64 Comet Caliente convertible that had a hot little 289 with a four barrel on it that would really go and I always like the way it sounded. For no practical purpose other than nostalgia I guess, I'd like to build up a 289 similar or maybe even a little hotter to that car.

Well, gotta get out and get a look at that thisg since I have all this stuff to check now. Thanks again.

Later Man...

 

Hi John,
Given the location as installed in the '53 I would have to take off the exhaust manifold and starter and then probably use a mirrir so I didn't go to the trouble. I just don't want to start taking it apart that much right now. Thanks anyway and I get back later on with those numbers when I do get it out.

Later Man...

 

Hi Scott,
This thing is pretty crusty but so far as I can tell it has blue paint. I don't see any traces of black.

It does have six bolts holding the bell housing to the block so that may help a little. For what it's worth, it also has one of those EGR valves on the intake and there is no polution air pump on it. I don't know that much about what was on what so it means very little to me. The distributor is a regular point type ignition with Motorcraft on it. Like I said, I really can't get to the block number for nw but I will post it when I can.

Later Man...

 

I took off the valve cover but saw no numbers like that. Of course that doesn't mean there isn't something there. As I remember, the C4 bellhousing was only removable after taking it off the engine because the bolts were inside. Tis Tranny is cast iron and bolts up to the outsidre of the aluminum bell housing.

Later Man...

 

Hi Rick,
Given the way this thing wasa thrown together it is really hard to tell what is what. It's just a guess but I would say mating a different tranny to this engine was probably beyond the skill level of whoever made this mess. Based on that, I would guess it's all from the same vehicle, but there is no way I can be sure.

Later Man...

 

Hi Rick,
going by this, I have to say it's probably a 302.

Later Man...