My question: Has anyone else run into a set of heads with the casting numbers either removed or never put on? Both sides are the same.

For the past month I have been slowly working through my project truck, determining exactly what I ended up with and what needs to be done. The 460 was built by a local speedshop as a long-block, the previous owner has a receipt and the engine looks new inside and out and runs silky smooth. I looked all over for casting numbers on the heads and couldn't find a darn thing. After looking at pictures of where they should be, I determined that tab is completely smooth on my engine, no gouge marks of being ground off, just nothing there. Now what? I know heads make a huge difference on these engines, so I want to make sure they aren't something awful. I have a set of heads of a 1969 429, but if I don't need to use them I would prefer not to since I would be opening a potentially already tweaked 460.

 

some of the mid 80s heads didn't have casting numbers and some heads had them cast on the underside of the intake ports in the lifter galley area.
The big difference the early heads make is higher compression when your not doing anything else to the engine, BUT on an engine that is being rebuilt piston choice makes up for that and if you have an engine that is setup to have around 9.5:1 compression with later model heads will be out of pump gas range if you put the early heads on it.

 

One of the heads on my 87 engine, those numbers on the inside you could hardly read. It was like as if when the heads were cast, the number dies were about worn out & number about gone. I could still tell it was an E6TE though & wasnt the same head that came on the engine when it rolled off the assy line.
Owner before me said the engine had never been touched, yeah right, if thats so, then when did Ford start putting a thin metal head gasket on the drivers side head & a FelPro on the other + blue Permatex silicone all over the intake gasket.

Its some people gona burn for how they have treated folks.
Neil