Hi All

I bought a 1950 F-1 and it came with a rebuilt 302, my question is how can I determine what the engineis out of? I have it bolted up to a Borg Warner T-10H-1 3 Speed.
I know there should be a number somewhere that I can break down with the normal ford parts number system just not sure where it is. There is a number stamped into the block behind the intake manifold #9A236500.

Here are a few pics that might help. Sorry about the wiring mess.

 

you are not going to find any numbers on the engine that is going to be able to tell you what vehicle it came out of. but it really doesn't matter because a 302 is a 302 is a 302 no matter what vehicle it came out of for the most part. in 1982 (or 83 maybe) Ford changed from 28 oz balance to 50 oz balance on the 302. that effects the crank, flywheel/flexplate and dampner.

if you look on the side of the block behind the starter for the casting number, it will give you the year range (but not the actual year it was cast) that the block was used but not what the block came in as no matter what vehicle it came in (mustang, ltd, truck, etc) they all used the same block and for the most part the same engine. only differences would be in accessories and maybe smog equipment. there is also a casting number that will tell you what date it was cast. should be a set of 4 or 5 numbers and letters. post it and someone can decipher it for you.

Mike

 

Contrary to popular belief, there are no numbers on Ford engines that will tell you what particular vehicle the engine came from. The 9A number you found behind the iintake is a partial VIN from the original vehicle. All it tells you is the last number of the model year ended in 9, the assembly plant code was A, and the 6 digit consecutive unit number. It could be 1969, 79, 89, etc. You will have to do more research to date the engine more definitively. You can pull a valve cover and drop the starter and you may find more details from casting numbers located there. Even though the casting numbers may resemble part numbers in their number/letter pattern, they are not part numbers and do not mean the same things. They do not tell you what vehicle the parts came from, or even where it was intended, only the group responsible for it's engineering.

 

Here's a good list of Ford 302 engine block codes...

289, 302, 351w, 351c, 460 Ford Engine Identification

In my experience, the block casting number on a 302 has always been right above the starter on the passenger side of the block. You have to remove the starter to see it.

Edit: I was too slow, what they said.^^^ lol

 

The numbers are located on the side of the block I can't remember which side it is; I found mine when I had it rebuilt 18 years ago I wrote them down and decoded them using the Ford small block rebuilt book. From that I was able to tell the year and model the engine was put into. It will also tell you if it was a two or four barrel carb. You may have to take the exhaust manifolds off to find them.

 

I'm not sure how you were able to determine all that, Jaye. As I wrote above, and again, your story is a very common misconception based on a lot of well published mis-information, the numbers cast into the side of engine blocks do not tell the model of the vehicle an engine came from. The same exact coded block could have and would have been used in trucks, Mustangs, Fairlanes, Granadas, LTDs, etc. Only in extremely rare cases (like Boss 302's, etc.) was any block cast specifically for any particular purpose. Even the Hipo 289 used the same exact block casting as the standard, garden variety 2V 289. Not trying to get into a pissing match here, just trying to put an end to the confusion, so please don't take offense.

 

Ok so I went and pulled the starter off and got the number.
9D14
C8OE-6015A

Not sure what the first set of numbers mean but I went to this mustang site Classic Mustang Part Number Decoding Guide
And it decodes that it came out of a 68 fairlane (which makes sense since the old rear end gave me the same thing)

Am I right?? I don't know, I guess I just want to be able to say something when I go to napa and say I need So and so other than its just a 302 engine.

Thanks Though I woulda never found that number.

 

Apparently you missed the part I posted above when I said the casting number is not a part number, that the same numbered block was used in every model Ford built, and is meaningless to decide what vehicle the engine came in. You might want to go back and re-read the thread in it's entirety, from the beginning.

What you did find was your casting date code, 9D14. That tell you that your block was cast at the foundry on April 14, 1969. The C8 identifies the engineering for that casting took place in 1968 (or for the 1968 model year), nothing else. The OE tells us that the Engine department of the Intermediate division of Ford Motor Company was responsible for that engineering. Nothing else.

If it makes you feel better when you go to NAPA to order parts to say you have something that is not proven, fine. But please do not continue to spread mis-information in a public forum. You came here for information, and you now have a more enlightened education than you ever imagined you'd receive.

Welcome to the forum.

 

Wayne,
When I go home I'll see if I can find the book I wrote the numbers in and put them on here, you may be correct, the numbers I found matched then ones in the ford rebuild manual. I may have been reading them the same as 1950AK

 

Ok so I am confused then, why would ford use the same type of coding on the Block as other ford parts but it not mean the same thing?

 

Numbers on parts are engineering numbers. They are assigned to a particular piece long before the part was ever designed or produced. They are for internal use by engineers within Ford Motor Company, used to keep track of the various pieces, and subsequent changes to those parts, that make up an automobile. During the course of their engineering, a part can go through many changes or design revisions, depending on the needs and requirements, or parameters of the design study, etc. Each time there was a change, that engineering number is changed, as well. They were never intended for people like us to pay attention to 50 years later.

After a part is finished and in production, replacement parts will need to be sold through the service parts department. That part is then assigned a service part number, which is the number found on the box. It's just part of Ford's internal system that the numbers have a similar style. It's nothing to be confused about. Just know that numbers on parts are not part numbers, but engineering numbers.

 

In a similar vein, consider the SATA hard drive in your computer. That SATA has a part number, but that hard drive could be in a zillion different style computers. Same could be said about a Ford engine. Put a casting number on the block, send it down the assembly line, and then ship the engine out to the various Ford assembly plants for their respective divisions, and install them. When installed, then go and stamp the partial vin on the back of the block. There's more to it, but in a nutshell, that's how manufacturing works. Truck design of a 302 head in 1987 (E7TE) was also used in Mustangs and Lincoln HO's. So why create another number when one already exists? Simply put, so that it can be ID'd by the manufacturers quickly.... their concern doesn't include what type vehicle it's built for. Where I work, there's a rough stock number, a burn number(this would be considered the casting number), and those never change. Take said burn number part, machine it one way, it gets a new number (to match the blueprint), machine it a different way, it gets yet another number. (again, to match that blueprint)

EDIT: I kinda stepped over Wayne while typing my mess.

 

I'll add a little bit of information- 6015 is Ford Engineering's code for an engine block. It doesn't matter whether it's for a car, a truck, a tractor, whatever, if it's an engine block it has the 6015 number cast into it.

 

All that can be surmised from your casting # is...
1968-69, 302 BLOCK, VIN CODE "D,F,J" w/ 1 7/16" alternator & 3 3/8" A/C mounting holes on front of heads, 3/8" rocker studs.

 

Well I guess I still learn something new everyday lol. So I guess another question, in what instance could someone decode a number that way to determine the year make and model on some part. Or does that go for all numbers, that you can just narrow it down to the year only pretty much?