Hi all,

So, I'm researching what will need to be done when I swap my engine into my new '85 Bronco. Specifically emissions.

The biggest hurdle I'm seeing is that it is required that a swapped engine be the same age or newer than the vehicle it's going into. I'm about 99% sure it's not, since it came out of a 78 pickup.

Now, if I was swapping it into a Bronco that already had an I6, they wouldn't really think much of it. But, since I'm removing a V8 for an I6, that's probably going to show up on the VIN, raise a flag, and they're going to look into it.

I know there are casting numbers on the block, but these can remain unchanged for years, if not decades, and in no way correlates which year the engine actually is, just when the last revision was.

Is there an actual way for them to verify the exact year of my engine? For all they know, I could have an '85 motor that had a cracked block and I got another one out of a junk yard when I rebuilt it. I don't know how it works though.
Anyone have any insight?

 

There is a date code cast on the side passenger of the block.

Look for something that looks like a small tag with two fake screw heads. It will either be just to the front of the casting/engineering # ( blue circle in the pic below ) . Or between the sending unit/sensor and the rear most frost/core plug.

It will have either 3 or 4 digits. The first will be a #. That will be the year. The next will be a letter ( A-M, skips I ) . That is the month. The last one or two digits will be #'s and that's the day of the month that the block was cast.

The Engineering/casting # will give you the decade and oldest year the block could be. Then the date code will give you the exact year/month and day it was cast.

For example my 240 block pictured below. The casting # is C8AE which means the oldest this block can be is a 1968. Now use that information with the date code is: "9C16". That tells me the block was cast March 16th 1969.

 

Awesome, that was exactly what I was needing.

Fortunately I took a lot of pictures of my build so I was able to look through them. My casting date code is up near the rear freeze plug. Must have moved it in later years.

The part date starts with D5 (75) and the date code is 0K20. So a 1980 it looks like. I find that interesting since it came out of a 78 pickup. Must have been swapped in.

I also found a picture of the top of the head that had the same style casting date code. 8C12
So, the head is a 78.

My other engine that I have in my garage that I pulled out to make way for my new engine appears to be an 83. Again, interesting, since I got it out of an 86.. Either the block was on the shelf for 3 years, or it's not original.

Just goes to show how much things get swapped around throughout the years.

 

Fortunately, it looks like I'll be okay. Yes, it's a federal regulation, but Idaho doesn't check it.

 

Playing devil's advocate here: how would you know its not a 1990 based on that info?

 

I'm not 100% sure, but from what I've seen, the base code seems to change about every 10 years.

I know it's not a 90 because it has a mechanical fuel pump boss, so it's pre-efi ('87), but others might not know that.

Otherwise, there's probably look up tables/books etc. if a place truly was dedicated to nailing it down.

 

Because a 1990 wouldn't have a D5TE casting/engineering # on the block, would it? The 1990 would have a E7TE engineering/casting #.

The newest the D5 casting number can be is a 1981 because after that you would see the E1TE block casting #.


I was taught this info when I was in my early teens( over 30 years ago ) by a guy that restored Mustangs for a living. He was a stickler for correct date codes on his stuff. I've bought a lot of 240's & 300's. I've owned at least one from every year 65-91. I have found this info to be correct on my engines. But you do have to use the engineering # and the date code. combined to nail down the age.

I've bought some early 240/300 engines to get the early connecting rods. I just went off the casting/engineering #'s. And have been disappointed when I tore them down. The last was a 240 that had a C6AE engineering #. I thought ok this would be a 67 at the newest. But when I tore it down it had the late rods in it. So I checked the date code and sure enough it was a 68 date code. So you have to be careful on the years that had the change over on the engineering #'s. I have seen a few that have a date code with the older engineering # that is the same year as the change over engineering #. But I have never seen one that was more then the change over year. And I've never seen a newer engineering # with a older date code.

But I have learned to never say never on anything when it comes to Fords.

 

Well, you could give your friendly emissions testing folks a call...tell them you are asking for a friend

 

All the later engines are identified by a sticker on the valve cover giving the build date and emissions calibration number. Or at least it was that way when I worked at Ford dealers.

 

You can't always go off that either. The valve covers are a part that can be easily changed. These engines are old enough that it's not uncommon for there to be a mix of parts in them from different engines. That's why You just have to collect the data from as many areas as you can. Doing that gives you a better idea on the whole picture.

 

My engines have all had the date stamped on the timing gear cover. You could always make your engine newer with an updated cover

 

I did just this and called a local mechanic that deals with emissions. They said that the emissions centers don't pull any data from the VIN (such as what the original engine was). All they do is look to see how many cylinders it has and whether or not it has the necessary components. Here, that's a gas cap, cat, and smog pump. I had to install a smog pump on my '84 to get it to pass so I'm used to that.
Otherwise, you'd have to go out of your way to tell them you changed the engine.

It also has the same standards in '85 as '81, so since the engine itself passes '81 standards, it'll pass '85 standards, and they're not going to check any of the date codes or any of that stuff. Looks like I'm good to go! Easy.

Yeah, I've seen that sticker on newer 300s, but not on the older ones. And I agree, I'm seeing a range of date codes, but overall, it looks to be a late 70s.

My valve cover has a part number (mine's a D2 [1972] part), but not the actual date of manufacture. At least, not that I'm seeing.


Oh well. Looks like it's a moot point now. Which is good because I don't think I would have been successful!
More of just a curiosity now.

 

The older ones had a metal tag that was fastened to the coil bracket.