FE Block Numbers
FE Block Numbers
Hotshot
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 11,141
Likes: 25
From: south louisiana
Not necessarly a 68 block. Only the date code will tell you that. A C8ME could have been cast in 69 or 70 too. My book list's it as a 428CJ block, but these books have been known to be wrong too.
Post Fiend
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 8,600
Likes: 4
From: Iowa
It's either a 428 block, or a 330HD block, or a 361 / 391 FT block. Casting molds were probably made in 1968 for Mercury applications, but it could have been cast later than that for a variety of uses. Since it shares numbers with FT blocks, it's probably a good strong thick cylinder wall block.
Moderator
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 97,479
Likes: 1,997
From: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
I know that this is a very old thread but..... can this be safely bored out to a 428 bore without sonic checking?
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Super Moderator
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 34,470
Likes: 2,799
"This"???? If "this" is a 390 block, no, you should sonic check it.
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Moderator
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 97,479
Likes: 1,997
From: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
I`m referring to specifically a 360 truck block like a C8ME, I know that the 390 blocks need to be checked. Put a different way are all the 360/390 blocks from cars and light trucks all the same for cylinder wall thickness?
Hotshot
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 11,141
Likes: 25
From: south louisiana
360 -390 are one and the same block. Both had the same bore size: 4.05 the difference in displacement was in the stroke. C8ME isn't a truck block. It's the std car casting. Be that as it may, cylinder wall thickness is a "hit or miss" deal when it comes to FE blocks. Some got thicker cylinders, some didn't. Core shift plays a big role in determining wall thickness too, you can have a thick walled block, but if any one (or more) of the cores shifted in casting, that in itself can render it with thin walls when adding in an overbore.
Laughing Gas
Joined: Aug 2020
Posts: 821
Likes: 292
From: Pelham Alabama
Yea OLD THREAD for sure
BUT, I have an opportunity to buy a Ford BB and the guy says it's a 428CJ engine.
I have not put eyes on it yet as it is bout 3 hrs away.
I did ask a few questions and it is a C8ME-A block
When ask about the intake I was told it had a 2 barrel intake.??
Thought all CJ's were 4 BBL.
After doin a lot of serching on inerweb, looks like that number could also be a 68 390, or several other FE;s.
Finally, my question, What on the externals if any will distinguish this as a 438 CJ if any.
Thank you, Alex
BUT, I have an opportunity to buy a Ford BB and the guy says it's a 428CJ engine.
I have not put eyes on it yet as it is bout 3 hrs away.
I did ask a few questions and it is a C8ME-A block
When ask about the intake I was told it had a 2 barrel intake.??
Thought all CJ's were 4 BBL.
After doin a lot of serching on inerweb, looks like that number could also be a 68 390, or several other FE;s.
Finally, my question, What on the externals if any will distinguish this as a 438 CJ if any.
Thank you, Alex
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 1,491
Likes: 343
From: SE Iowa
Yea OLD THREAD for sure
BUT, I have an opportunity to buy a Ford BB and the guy says it's a 428CJ engine.
I have not put eyes on it yet as it is bout 3 hrs away.
I did ask a few questions and it is a C8ME-A block
When ask about the intake I was told it had a 2 barrel intake.??
Thought all CJ's were 4 BBL.
After doin a lot of serching on inerweb, looks like that number could also be a 68 390, or several other FE;s.
Finally, my question, What on the externals if any will distinguish this as a 438 CJ if any.
Thank you, Alex
BUT, I have an opportunity to buy a Ford BB and the guy says it's a 428CJ engine.
I have not put eyes on it yet as it is bout 3 hrs away.
I did ask a few questions and it is a C8ME-A block
When ask about the intake I was told it had a 2 barrel intake.??
Thought all CJ's were 4 BBL.
After doin a lot of serching on inerweb, looks like that number could also be a 68 390, or several other FE;s.
Finally, my question, What on the externals if any will distinguish this as a 438 CJ if any.
Thank you, Alex
FTE Community Team
Joined: Dec 2023
Posts: 8,681
Likes: 4,209
From: sussex county, nj
https://www.mustangtek.com/block/Block.html shows that number for a 428 which was not made with a 2 barrel, that intake to me spells issues