I am finally dismantling my '55 F-100 for restoration. How do I determine if my 239 V-8 is a leftover '54 engine (from Dearborn plant) or a true '55 (from Cleveland plant)?

Just wondering if I have the "odd duck" or the later 239 that is actually has interchangeable parts with its bigger siblings. If I've got the '54 engine, I won't be rebuilding it.

 

The casting numbers on the block are one way; also, the oddball has a thirteen tooth drive gear for the distributor, & if I recall correctly, the cam journals are .125 larger in diameter (2.05) as opposed to the later dia. of 1.9255. The newer cam has fourteen teeth.

The older cams are still available, as are the cam bearings, but they are more expensive.

Hope it helps, Mike

 

According to Mummert's chart, a 1955 239 in pickup would be marked EBV. It would have the smaller cam bearings, and probably the 14 tooth dist. gear.

 

One easy way is to find the foundry mark cast into the block. If it has the CF it was cast at the Cleveland foundry and will be the later 239 with interchangeble parts. The early 239 was only produced at the Dearborn foundry. Try looking at the top rear of the block by the distributor.

 

Thanks. I couldn't remember where the foundry marks were located. I have a bit of oil and dirt to scrape off to find them. The intake manifold is marked EBV, but I'm not sure if that is conclusive evidence of '55 239 or not.

 

EBV is the truck engine but won't tell you which 239 version Cleveland or Dearborn. Another thing to look for is the manufactured date code stamped on the engine at the front on top of the timing cover. This will tell you the year, month, and day the engine was assembled at Ford. For 1955 it should start with 5 then a letter for the month and a number for the day of the month. Month codes range from A for January to M for December. The letter I was not used. For example if the code read 5B16 the date would be 1955 Feb 16.

 

The 239 was built at the Rogue Plant in Dearborn for "only the first half of the production year." I have not been able to find anything definitive about when that change was made to Cleveland. But I can tell you this: if your truck is a '55 (and the engine is the original 55 engine) then it is a Cleveland Foundary (an F inside a large C)engine. My '54 F-100 with the 239 is a Cleveland, so you have nothing to worry about. If anyone knows the date of the switch to the Cleveland Foundary production please pass it on!

thanks, abe

 

Abe, that is what info I have been able to find, but you never know what has been swapped out or replaced in 50 years. It is best to ID what you have to be sure if possible.

I agree, IF it is the original '55 239 then it should be a Cleveland block.

 

I have been following everyone's instructions in this thread and have been failing miserably! I have two 239's. One has a "EBV" next to the distributor, the other has nothing but symbols. Neither have anything stamped on the timing chain cover. Where exactly on the cover would the numbers be located? Would it be on one of the two flat bosses on the top?
The engine without the EBV marking has the number "EBV-6059-G" casted onto the face of the cover, as well as the number "EBV(or EBY)-8015-F on the left side of the block, near the oil filter. Do these numbers mean anything?

 

NJ239Y, welcome to the wondeful world of old Fords. There is nothing written in stone regarding the old Y-blocks and many parts could have been replaced since it was built.

My 1955 F100 had a 239 Y-block that was original to the truck. I did find the date code stamped on the flat spot on the top of the timing cover. It may not be the only place they put the code. The gate code can help determine if a 239 is 1954 or 1955. 1955 will have the CF foundry mark for sure but sometime in the 1954 model year production shifted from Dearborn to Cleveland and the design was changed. Parts are much harder to find for the 1954 Dearborn engine.

May I suggest buying a book titled FORD Y-BLOCK by James Eickman. It is available from Dennis Carpenter for less than $20. It may not be the complete reference on the Y-block but it is a good start. Another good book is titled ULTIMATE AMERICAN V-8 ENGINE DATA BOOK by Peter Sessler. Another online source is http://members.aol.com/yblock/YBLOCK.htm

The EBV is the truck engine 239 CID 130HP used in F100-F600 series trucks in 1954-55. The EBY engine is 256 CID Police Interceptor engine 160 HP. Keep in mind many parts may have been changed on a 50 year old engine. Originality is hard to find.

The casting number EBU8015 should be EBU6015. 6015 is Fords casting number for an engine block. Casting numbers are not always the same as part numbers with Ford. EBU-6010-E is the part number for the 239 engine block but there could be other variations. 6010 is the group number.

EBV-6059-G is the part number for the timing cover and 6059 is the group number.

Most of the part numbers can be found in Ford Parts and Accessories Catalogs. There is a text and an illustration catalog. I have a set that covers 1948-1956 Ford Trucks. The catalogs are indexed by sections of group numbers with titles, such as Sections 60-67 Engine, Sections 90-97 Fuel, Carburetor, Accelerator. As an example, you may consider an intake manifold as an engine part but Ford puts it under Fuel with the group number 9425. Casting numbers are not always shown in these catalogs.

Confusing, huh!

 

The phrase "Welcome to the worderful world of old Fords" when relating it to being confused does not apply to me. This isn't my maiden flight! The 1953-55 F100 has been confusing me for over a decade! It seems that every bit of information I hear is a half truth! Nothing seems to apply 100% of the time.
For example, I needed cylinder head gaskets for one of my 239's. I called Job Lot Auto in Queens, NY and asked if they had any for the model number of the heads that I have. They said that there was 4 variations of that head and the best way to get the right gasket was to bring the head in. I was told Ford made a lot of corrections between 1954 and 1955 on the 239.

 

Service bulletins would be the source for production changes. The 239 was a new engine for Ford in 1954. There are some service bulletins reproduced in the Ford Y-block book. It is not unexpected for changes to occur during production. Finding the info 50 years later can be tough. Ford made several variations of the heads to change compression ratio and HP. Head gaskets were not interchageable between the Dearborn 239 and the Cleveland 239. In 1956 you could get a 272, 292, and 312 y-block. Ford used 4 different heads that year to give 6 different HP ratings.

There is a date code cast into the side of the block near the starter that gives the date the block was cast. First digit is the year, next digit is 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-0-A-B for the month, next digit will be A thru Z (I was not used) and inverted A thru F for the day of the month. The last digit is for the assembly line. This info is in a service bulletin.

 

Does the Cleveland Foundry "CF" mark ever appear on the timing cover of 239's?

Found a mark on my 239 last night when going over it with a handheld shoplight. Looks light a "C" with and "F" in the center. It is on the front of the engine just below the water pump.

I haven't found any casting numbers yet.

 

Question for NJ239Y.......what did you finally do about the head gasket?

I have a post question out for this , The gaskets in the Felpro kit does not match the head gasket I removed (same ports are not stamped open on new gasket) I was thinking of just cutting open the water jacket holes I needed to match it up. any thoughts on this idea?
my block is CF EBV6015-0 aug. 54 , heads are EBV 6090-A

Ed

 

I was wrong. The mark I saw was actually on the water pump. Haven't found the foundry mark on the engine yet.