I have a question on the year of an engine recently pulled from a 1970 F-250. It is a 429/460, and not originall for the truck. The cast number on the block is C9VE-B, and the heads are C9VE-A. Trying to narrow down a year, so parts can be bought for it. Thanks

 

Thats a real good motor. Its a 1969. Those are some of the best 385 series heads.

 

This question seems to be asked many times. Here's a little tutorial on Ford numbering.

For a typical part like an engine block it has a basic part number : 6015. You'll see this as part of a whole part number like C9VE-6015-A.

To break it down:

The first position C9VE-6015-A represents the Decade

B=1950-59
C=1960-69
D=1970-79
E=1980-89
F=1990-99

The second position C9VE-6015-A represents the Year of the Decade

The third position C9VE-6015-A represents the Carline

A=Ford
D=Falcon
G=Comet, Montego, Cyclone
J=Marine & Industrial
M=Mercury
O=Fairlane & Torino
S=Thunderbird
T=Ford Truck
V=Lincoln
W=Cougar
Z=Mustang

The fourth position C9VE-6015-A represents the Engineering Group

A=Chassis Group
B=Body Group
E=Engine Group

If the item is a service part, the fourth position then indicates the applicable division as follows:

Z=Ford Division
Y=Lincoln-Mercury
X=Original Ford Muscle Parts Program
M=Ford Motorsport SVO or Ford-Mexico

Then follows the basic part number C9VE-6015-A.

The last character(s) C9VE-6015-A represent the suffix which indicates any revisions. A= original part, B= first revision, etc.

Also, as with most parts, you should be able to find a date code like 5A26

The first position is the year, the second is the month, and the last two are the day it was cast or stamped.

Another bit of interest is where it was made. For blocks, a "C" circled around an "F" indicates the Cleveland Iron Foundry. A "DIF" indicates Dearborn Iron Foundry. A "WF" or "WIF" stand for Windsor Iron Foundry.

Hopes this helps.