289 or 260
Hotshot
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 12,170
Likes: 5
From: The hills of No. Calif.
First off, I don't suppose the little metal ID tag is still attached to one of the coil mounting bolts? If so, it has all the info you need on it.
If not, count the number of bolts that hold the tranny to the engine; are there 5 or 6? All 260s and early 289s up through the middle of '65 were 5-bolt, everything else since is 6-bolt. Then look at the casting number on the block down by the starter. If the motor is sitting on the ground you'll need to look with a mirror or lay down and look up at the block with the starter removed to see it. The very first digits of the bigger number will tell you the approximate year, you should see something like C3AE or C5AE, something like that. C is for the decade of the 60s and the number following is the year of that decade. Then you want to look for a smaller number that might be something like this, it's the date code that will tell you the actual date the block was cast:
The letter "I" is not used in the date code, and here's the breakdown of the months:
Second Digit Month
A January
B February
C March
D April
E May
F June
G July
H August
I Not Used
J September
K October
L November
M December
Unfortunately, the engine size was never put into the casting number so this just gets us the actual year. If it's a '65, '66 or '67 for example, then it's a 289. (Probably!)
Pull a valve cover. On the early engines the displacement was cast right into the head under the valve cover. (Unless the heads have been replaced at some point. Then it will only tell you what the heads came off of.)
The next place to look is under the intake manifold, in the center of the lifter galley. The displacement was cast into this area as well. Pulling the intake will also give you access to the cylinder head casting numbers, which are cast into the bottom of the head right by the pushrod holes. With the heads in place you'll need a mirror to see them.
Ford didn't make it easy to ID their engines. Many of us can tell a lot with casting numbers, but as you can see, they didn't make them easy to get to. That little metal tag is all too aften removed on early engines, and it's where they put all the pertinent info.
Let us know what you find out.
If not, count the number of bolts that hold the tranny to the engine; are there 5 or 6? All 260s and early 289s up through the middle of '65 were 5-bolt, everything else since is 6-bolt. Then look at the casting number on the block down by the starter. If the motor is sitting on the ground you'll need to look with a mirror or lay down and look up at the block with the starter removed to see it. The very first digits of the bigger number will tell you the approximate year, you should see something like C3AE or C5AE, something like that. C is for the decade of the 60s and the number following is the year of that decade. Then you want to look for a smaller number that might be something like this, it's the date code that will tell you the actual date the block was cast:
The letter "I" is not used in the date code, and here's the breakdown of the months:
Second Digit Month
A January
B February
C March
D April
E May
F June
G July
H August
I Not Used
J September
K October
L November
M December
Unfortunately, the engine size was never put into the casting number so this just gets us the actual year. If it's a '65, '66 or '67 for example, then it's a 289. (Probably!)
Pull a valve cover. On the early engines the displacement was cast right into the head under the valve cover. (Unless the heads have been replaced at some point. Then it will only tell you what the heads came off of.)
The next place to look is under the intake manifold, in the center of the lifter galley. The displacement was cast into this area as well. Pulling the intake will also give you access to the cylinder head casting numbers, which are cast into the bottom of the head right by the pushrod holes. With the heads in place you'll need a mirror to see them.
Ford didn't make it easy to ID their engines. Many of us can tell a lot with casting numbers, but as you can see, they didn't make them easy to get to. That little metal tag is all too aften removed on early engines, and it's where they put all the pertinent info.
Let us know what you find out.
