'40 Engine

Bob G/Spanaway

Bob G/Spanaway

Senior Member
I'm looking over the engine out of my all-original '40 4 door.
It has 50xxx miles on it.
Doesn't look like it has ever been apart.
It has 81A cast into the bellhousing.
Sounds like '38 to me.
Has steel sleeves and steel pistons.
Was this casting carried over from '38?
 
I guess I misspoke.
It hadn't been apart till I got my grubby hands on it.
The engine was frozen up because it sat for thirty years before I got it.
The starter was bad and I guess it just got parked.
 
The 1938-39-40-41 chassis parts book I have with a May,1941 date shows 81A-6010-B 85 hp block assembly for 38-39-40-41 passenger cars. I would say the 81A casting is correct just as the 59A block was for span of few years. What do heads show,just the "A" ? Seems the early 39 engines I had showed an 81A on corner of the head and the single " A" was on later 39 to 40-41. When I had a 39 Ford I seemed to come into a lot of engines from local street rodders, bet it was at least 10 engines,some were 40 engines or at least out of a forty and most were 38-39 and I never found a sleeved engine,I wanted to find one and pull the sleeves and use 3 3/16 " pistons. I just always assumed that the sleeve ones must have been sometime in the forty year. Some info in 38-39 resto book but Kube probably knows when they came with steel sleeves. Seems they were all steel pistons.
 
I just rebuilt a Ford "authorized rebuilder" engine out of my 41 and even it had been steel sleeved back to original size. It is an 81A engine and I used 239 pistons, which required a slight bore/hone to fit. This is the 3rd steel sleeved 81A engine I have rebuilt. All had a single A on the heads, one came out of an original 40 fordor, other out of my 40 wagon
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top