Block ID

[Ed Pitts]

Just picked up a block yesterday. This came out of a 1939 1 ton truck. The center holes (top triangular and the bottom two round) would indicate a 45-48 block but it is a 221 engine which would indicate a 1939 era block. It has 59 on the top of the bell housing. The exhaust manifolds also look like the later engines. Were the truck engines different in 1939?
No cracks in the usual place and it has standard pistons so hope this one will build.
The second set of pics are the heads that came on it. One head has an A in the casting and the second has a T. Did the large trucks have different heads?
Thanks guys. Ed

 

[Bruce Lancaster]

I believe blocks like that are 41A replacement block (see '28-48 parts book) that were 221's made on postwar tooling to fill the huge replacement parts market after WWII. No production use, just a replacement part. One prewar truck head, one passenger!

 

[Ed Pitts]

Thanks Bruce. That makes sense about the similarity with the later blocks since the only difference was the bore. I assume that this would be a good block to have?
Is there any difference between the truck head and the passenger head?
Thanks, Ed

 

[Bruce Lancaster]

Spec says roughly 4CC more room in the truck head. Both heads are very common and cheap at the fleas.
41A generally is found to have smaller cylinder castings than its 59 parent, capable of boring to 3 3/16 but not the huge sizes possible with a 59A.

 

[alanwoodieman]

look very closely and see if there are sleeves in the block. 59 denotes the 42-48 block but if it was rebuilt in the late 60's or about then, Ford rebuilders were using up what was left over. I have a 41 engine that was sleeved back to original bore size and had a rebuilders tag turned back side up and there was a ID number, no specs as to crank journals, etc

 

[Ed Pitts]

Spec says roughly 4CC more room in the truck head. Both heads are very common and cheap at the fleas.
41A generally is found to have smaller cylinder castings than its 59 parent, capable of boring to 3 3/16 but not the huge sizes possible with a 59A.

Bruce, would the 59A-B heads work better with the 221 block? They seem to have a smaller cc than the 1939 A head but the 59A block has a larger bore.
Thanks, Ed

 

[Ed Pitts]

look very closely and see if there are sleeves in the block. 59 denotes the 42-48 block but if it was rebuilt in the late 60's or about then, Ford rebuilders were using up what was left over. I have a 41 engine that was sleeved back to original bore size and had a rebuilders tag turned back side up and there was a ID number, no specs as to crank journals, etc

Alan, as Bruce described above, this block was an after war replacement for the earlier 221 blocks. It does not have any sleeves and has standard pistons. I also have a 1941 block (with 2 cracks in the intake valve areas) and it has the thin sleeves and standard pistons. Learned the hard way to always chip away the carbon around the valves before buying an engine. It's too heavy for a wall mounting!
Ed

 

[Bruce Lancaster]

59A heads go right on earlier blocks, early heads on late blocks actually usually need minor relieving over valves to clear; the overhaul book covers all this AND the recommended use of late gasket in all combinations with monor mods. '37-48 engine book is readily available in reprint.
The specs say 59A-B heads 73.5-75.5, the earlier 59A heads 77-79. 81A 77-79.
All numbers should be treated with skepticism until measured.