Engine I. D.

R

Rayfry

Member
How can I tell if my engine is the original one that came from the factory? I have a 1949 Ford Custom with a 239 Flathead. The numbers on the heads are for a 51 Flathead but not sure of the block.
 
Look on the left rear of the block, on the intake surface, there may be a date code stamped in it. Not all of them have it but that’s going to be the only way to get it close.
Go to Van Pelt’s website and they should have a breakdown of the codes.
 
There may or may not be a date code on the rear passenger side of the intake mount surface.
If there it could be as early as 1948.


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Ford didn't number the blocks in the flathead V8 era. Some dealers numbered them due to state regulations but that's about it. A 1949 Ford would have the 8BA heads. Valves would still be non-rotators. 1BA blocks are marked as such in the valve follower galley. This was for the advent of the Ford-O-Matic transmission. The only differences were the counter bore in the crankshaft flange for the automatic torque converter and the rotator type valves that came along in 1951. The block then remained pretty much unchanged through the end of production. Some of the later blocks have no stellite valve seats at all and some only have them in the exhaust valve pockets. The later was generally in trucks.

1BA heads were used as replacements for the 8BA heads after the EAB heads came out. Mercury engines were 4-inch stroke 255 cid set ups. The only internal differences were the crank and the pistons. Cams also have markings but they are replaceable and the later replacement was the EAB cam shaft.
 
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