Serial Number Decode

jeepguy1948 said:
Can anybody shed some light on what this serial number (the number stamped on the block)? AB 50535910
Thanks
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What year and model A Style. to many numbers for Model production motor? Probably a rebuild number by other motor builder!
 
Not currently in a car.
Said to be an early B motor that originally did not have a balanced crank with weights added later.
 
jeepguy1948 said:
Can anybody shed some light on what this serial number (the number stamped on the block)? AB 50535910
Thanks
Click to expand...

That is an April 1932 number. Ford stamped the Model B numbers on the top of the flywheel housing and left the number pad on the side of the engine unstamped. If your number is on the engine block, it was put there by somebody beyond the Ford River Rouge plant.
 
ursus said:
That is an April 1932 number. Ford stamped the Model B numbers on the top of the flywheel housing and left the number pad on the side of the engine unstamped. If your number is on the engine block, it was put there by somebody beyond the Ford River Rouge plant.
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His number is in the 50 million range. The B started in the 5 million range.
Here is my early Jan 32 serial number. They are all 7 digit not 8 digit numbers.

AB / AAB 5049493 to 5062386 April 1932
All the B engines had a spot on the right side for a fuel pump and early blocks had a pad on the left side that was to be for a vacuum operated "Power Clutch" that never went into production.
 

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Somebody added a digit when the block was stamped. I've seen a fair amount of blocks that were stamped in crude fasion with no stars. Replacement blocks were not uncommon.
 
That is a 1932 Model B number. 1932 B blocks were not stamped. The number was stamped on the starter side of the flywheel housing.
 
Well the OP's block was stamped if I read it right. Engine blocks didn't always follow the car they were installed in. Overhauling services may have stamped a lot of B blocks in order to keep track of them.
 
The number I am referencing was stamped on the flywheel housing, the pad on the side of the block is blank. Strangely the first “5” of the number appears to have been stamped at a later time then the remainder. This would explain the fact that the stamped number would be for over 50 million but it doesn’t explain why the extra digit was stamped at all. As with many things related to these vehicles now over 90 years old there is no way of explains why some things were done. The early “B” motors did not have a balanced crank (which was news to me) and this appears to be one of those because the weights were swedged on later. It’s also possible of course that the crank is not original to this motor. Rumor has it that this motor was rebuilt by Bill Barlow but has never been fired up.
 
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Ford was experimenting with different counter weight configurations in mid to late 1932 but eventually they finally settled for a specific design for the remaining few years of B production.
 
I read that regional Ford engine rebuilding facilities began swedging on the counterweights in the course of rebuilding engines with the early B crankshafts. Supposedly this was an effort to extend the service life of BB trucks. This started in 1934 and perhaps some BB trucks of that year were also factory built with swedged on counterweights. All the engines with this feature that I have seen came out of BB trucks. These counterweights are unusual in that they had to be installed after the connecting rod journals were ground/polished because the weight ends extended into the swing arc of the rod journals and it would be impossible to regrind the crankshaft rod journals without removing the counterweights.
 
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If it doesn't have the stars at each end Henry didn't stamp it - They also did not start with 0 so maybe the 5 & 0 have been added. Anybody know about what number the Power Clutch mounting pad disappeared? There were 3 B cranks. The first was similar to the A with larger journals. The second was the first with added weights and the last known as the "C" crank was cast (forged?) with the weights. It came out in Dec 32.
 
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