A Tale of Two 427s

[BruceS]

Hi all from Texas!  I just acquired 2 427 blocks, and have a few questions. But first some descriptions of each:

Blue painted Block:
Date - 6C11; March 11, 1966
C5AE-H engineering no. cast on block side, 12 DIF (Dearborn Iron Foundry), "HI"scratch in bell housing area
Rear main cap has C2AE engineering no.
Cylinder bore size measured by calipers: 4.260" (+0.030).
Cylinders have a honed finish
Cross-bolted mains, Side oiler casting, but side oil passage not drilled.
4-bolt motor mounts, left side machined for std. motor mount which cuts into side oil passage
Threaded core plugs
Not drilled for hydraulic lifters? (No lube holes in lifter bores)
"427LH" stamped on front face

Pictures here:
http://s1325.photobucket.com/user/Bselby1/library/427%20Engines/Blue%20Block

Natural finish Block:
Date - 8C1 March 1, 1968
No engineering no. on block, 12 DIF (Dearborn Iron Foundry), "I" scratch in bell housing area
Rear main cap has "C2AE" engineering number, front main cap has "C3AE" casting number
Cylinder bore size measured by calipers: 4.235" (+0.005)
Cylinders have a honed finish
Cross-bolted mains, Side oiler block
4-bolt motor mounts
Threaded core plugs
Drilled for hydraulic lifters?  (Has side lube holes in lifter bores)

Pictures here:
http://s1325.photobucket.com/user/Bselby1/library/427%20Engines/Natural%20Block

Questions:
Am I correct on my date codes?
Am I correct about the blocks being drilled or not for hydraulic lifters?  Can a hydraulic lifter block use solids?  (Assume a solid lifter block cannot use hydraulics without modification)
Is the blue block likely a marine or industrial version?  If the 427LH stamp means left-hand rotation; are there block oiling mods that need to be made for  standard rotation? Or are the differences found in the crank and / or rods?
Do the H and HI scratches in the bell housing areas mean anything?

Thanks a lot, and Happy Fathers Day to you Dads,

Bruce

[cjshaker]

Bruce, I'll throw in what I do know.

The blue block is definitely a sideoiler cast block that is machined for solid lifters only and has no side oiling provisions. My guess  is that you are correct in assuming it was a marine or industrial motor, and likely a reverse rotation marine with the 427LF stamped into it. But the crank is the only "reverse rotation" part worth mentioning, so it's perfectly useable in a car build with no mods. The cranks had reversed "wiper" grooves on the rear seal area to push oil back into the crankcase. The good news is that it looks like it was likely a closed cooling system or at least a fresh water system. From what I can see in that first shot of the water jackets, there's not a lot of rust or scale inside. Not a super desirable block, but it's still a 427

The natural finish block is definitely a side oiling hydraulic cam compatible block with its drilled lifter passages. I believe your date codes are correct also, which would make this block very desirable for a '68 427 Cougar build. It looks to be a production piece and not a replacement block. That looks to be a very nice block and a good score.

[GJCAT427]

Your blue block is a marine block also. Chris Craft did use side oilers in some boats. I have seen two sets that were pulled from boats at a local  marinia and the guy wanted big bucks for them. Some people will argue that CC didn`t use anything but undrilled side oilers but they still show up. I have a date coded 68 block out in the garage and I checked to see if it was marine grade but its not. I did have a 68 marine block but it was sold several yrs ago. The best part both blocks had the same date codes.

[BruceS]

Thanks Doug and GJ for your input.
Next step is to take both blocks to the engine shop I use to get a good cleanup, and crack / sonic check.  Then have them confirm overbore, line honing, deck cleanup needed, etc.  I'm real pleased to have a couple of genuine 427s in the family!   

Any other contributions from forum members are welcome,

Bruce

[GJCAT427]

Bruce, I mean`t to say that the natural block is a marine block. It has the notch milled in the left side that marine blocks had and the drilled sideoiler  passage that the car blocks had.  A lot of guys wanted to drill the side passage on marine blocks ,but the wall is very thin where the notch is machined and makes it risky to do. Looks like yours was done at the factory where they had better control of the drilling process. Still a good find.

[ScotiaFE]

I have to disagree with you CAT.
The short cut into the side gallery is very common on car blocks.
So common in fact it is even on my Genesis.
The most telling item for marine blocks is the brass screw in core plugs.
That would have been a spec item for the marine line.

The long cut is very common on marine blocks also, but I believe you could get the short cut block
in the marine line also. I think it had to do with the actual boat manufacturer more than what Ford was doing.
The long cut was to clear the engine mount.

[GJCAT427]

Not to get into a pissing match, of the 6- 427 blocks I have ,only the marine block had the cut on the left side.  My NOS "P" block did not have the cut, I have seen many others that were not cut. The cut is very close to the oil rail and was there for the oil cooler unit. That 68 block is the odd duck in the pond, only Chris Craft had that cooler.

[bn69stang]

I have seen one 427 in a boat , it was a v-drive with a side oiler block and it had high riser heads and intake , single 4-bbl - it had brass screw in plugs .. Bud

[BruceS]

Thanks guys,
I'll check for brass core plugs on the blue block; the natural finish block has steel plugs. To clarify, is the consensus that the "short" cut could have been done on a marine or automotive block?  I've been assuming the short cut on the natural block is just for motor mount clearance.  Any ideas on the bellhousing H and HI scratches?  Do they have any meaning?



Bruce

[ScotiaFE]

I would say the natural block is a car block and the blue block is a marine.
Just my opinion though.
I would have a real good look at the back pads on the natural block you MAY see a partial VIN.
It may be very faint. They started stamping in 68.

[BruceS]

Thanks Howie,
Now I remember reading about the block stamping in Barry Rs book... Will check that out with a strong light to look for any partial VIN stamps.  What's fun about this is finding every little piece of evidence to make conclusions on the block origin, history, and condition. Barry mentions that in his book also; sometimes you use the evidence directly, sometimes the evidence is used to exclude certain possibilities.

Bruce