Advice needed on buying old core engines

[FERoadster]

I've got at least 10 cranks I can check and some are still in blocks so I can rotates some and see if there is a pattern in the rear journal. It will be a few days.
Richard 
Edit: I've got a couple of 1UB cranks I can check as well, but they have only a notch and no half moon.

[427John]

Richard the 428 crank I checked didn't have a half moon either but it did have a drilled hole in the flange near the notch like the later 390 2U crank check yours to see if yours have that too.

[dcm0123]

If the engine rotates, take out a plug and use a long thin screw driver or welding rod to help you measure the stroke.

[durkzz8]

I went by this weekend and checked out the engines. Ended up with two 360's with the Ribbed blocks and a still unknown one. It is locked up tight. The only number I was able to see on it after digging about two inches of grease off was C4AE-A on the block. So I am going to assume that one is a 390 at this point. Will update with pictures and what all I find out this coming weekend when I can get out there with a pressure washer and clean them off some. Took about 4 hours of moving stuff to get them out of the barn and this fat guy was tired and took the rest of the day to clean up and do nothing.

[Falcon67]

Good luck, hope you're was better than mine with that barn find 429.  All looked good, turned over with a slight bind at one point that seemed to say cylinder ring rust.  Pull the pan, all looked good.  Tore it down and was full of rust and #5 hole was punched from rust/freeze damage.  Oh well.

[427John]

I went by this weekend and checked out the engines. Ended up with two 360's with the Ribbed blocks and a still unknown one. It is locked up tight. The only number I was able to see on it after digging about two inches of grease off was C4AE-A on the block. So I am going to assume that one is a 390 at this point. Will update with pictures and what all I find out this coming weekend when I can get out there with a pressure washer and clean them off some. Took about 4 hours of moving stuff to get them out of the barn and this fat guy was tired and took the rest of the day to clean up and do nothing.

The C4AE block could be a 352 or a 390,but should have the bosses for provision of crossbolt main caps,don't be dismissive of the 360's if the blocks are in good shape they're perfectly good foundations for building a nice 390 or 410 or even bigger with a stroker crank,you can use the drill bit test to see if they are good candidates for sonic checking the block to see if it will take a large overbore.Same with the C4AE block if you can get it apart with no damage the above applies to it also.While it is limited to the early 2 bolt motor mount pattern,with the crossbolt bosses it can fitted with crossbolt caps if desired.

[Clark Coe]

As mentioned by thatdarncat, Ford factory production I.D. metal tags can be sometimes found under the bolt securing the ignition coil to the intake manifold. This would/could suggest an engine that is a factory "virgin"....never been disassembled/repaired/rebuilt. These tags are often covered with a thick layer of grease and not visible.



The cubic inch size is in the top left corner. Model Year is top center. Year of engine production is in the lower left corner, "A"=January, "D"=April and "E"=May.
Change level is upper right. Engine code number is lower right.

As they say on TV, "Your results may be differ."

Clark

[Falcon67]

I save all of those tags that I find.