Hi all you hamers out there can any one tell me what kinda mumbers i have on a flathead ford motor I bought a 1953 truck block flattie w 4spd but i want to run the numbers to se if its a 53 or not ..... im going to try to post the pics if not ill right the numbers down fro wat it took i know theres a number 44 on the ouside of the block when turned over on the stand.. top back of block is F 2604: crank journals one has 1BA othe has 16 Cam cover on the back of the block reads 1CM66-E under that ther is 2-B and over in the lower right corner it reads CAL and over in the other corner of the block there is an X i know the numbers should give a date and where its built .. the flattie had a 4spd behind it it hads a real low gear for first 6.40 first and rev 7.82 it has A PTO ON THE TRANS!!!! any help would be great thanks
heres more pics of the motor the tag reads .040 pistions .010 on the crank and .010 on the rods I tryed looking for the vin numbers on the trans up close the inpection cover no luck is that common ???
The tag is from an engine rebuilder. As far as any numbers indicating the year of mfr., unless you're lucky there are none. The main identifier on '49-'53 Flatheads is usually the combination of other parts: the carbs may have unique markings but there's no guarentee it's the original. The cylinder heads might be a clue-if they haven't been changed. Water pumps can help-if they are original to the engine. Check Van Pelt's site for the best info there is. Actually, the year of mfr within that (obvious) span is irrelevant. The only internal item that sets one 8BA/8RT/8CM/EAB/EAC apart from another is the presence of a Merc crank
Ford stopped putting serial numbers on the trans case in 1948. There are NO serial numbers on the blocks. The 4 speed trans could be the non-synchro truck unit (marked T8 or T9 or 59T on the side) or the synchronized 4 speed (T98 on the side). The late style blocks were essentially the same from 1948-53 on the trucks. From the factory, they had hardened inserts on one valve only until 1952 production when they eliminated the valve seat inserts altogether. Of course, any machine shop could very easily have installed them at some time. So, basically it doesnt matter what year the block was. All the bolt-on stuff (manifolds, water pumps, bell housings, distributor, etc) can all be interchanged thru the years of the late flathead. Remember, the 1948 trucks got the new flathead, but the passenger cars did not get it until 1949. The truck heads would have been the 8RT heads until 1952. Then I believe they changed the heads to the EAB type. The synchro 4 speed may be of value to someone who has a 1 ton and larger Ford truck (from 1948 on til 55) and wants to swap out the non-synchro 4 speed. Both trannies are too large to want in a passenger car....not to mention the granny first gear.
i do know theres a 8ba on one of the stock heads and when i pulled the top of the trans the gears are straight and not curved cut i think its a t-98 its got a real low gear
know the crank had two marking 16 and 1ba on two off the journals the trans also has a pto on it ive got ans early 3spd top loader but what would be a good 4 spd or a 4 or 5 spd over drive to put behined the fattie will sell the trans with the pto or with out
A lot of the fellas are using the T-5 from an S-10 behind them. Cheap and more than stout enough behind a flatty. If I had a flatty in a traditional rod and wanted an OD tranny I would be looking for one from about a '53 or '54 ford or merc car. They are good trannies and traditional to the bone.
Dispite what you may have read in an "official" book, before the Twin Towers were bombed the first time, (1993?) the Ford plant where I worked did not acuratly put numbers on engines.
mmmm sounds good i was planing on building it as a old school rod with a 3-71 0r 4-71 blower on the fattie would it be better stick 0r auto kinda want it stick
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