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Posted By Discussion Topic: Engine ID     flathead48 11-14-2012 @ 8:38 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 314 Joined: Dec 2009 I am trying to find the year of this engine, on right rear corner of deck is a 3 stamped and about an inch away is the number 5 stamped. The heads say E A B on the rear top in center is capital E off to the right side is stamped G 2994. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Rick supereal 11-14-2012 @ 1:53 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 An EAB would be a post 1949 engine. The other numbers may be a casting ID, or put there by a rebuilder at some time. Tracing much reliable info on Ford engines is difficult because the engines were built well before vehicle assembly at many of the Ford plants, and sketchy records, if any, were kept, and likely lost over the years. 51f1 11-14-2012 @ 2:59 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 573 Joined: Oct 2009 The heads you have could have come from anywhere and are not a reliable indicator of the year the engine was made. In fact, there are no numbers or letters on a 1948-1953 engine that I am aware of that would reliably indicate the year that the engine was made. As best I can determine, car engines were designated EAB for 1952 and 1953. The heads on the engines used in '52 and '53 cars may not have had EAB cast into them. 8BA was cast into car engine heads from 1949 through 1951 and these heads probably would have been used into 1952 until they were used up. Truck engines for 1948 through 1953 were designated 8RT and this was cast into the truck heads, although any head may have been used on a new truck. As far as I know, all of the heads were the same except for the numbers and letters cast into the tops, therefore, any engine could have any head put on it during it's lifetime. FYI, the last iteration of the flat head was used on trucks from 1948 through 1953. These engines were used in cars from 1949 through 1953. The major differences between the car and truck engines were in the oil pans, which caused the use of different length oil pump pick-up tubes. The length of the oil filler pipe also varied. There may have been other minor variances. Is this a lot more than you wanted to know? Do you know anymore than you knew before? Richard This message was edited by 51f1 on 11-14-12 @ 3:08 PM flathead48 11-15-2012 @ 4:22 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 314 Joined: Dec 2009 Bob and Richard, thanks for the effort. I appreciate the help. supereal 11-15-2012 @ 1:21 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 You are welcome. Yes, the later heads could be installed on an early block, but the distributor and carb must also be changed, along with the camshaft to drive the distributor to appear later. The best way to determine if it is a pre-1949 block or not is whether the clutch housing is cast into the block (59-AB), or is a separate "ring" bolted to the rear of the block, as are the later type. Many of the advantages of the later engine, such as one piece valve guides and straight stem valves, can be put in early engines. We do that on every job. Ford's policy of interchangable parts has been a plus for most of the flathead years, but can produce some odd combinations. 51f1 11-15-2012 @ 1:48 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 573 Joined: Oct 2009 A lot of people only refer to car engines in their posts. The '48 truck engines were the same as the '49 car engines. The '48-'53 8RT and the '49-'53 8BA (or whatever they may have designated the small V-8 flathead car engines in those years) are the same engine. Richard Stroker 11-15-2012 @ 3:47 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1460 Joined: Oct 2009 Richard: Most of us "regulars" know that Ford brought major improvements to the truck line (body, frame, driveline and engine) in 1948, and only brought revolutionary* improvements to the auto line in the following year. I appreciate your keeping us on the "straight and narrow" in this regard. Some of us are kind of a "beam axle and torque-tube nuts", who don't consider any Ford with *"knee-action" or Hotchkiss drivelines to be relevant. Fortunately for the Club, our founders included all flathead-powered cars as Early Fords. Sometimes we forget! Dan flathead48 11-15-2012 @ 3:58 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 314 Joined: Dec 2009 Supereal,the bell housing is separate,the dist is the newer one on top in front. I know it is 50 or newer I was just trying to pinpoint the exact year. Thanks again to all. supereal 11-15-2012 @ 8:39 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 At least you know it is a '49 or later engine or, as pointed out above, it could be a late '48 truck unit. The trucks did use 8RT heads, which a slightly different compression ratio than the 8BA. If your engine was, in fact, the original, and you can find a serial number, some have production lists which can narrow down the year of production. I say "narrow down", as the engines were usually assembled well before they were placed in the vehicle. You hear lots today about "numbers matching", that is quite rare in old Fords, and is an invention to pry more money put of a prospective buyer, in most cases.

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