How can I find the year my 460 was built?

the casting number will tell you what general year block you have...

it'll be on the passenger side below the heads, above the starter...

nflfreak43 said:

the casting number will tell you what general year block you have...

it'll be on the passenger side below the heads, above the starter...

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Thanks I will check there once I get it on a hoist.

You will have to look under the valve cover to determine the day it was cast

The part engineering # will only tell you a basic code and what the change up number is.

Details are details

Mil1ion said:

You will have to look under the valve cover to determine the day it was cast

The part engineering # will only tell you a basic code and what the change up number is.

Details are details

Click to expand...

It still have the C-6 and a 4bbl that is all I know except it was running until pulled last night. I have a thread in general discussion called Big Score.

about the only two #'s that mean anything, and they don't mean much, are the head casting number and the block casting number. d1ve blocks were around from 1970.5ish to 1978. after that it went to d9ve. heads are most likely d3ve's, but could also be d0ve's, or possibly c8ve's.

i assume you have d3ve heads and a d1ve block. pretty common motor.

fatdan460 said:

about the only two #'s that mean anything, and they don't mean much, are the head casting number and the block casting number. d1ve blocks were around from 1970.5ish to 1978. after that it went to d9ve. heads are most likely d3ve's, but could also be d0ve's, or possibly c8ve's.

i assume you have d3ve heads and a d1ve block. pretty common motor.

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Where do I look on the head to find out which ones I have.

head is right below where the valve cover ends. block is right behind the third freeze plug, flywheel end. had to go look in teh garage. bad memory.

fatdan460 said:

head is right below where the valve cover ends. block is right behind the third freeze plug, flywheel end. had to go look in teh garage. bad memory.

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You sure it's bad memory?

Ok here is what I know about my 460 the heads are matching with the same numbers.

D3VE-A2A

The engine block numbers were hard to read. I had 2 of my sons read the numbers to me and this is what we came up with. We are not sure which set is correct.

BWEC635A2 LAST NUMBER COULD BE (9,OR 8)

BWEO8(3OR8)5A (9,OR 8)

BWEEC9(3,OR 8)5A (9, OR 8)

are you looking in the right spot? i've marked my photo to show where to look:

and what you find should be a group of numbers and letters something like this:

xxxx-xxxx-xxx, should be something like c8ve-xxxx-xxx,d1ve-xxxx-xxx, or d9ve-xxxx-xxx. if you can't read it clearly try to take a piece of paper and a crayon or pencil, and etch over it. should be a little clearer to see.

fatdan460 said:

are you looking in the right spot? i've marked my photo to show where to look:

and what you find should be a group of numbers and letters something like this:

xxxx-xxxx-xxx, should be something like c8ve-xxxx-xxx,d1ve-xxxx-xxx, or d9ve-xxxx-xxx. if you can't read it clearly try to take a piece of paper and a crayon or pencil, and etch over it. should be a little clearer to see.

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Yep We did all except the pencil trick. The numbers are too worn down I will try it tomorrow.

These were the best I could get. The numbers didn't cast right.

i'd be willing to bet it's a d9ve block because the first letter has a flat back like the d's. the c's are nice and round in the castings and the second mark has too much to it to be a 1.

fatdan460 said:

i'd be willing to bet it's a d9ve block because the first letter has a flat back like the d's. the c's are nice and round in the castings and the second mark has too much to it to be a 1.

Click to expand...

Now the big question is what year?

doesn't really matter. about the only differences in blocks that i know of is d9 blocks have a longer piston hole for better piston retention in stroker motor applications. i think it's called a skirt. there are a few small differences in deck hight, but you can figure that out at a machine shop if you tear it down.

the newest it could be would be an 88. after that 460's got different fuel injection heads. unless someone pieced this motor together, then who knows. ford casting numbers don't tell you much.

Thanks for all your help.

no problem.