matching numbers?

[moveoverGM]

Just curious, where can I find the numbers on my engine and does it really matter for trucks of our vintage to have those numbers match the VIN? I have read that sometimes engines can be replaced by previous owners and the numbers re-stamped to match the vehicle ID number. Some didn't go to all that trouble. Thanks for the replies, Donald

 

[SuperCab]

To my knowledge Ford never really had matching numbers on components like GM did.

 

[Beach66Bum]

Unless you are wanting a Concurs restoration, I would not be worried about numbers matching. Sure it is cool, but definitely not bad or wrong if not matching. And the value will not make much difference for this year of trucks (for now anyhow )

 

[moveoverGM]

Thanks for the info! I ask because I am getting my ducks in a row to have my engine pulled for a re-ring job. My mechanic said that the rest of the engine looks pristine and very clean because it only has about 1500 miles on it since rebuilt. But for some reason or another the rings did not seat well and it continues to smoke. I asked what it would take to just pull my engine and drop in a new crate engine. It would be four times as much as to just do a ring job. And he was hesitant to replace the original engine. Either way, I am glad that it makes little difference on this truck.

 

[O'Rattlecan]

Yup! Don't worry about numbers matching. Ford didn't do that. If you want it to be super-duper genuine, just make sure you get a similar year block/bellhousing for whatever you're repairing, replacing, rebuilding. I'm sure there is casting differences in the blocks as the years roll by but it only matters to the extent that you care.

Ryan

 

[LEB Ben]

^^^What he said. On the trucks, there's no way to tie the engine back to the truck. You can tie the engine back to the VIN code, but that will only tell if you have the correct type of engine. If you have the appropriate buck tags, engineering codes and build codes...you can tie back to build date and build plant...but even then, how many of those engines were produced at that factory on that day.

 

[CowboyBilly9Mile]

Just curious, where can I find the numbers on my engine and does it really matter for trucks of our vintage to have those numbers match the VIN? I have read that sometimes engines can be replaced by previous owners and the numbers re-stamped to match the vehicle ID number. Some didn't go to all that trouble. Thanks for the replies, Donald

IMO, for vehicles where the matching numbers thing applies, matching numbers doesn't automatically make for a nicer or better vehicle but rather, only for a more original vehicle. And it can get dicey since GM for example, sometimes would build three months worth of a particular engine, they would not all go into that current model year due to advancing the model year being produced, and for the purist researching the vehicle, they may suspect that somewhere along the way someone did an engine swap when in reality, the engine was merely built well before the car. And as for changing the numbers on engines/restamping, yes people have done that but there are detection methods for that.....unless somehow they ground the living heck out of the original number which in itself would put up a flag.

 

[fatherdoug]

I asked this question in 2006, when I asked about getting the engine rebuilt on the '78. The mechanic that did the work chuckled when I asked that question.

 

[BKW]

Just curious, where can I find the numbers on my engine and does it really matter for trucks of our vintage to have those numbers match the VIN?
No such thing.

I have read that sometimes engines can be replaced by previous owners and the numbers re-stamped to match the vehicle ID number.
This only applies to engine numbers, see below.

No such thing as numbers matching, that's a GM thing.

Back in the old days before VIN's came along (1947 and earlier trucks, 1948 and earlier cars), FoMoCo vehicles were registered by their specific engine number that was also stamped on the hogshead.

But if a used engine was installed, the numbers no longer matched.

If FoMoCo dealers installed new or rebuilt engines, they were supposed to stamp the original engine number on the replaced engine, but some didn't bother.