Identifying motor type?

[BritStang1]

Greetings,

I am trying to identify if I have the original motor in my recently acquired 72. I can't access the back of the block to confirm the VIN, so I hope there is another way. On the top of the head is the casting shown in the picture. Does that help me ID the motor?

From what I've found on the VIN search, it should be a 302 but the engine has " powered by Cobra" rocker covers, which I know could not be original.

I tried searching through the forums and couldn't find a hit. If there is already a thread on this, please let me know (and kindly show me the way).

Thanks!

Jon

 

[giantpune]

The only way to say if its the original motor is gonna be to check for the vin on the block. Otherwise, whats to say somebody didn't blow the motor up in 1974 and have one swapped in? Even if the motor is the correct year casting and everything, it still may not be the original. Its over 50 years since that car left ford.

On the windsor motors, the VIN should be visible from above. Wipe off the years of crud on the back of the block just above the transmission and snap a bunch of photos. You can see it just by sticking your head in the engine bay. On the clevelands, the VIN is stamped on the back of the driver's side.

Here's a shot of one of my 302 from above. Red arrow is my transmission, green arrow is my intake manifold, and the purple arrow is what you're looking for.

 

[BritStang1]

The only way to say if its the original motor is gonna be to check for the vin on the block. Otherwise, whats to say somebody didn't blow the motor up in 1974 and have one swapped in? Even if the motor is the correct year casting and everything, it still may not be the original. Its over 50 years since that car left ford.

On the windsor motors, the VIN should be visible from above. Wipe off the years of crud on the back of the block just above the transmission and snap a bunch of photos. You can see it just by sticking your head in the engine bay. On the clevelands, the VIN is stamped on the back of the driver's side.

Thanks for the reply, i'll take a look!

 

[BritStang1]

Does this look like the Block VIN? I only ask because it doesn't match anything on the host vehicle's VIN.

 

[BritStang1]

The only way to say if its the original motor is gonna be to check for the vin on the block. Otherwise, whats to say somebody didn't blow the motor up in 1974 and have one swapped in? Even if the motor is the correct year casting and everything, it still may not be the original. Its over 50 years since that car left ford.

On the windsor motors, the VIN should be visible from above. Wipe off the years of crud on the back of the block just above the transmission and snap a bunch of photos. You can see it just by sticking your head in the engine bay. On the clevelands, the VIN is stamped on the back of the driver's side.

Here's a shot of one of my 302 from above. Red arrow is my transmission, green arrow is my intake manifold, and the purple arrow is what you're looking for.
View attachment 98259

 

[Steve McMahan]

Well, it’s two digits too long. Maybe someone more knowledgeable will chime in in. It should be 6 digits, the same last 6 of the VIN.

 

[BritStang1]

Well, it’s two digits too long. Maybe someone more knowledgeable will chime in in. It should be 6 digits, the same last 6 of the VIN.

That's why i'm a bit confused. It's definitely not the VIN so that leaves me wondering where the motor came from and what model it is exactly. I plan on pulling it to get the engine bay cleaned and painted, so maybe once it's out on the stand I can get a bit more info on it.

Challenges of a 50 year old car I suppose.

 

[BritStang1]

Here is a shot of the engine bay if that helps any experts. It looks to me like a 302 but I'm far from an expert on these.

 

[Hemikiller]

That's a 302 engine.

The partial VIN stamp on the block and transmission case would be in year - assembly plant - sequence number format.

For a 72 Mustang, it would be: 2FXXXXXX

2 - 1972
F- Dearborn assembly
XXXXXX - sequence number

If the last six on that stamp match the last six of the VIN on your dash and door, then it's the original engine. The backwards "3" is likely just an error on the part of the worker on the line.

 

[giantpune]

The stamp should be 1st digit is the year - 1972. 2nd digit is the assembly plant. Yours is a backwards 3, same as in my photo above. If you read that as an E, it would be Mahwah, New Jersey. I'm really not 100% if thats correct. Then the last 6 are the car it came out of - 184891. I believe vehicles starting with a 1 are ford, not mercury. If the plant really is an E, that narrows it down to a handful of different cars, but none of them a mustang.

Looking at your picture of the whole engine bay, it looks to me like everything but the brakes and steering had been stripped out of the engine bay at some point. Somebody put an engine back in it. But its not hooked up like it would have been from the factory. They took some artistic liberties with the heater and bypass hoses.

 

[Stanglover]

Interesting!!
I'm wondering if the backwards 3 was just a mistake by the worker, picked up that stamp instead of an "f".
I noticed the car has a 71 type PS hose, but the HP outlet "S" tube is different (or just bent) and the inlet looks also different than a typical 71/ early 72 pump. ( to mine anyways)

 

[BritStang1]

That's a 302 engine.

The partial VIN stamp on the block and transmission case would be in year - assembly plant - sequence number format.

For a 72 Mustang, it would be: 2FXXXXXX

2 - 1972
F- Dearborn assembly
XXXXXX - sequence number

If the last six on that stamp match the last six of the VIN on your dash and door, then it's the original engine. The backwards "3" is likely just an error on the part of the worker on the line.

Thanks for the confirmation. I plan on pulling it out for a full teardown, so it helps knowing what im starting with.

 

[BritStang1]

The stamp should be 1st digit is the year - 1972. 2nd digit is the assembly plant. Yours is a backwards 3, same as in my photo above. If you read that as an E, it would be Mahwah, New Jersey. I'm really not 100% if thats correct. Then the last 6 are the car it came out of - 184891. I believe vehicles starting with a 1 are ford, not mercury. If the plant really is an E, that narrows it down to a handful of different cars, but none of them a mustang.

Looking at your picture of the whole engine bay, it looks to me like everything but the brakes and steering had been stripped out of the engine bay at some point. Somebody put an engine back in it. But its not hooked up like it would have been from the factory. They took some artistic liberties with the heater and bypass hose

This car is going to require a bit of elbo grease to get back into running condition. The person I got it from knew nothing about cars and he got it from a guy who knew marginally more than the average person. I would love to know the history of the motor but fear thats probably not gonna happen.

 

[giantpune]

This car is going to require a bit of elbo grease to get back into running condition. The person I got it from knew nothing about cars and he got it from a guy who knew marginally more than the average person. I would love to know the history of the motor but fear thats probably not gonna happen.

Probably not. If you really cared, you could try to contact marti. You have enough to piece together most of the VIN number for the vehicle that came from. I don't think its really worth it.
None of the vehicles made in that plant in 1972 had a really special 302. You've just got a run of the mill one out of a LTD, granada, or F100 or something.

If you have a camera to drop down into a spark plug hole, you can try to see if the pistons say 0.020 over or something along those lines. That would indicate its been rebuilt, and then all bets are off as to what's in it.