Hello, I have a 1967 Ford Thunderbird that according to the vin numbers is supposed to have a 390 4 bbl 10.5 Compression Ratio

I am wondering if anybody out there can help out to fully identify it and see if it is all original.

Here are the casting numbers

VIN 7Y81Z179379
7=1967
z=390 4bbl 10.5 CR

Head C8AE-H H4?
Connecting Rod C7TE -A B143T V
Crankshaft 2T
Piston .040" over C3AE-6116 A floating with clips 4 valve w/dish slipper skirt measured about 1.77 ? comp height


No block casting numbers block bore measured 4.090"

From what I've looked up the numbers for the engine say 360

I thought that somebody just put in a different engine, but when I tore it down, I found that the crank is ground 10/10, and main and rod bearings are original Ford castings. The pistons, camshaft, and timing gear have FoMoCo stamped on them as well.

I have heard that Ford got used to just throwing parts together just to get rid of the extra parts laying around as they phased the FE engines out, so maybe that is a possibility?

I want to put together a numbers matching 390 for restorations sake, but if this engine is the original I would rather put it back together.

Any help is much appreciated.

 

Hi Mufasa:

I don't know the answers but here is a good site for you: http://www.tbird.org/clubs.htm

 

Hi Fella,
Contrary to popular belief Ford did not stop producing the 390 FE motors, they simply stopped putting them in cars. This motor was a powerhouse dating back into the 1940s, when they where produced for the Edsel, and up through 2005 you could purchase an F 150 with this same block. The The great thing about the pre Nafta Motors was that they were blue printed in production. It is possible that the 390 you have had been rebuilt with larger bearings, Post boaring and channelling the motor. Or a 390 fished out of a junkyard truck. The VIN references were not very detailed. I f you like you can source the original build sheets from Ford. These are much more informative and include where the car was assembled all the option details available at the time..You can order these reports from Ford, expect to wait up to 2 months or more, but you will have your answers when you recieve the build sheet. If your rugs are original, youmight find this either under the drivers side rear carpet or the front passenger side. You might need a decoder as many were only a grid sheet with cooresponding codes....

 

I can't remember what the exact measurements were between the two but someone told me that when you looked at the bearing caps or something like that one had rounded off and the other had squared off and that was the only difference between the two engines and that's because they both used the same block as did the 352 and the 428

 

thanks, but I figured it out a while ago. I've been really busy and forgot about my post.

the engine was a 360, somebody must've swapped it in at one time.
Everything else on the car is all numbers matching.

I had a donor 390 and just swapped the rotating assembly and got a 390 bored .040 over instead.

I got it all together and running great.

Thanks for all your help