TorinoFourth Position (Engineering Group)
| A | = | Chassis |
| B | = | Body |
| E | = | Engine |
However, regarding a service replacement part, the fourth position means division, as follows:
| Z | = | Ford Division |
| Y | = | Lincoln-Mercury |
| X | = | Original Ford Muscle Parts Program |
| M | = | Ford Motorsport SVO or Ford Racing Performance Parts |
Basic Part Number
The Basic Part or Casting Number is the same whether it is an engineering number or a service number. For example, “9510” is the basic number for all carburetors. A finished engine block would be “6015” as another example. Each engine part gets another basic part number.
Suffix
The Suffix identifies the change level. “A” means original status of released part. “B” indicates at least one engineering change. The entire alphabet is used except for the letters “I” and “L,” which could be mistaken for the number “1.” When Ford goes through the entire alphabet, it starts over again at “AA,” “AB,” “AC,” and so on.
It is important to understand that part, casting, engineering, and service numbers rarely match. The casting number is derived from the actual casting or part, and typically does not match the part, engineering, or service numbers. Unless the casting has been revised, the basic casting number does not change. It means the number you see in the casting will not match the part number in the Ford Master Parts Catalog. And if the catalog you are using is dated, as most are, expect even more changes in your Ford dealer’s microfiche or computer when it comes to suffixes. When demand for a part falls below a predetermined level, Ford will discontinue or “N/R” (“Not Replaced”) the part.
Date Code
Ford makes it easy to identify engine castings because it has three foolproof systems in place. First is the casting number, which identifies engineering level and when the engineering level originated. Second is the casting date code that is an alphanumeric code identifying the exact date that the item was cast at the foundry. When you compare the Ford part/casting number with the date code, it helps you determine the year of the date code. For example, a C5OE-12345-A casting number is likely going to coincide with the date code below of “5A26” meaning “1965 - January - 26.” If this part has a D5AE-12345-A casting number the date code below would mean “1975 - January - 26.” To determine a casting or assembly date, you have to first decipher the casting number.
A foundry logo is also cast into the piece that indicates where it was cast.
Finally, unless any machine work has been performed, a manufacturing date code is normally stamped into a machined surface that confirms when the component was manufactured. Casting and manufacture date codes look like this:
5A26
5 = 1965
A = January
26 = Day
If this code is cast into the piece, it indicates the date the piece was cast at the foundry. If the date code is stamped or inked, it indicates date of manufacture. When a cylinder block or deck is milled, the stamped manufacture date code is normally lost in the machining process.
Also expect to see foundry codes such as DIF (Dearborn Iron Foundry), CF (Cleveland Foundry), or WIF (Windsor Iron Foundry). There was also Michigan Casting. Some iron and aluminum castings were produced outside Ford. ■
Despite NASCAR’s continuing rejection, Ford continued with SOHC development hoping that attitudes would change in North Carolina. They didn’t. Ford’s development included relocation of spark plugs from the bottom of the chamber to the top, much like the 4.6L and 5.4L SOHC Modular V-8s of today, to ease access. Ford worked at developing a more racer-friendly SOHC racing engine. The following year, 1965, Ford went back to NASCAR seeking its consideration. NASCAR again said no.
The monster mash 427-ci SOHC Cammer remains the most exotic muscle engine ever produced by a Detroit automaker in the 1960s. Originally produced for NASCAR use, the Cammer enabled Ford to put hemi heads on the FE. Ford learned a miserable lesson when NASCAR said no to the use of an overhead-cam V-8 in Ford stock cars. Ford wound up with at least 1,000 of these engines, which were sold on the aftermarket to racers and enthusiasts.
Ford Basic Part Numbers
Ford stuck its neck way out there with the 427-ci SOHC big-block. It rolled the dice on being able to run this engine in NASCAR competition and lost. Despite a lot of engineering time spent developing this engine, the best Ford could do was make these engines available to the racing industry and enthusiasts via the aftermarket and Ford dealer parts departments. (Photo Courtesy Barry Rabotnick)
Ford’s 427 Cammer was easily the most technologically advanced engine of its time but in no way user friendly. It had a 7-foot-long timing chain and was very challenging to service and tune. It still is today. Racers developed gear-drive timing systems to eliminate the complexities of a chain system.
The 427 Cammer’s output was astounding for its day: 616 hp at 7,000 rpm and 515 ft-lbs of torque at 3,800 rpm. Although it is less impressive by today’s standards, more than 600 hp in 1965 was incredible. When NASCAR put an end to Ford’s pursuit of the big track, Ford looked for a place to go with all the parts it had produced to create the Cammer. Ford investigated other motorsports venues, including drag racing, to peddle the Cammer and its many parts. Racers lined up to buy 427 SOHC parts, which filtered into the performance parts pipeline.
Ford’s problem was the Cammer’s genetic code. It was a steady high-RPM racing engine designed for the big NASCAR tracks, not the dragstrip. Although it made more than 600 hp as Ford intended, the Cammer was capable of 2,500 hp. The downside to 2,500 hp was durability. The Cammer could make 2,500 hp with a blower on top; however, it could only do it a couple of times before racers ran over their crankshafts. The Cammer’s weakness wasn’t its heads, but instead a mile-long timing chain and a block that was never designed for the kind of power professional drag racers were seeking. The Cammer could hold a 7,000-rpm rev all day long. It was the abrupt nature of drag racing that made these engines vulnerable.
Ford Part Numbers 1999-On
Although this book deals primarily with the vintage Ford part numbering system, late model 385 Series big-block parts as well as vintage Ford V-8 parts show up in the new 1999-on Ford part numbering system. The new system works differently than the old one and takes some getting used to. The only real difference is the first four characters in the part number. The rest of it remains much the same. Instead of seeing part numbers such
