cam2790

I'm in the process of tearing down my 1968 302cid mustang coupe gt and I don't know what I'm looking at exactly lol
The heads, I've been told, are "boss" heads...the theory on this is that the spark plug holes are angled? is there truth to this belief? are there other heads with angled spark plug holes maybe? Also, the stamp on the heads read "302T"
and I'm also confused because the block casting says 289, I know the '68 302's were just 289s with 302 heads on them....but there's also 5 other numbers in a circular print on the block right under the intake manifold that reads 1-9-7-5-3-
They were telling me that means the block was made in the 3rd month of 1975, but I thought they did away with 289 blocks in 1968? Also stamped on the front of the block I found "22"
I'm so confused, and I haven't been able to get to the casting numbers yet, someone please help me clear this up lol

Jonk67

If this is the case I've got 'boss' heads on my '67 289, my plug holes are angled...so are the one's on the junker block I bought....

Boss 302's didn't come out until '69 and the heads are better breathing 351C heads (much larger). I'd have to look up the 'year in a circle' thing but it's entirely possible you have '75 heads. You can mount pretty much any '65-'93 289, 302, 351W heads on a sbf.

I would start by finding out what year your block is, chances are it's the same as the heads. Take a look at the back rear of your block just above the starter, there are casting numbers there, the first letter and number will tell us what year your block is, tell us those letters/numbers, it's here:


Jon

GT350R Klone

Very easy way to see if you have boss (cleveland) heads is to look at the valves. If the intake and exhaust are all in a row or if they are staggered. If they are staggered (allows space for the bigger valves), they are cleveland/boss. All in a row, regular 'ol 302's.

Looks like you have multiple parts from different years. See if you can get the casting numbers, that will tell the story.

cam2790

okay so I pulled the engine today...all that was on the block casting was "5A14" then just under that was "C5AE-6015E"
so if I'm not mistaken, this was a 1965 block out of a Ford Galaxie 500?

Jonk67

Pretty close, C5 is '65 casting, A = full size Ford which would most commonly be Galaxie but could be made for most any passenger car. I just researched it more to get a clearer understanding. In your case the casting number 'C5' indicates the actual model year the part was originally designed for = '65. The date code '5A14' is the date at moment of casting. So the block design is from '65 and the casting date it was 'poured' is Jan. 14, 1965. '5A14' is year/mo./day, 5='65, A=Jan., 14 = 14th of month.

Interesting since my block is the same casting design but poured Jan. 12, 1967 '7A12', which would match the build date for the rest of the car closely and should be the orignal engine as I had guessed.
I used this site for reference:
http://mustangtek.com/FordDecode.html

As for your heads I'd have to research different years of head stamps as they may have changed over the years but '19753' sounds plausable to be March 1975?
As stated it's common to find different year heads on a different year block but the cc of the heads changed and got bigger over the years so if they are later model heads with a stock bottom end/pistons your compression ratio will have dropped from say 9.5:1 to 8:1 for example making it able to run on lower 87 octane but loosing some HP and TQ in the trade.


Jon

cam2790

Okay, well just to recover a little the numbers 19753 were on the top of the block next to the 289 under the intake area by where all the lifters sit.
okay, I was just going through pictures and I found the same stamp on the top of the intake manifold by the neck of the water pump by the thermostat
But I guess I'll just have to deal with this definitely not being the original engine....

Jonk67

What's that number under the water temp sensor wire in that pic? 5H4? Which would be '65, Aug. 4th?
I'd have to research that circle of numbers to see what it means.
Does the intake have a bunch of vacuum sensors, extra ports, etc.? Maybe a wider shot would help.

I think your engine may have come out of a Mustang as noted by my orignal engine having an 'A' also, I don't think they poured the engine blocks with a 'Z' necessarily to denote a 'Mustang' part. Maybe if it was special edition like a K code engine, 428SCJ, etc. I guess.
Jon