How to read fords casting numbers


Ford makes it really easy to read their casting numbers when you know what you are looking at. Make sure you also understand that the casting numbers are not the same as part  numbers or engineering numbers.

Here's how a typical Ford Casting number breaks down.

Let's use C5AE-6015-A as out example in decoding the casting number.

The First position indicates the decade:
B = 1950-1959
C = 1960-1969
D = 1970-1979
E = 1980-1989
F = 1990-1999

The Second position indicates the year of the decade:
C5AE-6015-A  So we know this casting is from 1965

The Third position indicates the car line
A = Ford
D = Falcon
G = Comet, Montego, Cyclone
J = Marine-Industrial
M = Mercury
O = Fairlane&Torino
S = Thunderbird
T = Ford Truck
V = Lincoln
W = Cougar
Z = Mustang

So thus far we know C5AE-6015-A means 1965 and the car line was Ford

The Fourth position indicates the engineering group:
A = Chassis Group
B = Body Group
E = Engine Group

If the item is a service part, the fourth position then indicates the division.
Z = Ford Division
Y = Lincoln-Mercury
X = original Ford Muscle Parts Program
M = Ford Motorsports SVO or Ford-Mexico

The four digit number (6015 in the above example) indicates the basic part number. The basic part number tells us what the part is. 6015 in the example tells us it's an engine block. Or the number 9510 is for carburetors and so forth. Every ford part has a basic part number, all the way from brackets to nuts and bolts. This makes finding certain parts awhole lot easier in fords master catalog.

The last character in our example C5AE-6015-A is the suffix. "A" means an original part, "B" means the first revision of the part, "C" means the second revision, "D" means the third revision and so forth. During the hectic days of constantly stiffer emissions in the 1970's it was very common to come across a cylinder head that had AA or AB stamped on it. Meaning many revisions as they strived to meet emission regulations.

So in conclusion let's look at our example


The above part was casted in 1965 for the Ford car line in the engine group, it is an engine block and was an original part.


Date Codes:

Date codes are found on top of the casting number for the blocks. For the cylinder heads, it would be between the two front cylinders pushrod area. The four-character date code is broken down as follows:

Ex. (for the same casting number block C5AE-6015-A used above)

5 A 26

5 = Year
A= Month
26 = Day

In this case the Mfg. date would be January 26, 1965.

302 Block Casting Number Location Pics

Ok Guys, then help me out with this one, I have a block here... D8VE-A3A-Z. I know it's from a 78 Lincoln, but what about the rest?? The "A3A" Makes no sence to me. Not too important, I'm gonna use it for trade bait seeing as its not what I want. (didn't pay a cent for it). And seeing as I'm here, I'm requiring a block with the dipstick boss in the block, what year(s) did that begin in so I know what heap to tear it out of in the bone yard. :canada2:


[0] Message Index