1958 FE engine identification

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DGUZ1966
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Joined: Tue Mar 06, 2018 12:34 am

1958 FE engine identification

Post by DGUZ1966 »

Hello, I am in the process of restoring a 1958 Skyliner500. Can someone please confirm my engine specs and tell me what colors it should be painted for a factory correct restoration as they seem to vary with ci displacement.
Intake casting number 5750034 with a date code 7OK=October 11,1957?
Exhaust manifolds EDC 9430 7OZ=October 26,1957? and 9431 7OH=October 8, 1957?
Head EDC E 6090 7OH=October 8, 1957? with faint stamped numbers that could be 076 or 016 or 013 with a J
Block EDC 6015 C 7O H=October 8, 1957?
I did not see any indication or casting of a 352 on the front but there are "stamped numbers" on a smooth part of the block that read 1-70k7 (Cleveland 1957-October 11, 1957?) and below that is 65935
Is it possible this is a 352 without those casting numbers as some research suggest "nearly all" had them. My vin is H8RW103058.
Or am I totally off base with the year?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Dan
fordrodsteven
Posts: 160
Joined: Mon Apr 24, 2017 7:46 pm

Re: 1958 FE engine identification

Post by fordrodsteven »

You have posed a question under the "how to join this forum" section. You should ask that question in the section that deals with your year of car. I see you are working on a skyliner. Someone here at the Thunderbird site might be able to help you. Have you tried the Skyliner forum? There is a forum at a site called the international ford retractable club. There might be somebody there who can easily answer your questions.
Steve - 1955 Thunderbird
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Alan H. Tast
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Location: Omaha, NE

Re: 1958 FE engine identification

Post by Alan H. Tast »

(Mr. Moderator, please move this post)
Your VIN starts with an "H" which indicates the 300 hp 352-4v engine. Engine long-block assembly is painted Ford Medium Blue for 352s; for 332s it's painted (and I heard this term a couple of days ago for the first time) "Oxygen Bottle" Green, i.e. Green/Turquoise, which was also used on Ford's Industrial engines (some may call it "Ford Engine Green"). Valve covers were painted black, air cleaner white. Decals for the air cleaner differed between the full-size Ford and T-bird, in part because a different assembly was used for full-size cars vs T-birds (yours is actually a Fairlane 500 Skyliner).

Ford Medium/Bright Blue (a.k.a. Ford Bright Blue) was used at least through 1963-1964 on 352s (1959 300hp-4v valve covers, 1960-64 2v full-size Ford valve covers/air cleaners) and Falcon 144s; 1966-later Ford Corporate Blue is a darker shade. If you go to the little box up in the corner that says "Search..." and type in "Ford Engine Color 1958" it should come up with a post in which I gave Ford's M- color numbers along with what others have marketed it as (i.e. Dupli-Color, VHT, PPG/Ditzler, DuPont, etc.). To confuse things, Dupli-Color called it "Ford Blue," which is how others refer to Ford Corporate Blue/Corporate Ford Blue. This is a link to that thread:
viewtopic.php?f=32&t=10463&p=61925&hili ... 958#p61925

It would help to have data plate info in addition to the VIN, as it includes the car's scheduled build date. As for casting date codes, these are covered in VTCI's 1958-1960 Original Factory Specifications (OFS) manual in the Engine section. Casting date code methodology was changed during 1958 (or at least by the beginning of model year 1959 components), but in essence, without double-checking how the month and date codes were established, you're on track with what you've deciphered.

Casting numbers for various engine components like blocks, intake/exhaust manifolds and cylinder heads are also included in the '58-'60 OFS, which is available for sale only to VTCI members. I don't know if International Ford Retractable Club (IFRC) has a similar reference book. Again, Ford's numbering/ID of components in '58 was in a transition period when they used the 3-letter engineering prefixes like EDC, along with a single long-string number, before they settled on using the 4-digit alpha-numeric codes like B9AF, B9SE, etc. for casting/engineering number prefixes.

Re. International Ford Retractable Club (IFRC), I have a bone to pick with them. In their judging forms they directly copied VTCI's judging forms for their Driver's Class - right down to the font and formatting - then retitled and used them WITHOUT VTCI'S PERMISSION! If you look at their other forms you'll be able to see how different they are. While imitation begets flattery, I find it ironic that in their "sister clubs" list they list the Falcon Club of America as well as the Crown Victoria Association (of which I'm a 30-year member) but don't acknowledge VTCI, even though much of the engineering of '57-'59 Skyliners and '58-'60 T-birds is shared (and apparently judging forms, too!).
Alan H. Tast, AIA
Technical Director/Past President,
Vintage Thunderbird Club Int'l.
Author, "Thunderbird 1955-1966" & "Thunderbird 50 Years"
1963 Hardtop & 1963 Sports Roadster
DGUZ1966
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Mar 06, 2018 12:34 am

Re: 1958 FE engine identification

Post by DGUZ1966 »

Thanks Fordrodsteven, I am new to the VTCI forum and just jumped in with the questions. I will research the site for more specific forums.

Mr. Tast, Thank You for the reply. I appreciate the information, it is very helpful as well as the recommendations on where to find more information.

Dan
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