need to locate the embedded code in a 1956 Ford Crown Vic Fairlane or get documentation that they do not have one please?
Asked by perucollection Nov 29, 2016 at 11:53 AM about the 1956 Ford Fairlane Sedan
Question type: Car Selling & Trading In
I am ready to bring my 1956 to California. However, US Costumes is asking
for the engine code. I have the VIN# on the car and the body nothing on the
engine. it is all original however they need that. is there anyone that can tell
me where (pictures will help) or if ford never had a code embedded on the
engine block for this year.
1 Answer
The only codes you'll find on the engine are the casting numbers. Look around oil filler neck or distributor, with yours being a 56, it should start with a "B6" (B for the 1950's, 6 for the year). Here is a block of text I saved from a casting number guide: --- "Block casting numbers used for identification are generally on the side of the Y-block just above the oil filter for blocks cast at Cleveland. Dearborn I.D. numbers are near the distributor and above the generator. Most Dearborn Y-blocks were used in trucks, and there were none from Dearborn after 1957, nor were there any special truck blocks. Heavy-duty trucks (1961 and later) with steel cranks used blocks bearing casting numbers such as C1AE or C2AE, etc. Starting in the 1950’s, prefixes used in the Ford coding system denote the decade – B for 1950’s, C for 1960’s, etc. – with the second digit (a figure) to single out the exact year, i.e. C1AE would decode as 1961. AE are letters assigned by engineering. However, don’t be confused to think that a C1AE block would be correct for a 1961 vehicle only. It simply indicates when the block itself was released for production in 1961. In some cases, C1AE could have been used for several years after 1961 but never before. --- Closely inspect your block around the oil filter area for casting numbers. There are usually several combinations which record everything from date to the work shift in which the casting took place as well as the block casting number. Due to an accumulation of rust and grime build-up, it might be necessary to clean this area for proper identification of these numbers. Sometimes they are faint, broken and tough to read even under the best of conditions. The actual block casting number might include coding such as “6015”, which is Ford’s universal part number for an engine block. Ford developed a part numbering system back in the 1930’s that begins with a prefix, such as the aforementioned C1AE, followed by a part number, such as 6015. That basic structure is still in use today. Confusingly, the number sometimes appears in the casting number and sometimes it doesn’t. That’s true with other castings as well, such as intake manifolds, etc. --- If your block is a 312, built from1955 (for 1956 model year) to 1960, casting numbers could be ECZ-A, ECZ-C, EDB or B7ME-A. Should your block be a 272 or a 292 (or even a 239 or 256 from 1954) made from 1954 to 1964, casting numbers could include one of the following: EBY, ECG (256-272, truck); CITE (292 and 272 truck); B5A-EO, EBY-F, ECG-B (272, truck); B7AE (292-312, truck); Eck (292, truck); B9AE, B9AE-F, C1AE, C2AE, C2AE-A, C2AE-C, ECK-B, EDB, EDV, COTE, COTE-8, CIAE-R (292); ECG-A, ECG-C, KBY (272); ECZ (292-312). ---- Incidentally, there’s a lot of interchangeability of parts throughout the Y-block generations, i.e. carbs, intakes and exhaust manifolds are examples. So – don’t be led astray by what you read on an exhaust manifold, etc. Go for the block casting number only. Then, should further narrowing down be called for to locate the exact date, you’ll have to look for the date code. --- The bore sizes increased as the cid grew form 239 to 312. After you have narrowed it down by the casting numbers, an engine rebuilding shop can verify the bore size. One of these codes should put you on the right track."