drumtice

ok so, my car is a 66 t-bird and the block has (c7me-a) on it, the intake has (C6ae 9425-G). The rebuilt engine has a plate welded to it saying the bore is .30 over mains .30 over and rods are .20 over (i think thats the order) The heads have D2TEAA with a 203 and 27 by the D2TEAA. I REALLY just want to know how to find if it is a 390 or a 428! I cant seem to find it anywhere. the block I.D. typed in google says its a 428... BUT ford supposedly used the same parts as the 428 on the 390. can anyone help me!? PLEASE!!!!! i have the whole top end off except the heads. Any easy ways to find it out?

FFR428

I'm afraid there is no easy way to tell a 390 from a 428 but there are a few things you can check and do. But first the C7ME-A casting number is generic and was used on many different bore FE and FT blocks. You know it's a rebuild and .030. The heads have been replaced and the D2 heads are 70's castings. But the exact same as the earlier C8-H's. The main difference is the D2's have induction hardened seats for unleaded gas. Back to the engine you can check the stroke and see if it's a 390 or 428. You can either measure with a lenght of wood dowel or remove the oilpan and look for a IU, IUB 428 crank identifier. But that still leaves the cyl bore mystery. To be sure you really need to measure them. Even with a measured 428 stroke you can have a 390 bore giving you a 410 plus the .030. A .030 428 bore will measure 4.16 and a .030 390 4.08. So you really need to measure the cyl bores and stroke to be certain what you have.

G.

tbird100636

If it has Z for the 5th digit of the VIN, it originally had a 390.
If it has Q for the 5th digit of the VIN, it originally had a 428.

__________________
Master ASE Certified L1 Chrysler Technician- still a Ford fan at heart.
1964 Thunderbird Hardtop- Chantily Beige- 390 FE 4V V8-Uncle's Car
1966 Thunderbird Convertible- Red- 390 FE 4V V8- Uncle's other car- waiting for paint and body work!!!
1967 Mustang Convertible- Blue- 289 V8- helping a friend re-assemble this classic

Ford428CJ

First off 428 didn't come out in 1966. It wasn't until the late 67 when they hit the street.

C7ME-A Blocks can be a car 428 or 390/360. Easy way to tell is to pull out a plug (#1 would be the easiest to do). Use a long rod and measure the stroke. If it is close to 4" then you got a 410 or a 428. If it is 3 3/4" then its a 390. If it is 3 1/2"...... Well it could be a 360

Ford428CJ

And what Glenn said LOL

kdtrucker

I beg to differ..428's were introduced in 1966. I have a 428 PI block with a date code of 5L26 Dec. 26, 1965.

FFR428

5L26 is Nov not Dec. Ford skipped the letter "I" as it could be confused for a 1 on date codes. But your right 428 came out in 66 production cars.

Ford428CJ

I'm Sorry. I was thinking about the 428 CJ's wasn't until late 67 when they came out with those! My bad.......

Mercracer

Head gaskets are cheap. Pop a head off and measure the bore and stroke. The 428CJ came out April of 1968 (1968 1/2).