The Ford Barn

Fred A · 02-11-2016, 03:46 PM

A friend just brought home a rolling chassis of a RHD '37 station wagon. Looked mostly normal but the surprising number on the heads along with the right hand drivemakes me wonder if it is NOT USA made. Those other easily seen numbers are 78s. What am I looking at? Thanks: Fred A

fordscript · 02-11-2016, 03:55 PM

77E was commonly found on English Ford V8 Pilots. These had 21 stud 1937 type engines, but differed slightly in that they had 2 small welsh plugs at the rear of each cylinder bank. The rod bearings are quite different from anything else, and the distributor, generator, and starter motor are all Lucas.

Bruce Lancaster · 02-11-2016, 04:09 PM

The 77 is the prefix for '37 truck, and of course the E marks it as an English part.
I'm pretty sure from observation that these were used on all the British made V8's, 1937 type engines that stayed in production until about 1954.
These heads became common here in the 1970's when Joblot Automotive brought over tons of WWII spare parts from England, and the 77E heads with the firing order charts cast in were suddenly all over the place.
In USA 1937 production, car engines got 78 heads and trucks 77 with slightly lower compression. I've never noticed anything but 77's on british engines.

Charlie Stephens · 02-11-2016, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fred A

A friend just brought home a rolling chassis of a RHD '37 station wagon. Looked mostly normal but the surprising number on the heads along with the right hand drivemakes me wonder if it is NOT USA made. Those other easily seen numbers are 78s. What am I looking at? Thanks: Fred A

The "77" is the prefix for commercial vehicles in 1937. For some reason Ford went to the 77 heads for passenger cars in February 1937 (ref page 5-17 of The 1937 Ford book from the Early Ford V8 club). The station wagon was probably classified as a commercial but I am not certain. REVISION: After seeing the picture in post 5 I will retract what I said about the E being a revision letter and admit that I don't know what it stands for.

Charlie Stephens

Mike/Franklin · 02-11-2016, 09:27 PM

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02-11-2016, 03:46 PM	#1
Fred A Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Encino California, near Burbank Posts: 945	77E- Part number on 37 Cylinder Heads? A friend just brought home a rolling chassis of a RHD '37 station wagon. Looked mostly normal but the surprising number on the heads along with the right hand drivemakes me wonder if it is NOT USA made. Those other easily seen numbers are 78s. What am I looking at? Thanks: Fred A

02-11-2016, 03:55 PM	#2
fordscript Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Oamaru, New Zealand Posts: 428	Re: 77E- Part number on 37 Cylinder Heads? 77E was commonly found on English Ford V8 Pilots. These had 21 stud 1937 type engines, but differed slightly in that they had 2 small welsh plugs at the rear of each cylinder bank. The rod bearings are quite different from anything else, and the distributor, generator, and starter motor are all Lucas.

02-11-2016, 04:09 PM	#3
Bruce Lancaster Member Emeritus Join Date: May 2010 Location: Madison, NJ Posts: 5,230	Re: 77E- Part number on 37 Cylinder Heads? The 77 is the prefix for '37 truck, and of course the E marks it as an English part. I'm pretty sure from observation that these were used on all the British made V8's, 1937 type engines that stayed in production until about 1954. These heads became common here in the 1970's when Joblot Automotive brought over tons of WWII spare parts from England, and the 77E heads with the firing order charts cast in were suddenly all over the place. In USA 1937 production, car engines got 78 heads and trucks 77 with slightly lower compression. I've never noticed anything but 77's on british engines.