Need help ID on 32 V8 21 stud

[31Abone]

Look at pics..I saw water drains and they are at an angle not straight down.. would like to know if its a 33 34 35 36 .. ?? ..car trans serial matches frame number! how rare is that after 90 yrs +_..Calif hiway patrol vin'ed car last month..did not have to attach a serial plate as I have seen on other early fords ..had to use trans tower off 32 B PU to get it to shift as original tower would not shift into low or reverse unless moter was shut off..lots of fun working on these old rides.tnx mch..PS car is a 32 tudor in good shape all/mostly original..sc

[Charlie Stephens]

I assume there was not a serial plate attached since the number stamped into the frame was visible (you didn't say but I assume it was). That is the way my '32 was handled.

The following should help you identify the engine:

If the petcocks point straight down it is a 1932 block. If the block is not a 1932 next look for a vent from the crankcase area out through the front corner of the oil pan. If there is no vent the block is 1933-34. If there is a vent it is 1935 or later. If you are lucky it is a '36 with insert bearings. The '36 engines with insert bearings usually had the letters "LB" stamped into the top surface of the block where the manifold mounts. The '37 engines had the water pump mounted on the front of the block. There is no provision to amount a water pump on the block in your pictures so it is not a '37 or later.

Charlie Stephens

[31Abone]

I have seen this posted before ..is the vent in the block or the oil pan ? if its in oil pan the pan may have been changed and tell one nothing about year of motor..as I said in post drains are at an angle ..can't see any vents ..thought maybe some one could tell by the photo's..guess I will just drive it and when people ask is that an original motor I will say no ...sc

[Charlie Stephens]

Originally Posted by 31Abone

I have seen this posted before ..is the vent in the block or the oil pan ? if its in oil pan the pan may have been changed and tell one nothing about year of motor..as I said in post drains are at an angle ..can't see any vents ..thought maybe some one could tell by the photo's..guess I will just drive it and when people ask is that an original motor I will say no ...sc

The vent is in the oil pan on the passenger side front corner but the block has a cast in passage for the fumes. I am not sure if you can tell if there is a passage in the block without removing the pan, maybe someone knows? Sorry I don't have any photos of that area, maybe someone can post some.

Charlie Stephens

[DavidG]

Both the block and the pan are vented. If you put an earlier pan on a '35+ block the right front corner of the bottom of the block will be exposed and probably leave a mess on your garage floor on a regular basis. You can reach down on the right front side of the block and either find the hole in the bottom of the block or a small can-like protuberance with a slot in it attached to the oil pan at the right front corner if it has the correct oil pan.

[40 Deluxe]

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Weren't a lot of original early '32 blocks replaced almost immediately under warranty? Did the factory replacement blocks have the angled drain plugs, or the vertical ones?

[31Abone]

motor leaks oil, in 20 miles about 1/2 quart .with no smoke.so I'm going have to remove pan and see whats going on..with pan off is there a good way to tell besides what you have already said about oil vent set up in block..sc

[deuce_roadster]

If the block is a 35 or 6 there will be a triangular hole in the right front pan rail/bock bottom that the tin vent part of the pan would line up with. If you take the pan off you would see this. Otherwise if the pan is stil on and has this tin vent hanging down DavidG described it is a 35 or later pan and most likely the block too.

[deuce lover]

In looking at your first pic to me the engine block is a '33 and later.There appears to be a cavity between the motor mount fixation and the front cover plate.It should be smooth -no cavity.The early '33's I have seen have the smooth front of the block and angled petcocks.
Here is a close up of how the petcock boss is on a '32 block.Although the pic does not show well the area next to the cover plate you can barely see that it is smooth.

[31Abone]

I assume this is a real 32 mtr .

[31Abone]

Why are some blocks flat near water holes in front and some have a ditch recess? see pic

[DavidG]

31Abone,


Judging from your photo, the answer is that it is not a '32 cylinder block as it has cavities in the face of the block on the sides of the timing gear cover. Everything attached to the block in the photo is of '32 vintage.

[DavidG]

31Abone,


The blocks in the illustration's upper left hand corner and lower right hand corner without the cavities on the face of the block are '32 blocks (also the bulge in the blocks near the front at the pan level are for the straight-down drain cocks). As deuce lover has indicated, some early '33 blocks also lack the cavities, but also lack the provision for the straight-down drain cocks.

For those interested in minutia, because vehicle production in Australia was five months behind that of North America at that time, early '33 blocks produced in Canada (the source for V8 engines for Australia) had cast-in provisions for both the straight-down drain cocks and those angled out from behind where coolant entered the blocks.

[DavidG]

40 Deluxe,


Of the three distinctly different '32 V8 engine blocks (not counting the '33 Canadian version mentioned above), only the first two versions (those with the dipstick hole in the right rear side of the block just forward of the bell housing) are truly scarce. Had any of those been replaced under warranty during the '32 model year, the replacement would have had straight-down drain cocks. Further, as demonstrated by 31Abone's illustration, the third version of the '32 block continued to be used in Ford's engine rebuilding program and it is not unheard of that '32 block engines show up in '33-'35 Fords as replacements for their original engines.

[Willit Stop]

This might help:
https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showt...5301&showall=1