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Need help identifying casting numbers

  • Thread starter Thread starter Tancalhan
  • Start date Start date Sep 17, 2020
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Tancalhan

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Apr 11, 2020
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Frederic WI
Sep 17, 2020
#1
  • Sep 17, 2020
  • #1
I have an 83 stang I bought from someone and he put a 302 in it, I’m trying to decide what exactly the block is, I found behind the starter it says 23 E7TE CA S and next to it, 9L10. What do these mean? I have found a lot of conflicting information online. Is it even a 302? I pulled valve covers and there were no head stampings I could see.
 

Mustang5L5

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell
Mod Dude
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#2
  • Sep 17, 2020
  • #2
E7TE is the 1987 engineering number for the block. Basically an 87+ block

9L10 is the date code. November 10th, 1989
 
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Tancalhan

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Sep 17, 2020
#3
  • Sep 17, 2020
  • #3
Ok. Does L stand for the 80s? And how do I determine if it came from a truck or a car?
 

General karthief

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair
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#4
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From my experience the block doesn't matter between truck or car, it's the pistons, the ho pistons will have valve reliefs (eyebrows), these will be a little higher compression, the truck (and some car engines ie: crown vic) will have a round dish in the piston (lower compression). This has been my experience, if that is inaccurate someone will post better info.
 

Mustang5L5

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell
Mod Dude
Feb 18, 2001
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#5
  • Sep 17, 2020
  • #5
Tancalhan said:
Ok. Does L stand for the 80s? And how do I determine if it came from a truck or a car?
Click to expand...


9L10 breaks down like this

9 = last digit of year. Could be '79, '89 or '99. Since it's an E7 block, that rules out '79, and the E7 wasn't being made in 1999 (they switched to F1SE then) so it's 1989

L is the month. 2 letters aren't used (I think I is one of them) so L is November

10 = 10th day of the month.


The E7TE block was used on trucks and cars from '87 to around '90. It could have been in an F150, or a crown vic. You'll need to look at the pistons to really know what it came from as some were dished, and some had eyebrows



Head casting numbers are underneath where the pushrods pass through. You would need to pull a head to see. If it's a factory head, there is a date code cast under the valve covers similar to above, and on one corner of each head is a random number, and a letter. If an OEM style head

R = E5TE head
S = E6SE head
T = E7TE head
GT = GT40 head
GTP = GT40P head
 
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Tancalhan

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Sep 17, 2020
#6
  • Sep 17, 2020
  • #6
Ok, awesome. Thanks for all the advice!
 

revhead347

Apparently my ex-husband made that mistake.
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#7
  • Sep 17, 2020
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You can get a borescope camera that plugs into your phone for around $20 on ebay. Stick that down a spark plug hole and you can see the piston without pulling the heads.

Kurt
 
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FoxChasis

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#8
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Partial VIN is also stamped on the block. Where depends on which plant produced the vehicle. The VIN will tell you which vehicle it was in originally.
 
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