Hey guys I got some one over in Europe interested in my Merc . he was asking what year the engine is . the engine in the car is a performance 302 crate engine from summit from 2010 . numbers on the invoice are as follows COO:HT FMS-M-6007-X302 USA 840734 he was saying engine has to be date coded 20 years or older to be exempt from German emission laws . I can find any numbers on the engine itself ( also didn’t look to hard it’s 35 Celsius today and probably 95% humidity ! Not fun to be outside . Any help figuring this out would be fantastic .
Summits reviews don't sound to good for it. There should be casting nunbers on the heads and block, that should give you a idea when it was cast as to how old it is.
ford casting dates are kind of hard to read, as are the casting numbers. And they don't always exist. And they changed over the years. But you might be able to find something useful. this is an example of what you might find on the block, near the starter (bottom rear pass side) The casting number is the long one, it starts with C5 in this case, which means the block casting was first used in 1965. (C is 1960s, 5 is the 5th year of the decade) The casting date is above it, in this case 7 is the last digit of the year, 1967, A is the first month, January, and 25th is the day of the month. So this block was cast Jan 25th 1967 If you find numbers like this, post a picture, we'll help you figure it out
Didn't you answer your own question? If it was purchased in 2010, it is not going to be 20 years old. A 302 crate engine isn't going to sit on the shelf for over 6 years. No retailer would stock anything that long, imo. That said, as an aftermarket crate engine, it may not even have a date code.
but...if it's a crate engine built from a core (used) engine block, then it could have a date code of the correct time to meet his needs. And reading the Ford Racing instruction sheet for the engine, it says "Seasoned block..." which means it is indeed an engine older than 2010.
Thanks squirrel . I read the same thing from the summit website , ford website and the paper work I have at home . no where does it say “ new block “ ( pretty much everything else is new ) nor does it mention any kind of emissions compliance . the air is “ thick” here today . Sounds like a tomorrow morning problem to crawl under it and look for numbers can’t see anything from under the hood looking down .
Be prepared for the number to be pretty hard to see or find. Might need to remove the starter and look, and even then it might not be there!
Ford is just fantastic arnt they ! I ASS-ume at that point I’m s.o.l as far as the 20 year exemption at that point . or should I say the buyer would be sol I guess both of us would be sol lol !
you could also try the ploy that ford quit making the 302 series engines in the 1990s, so there's no way it could be less than 20 years old. he'll need a good lawyer for that one?
As Jim noted the iron blocks are used. Last production blocks will mosy likely be date coded F1## as these were the last of the 302 block revisions. Fairly sure even the last pushrod 5.0s, used in '01 Explorers. The latest block will be engineer coded to 1991, and the latest production code would be 2000. These codes are located on the block near the starter.
Well, the last year that Ford used the 302 in anything was 2002 (and that was Australia), so the design is certainly old enough. What's the verdict on 'service replacement' engines or parts, as that's what it should be considered as? But even so, if the one you have used a 'seasoned block', the casting number/date code should be old enough.
The Jalopy Journal
