Technical EAB in a '49 Merc?

I recently acquired a '49 Mercury which seems to have an EAB engine or, the EAB heads on the original '49 Mercury block. ... Is this a possibility?
Or is it more likely that the entire engine is a '52 or later replacement?

 

Anything is possible. I think your thoughts re a whole engine transplant are probably correct. Only real way to tell what the bock is would be to measure the stroke. A Mercury would be 4 inches.

 

EAB heads have a bit higher compression ratio than the original 8CM heads your Merc would have come with. It's possible the whole engine was swapped for a later Ford, but it might also be that someone put the later Ford heads on the Merc engine as a performance upgrade. It was somewhat popular to do, much cheaper than new aftermarket heads back in the day.

 

Thanx. So the only way to know is to find the block serial number and/or measure the stroke. Is this correct?

 

There are really no numbers on the block that would help. and measuring the stroke is a big job (and expensive these days with the price of gaskets). One thing that would help would be to look at the carburetor and count the mounting studs. If there are three (two in front, one in back), it's a Ford carb and therefore probably a complete Ford engine. If the are 4 mounting studs, it's Mercury carb and there is a good chance the engine is a Merc. Anyone savvy enough to know that EAB heads provide an increase in compression over the stock heads is probably smart enough to keep the larger Mercury carburetor as well.

I have also found the the inlet fitting near the top of the oil filter is rounded (like a pipe elbow) on a Merc, while it is blocky (squared off) on a Ford. I am not really sure this is diagnostic, as I have not seen enough to provide anywhere near an adequate sample size. It's just something I have observed, and may be just a difference between assembly plants or parts sources.

 

Serial number can help - if there is one consistent with production records as serial numbers on these engines was assigned when the vehicle was being produced. These numbers are on the passenger side rear top of the engine- mostly under the intake manifold.

My Mercury engine has a meaningless (at least to me/my research) number where the serial number would ordinarily be. I have been told this number format identifies it as a replacement engine. Seems that Mercury engines were popular replacements in trucks due to their increased CI etc.

Remembering back, there was a truck on the farm that had a Merc motor so the explanation resonated with me.

Back to checking the stroke I guess.

 

The number stamped on the top right rear of the manifold surface is a production date code (if it's there at all; not all engines have it). There are several sites on the web that can tell you how to interpret it, as it is not intuitive at all. It could be helpful though. If that date is late '51 or '52, the engine is most likely an EAB. if it is '48 or '49, you probably still have the original Merc engine. Any other numbers or codes stamped on the engine have proved to be rebuilders stamps.

Here ya' go :

Flathead Date Code On late model flatheads without the bell housing cast into the block, there is a code stamped on the right rear corner of the intake gasket face of the block which will give you the manufacturing date of your flathead Ford or Mercury. You can see it with the intake manifold and heads still on the engine.
It consists of a series of a letter, a one or two digit number, and a second letter. The first letter is the month. The number is the day, and the second letter is the last digit of the year.
The letter code is M=0, G=1, B=2, L=3, A=4, C=5, K=6, H=7, T=8, R=9, S=10, E=11, F=12.
G 20 B would be an engine manufactured on January 20, 1952.

Your best bet is to take a look at the carburetor.

 

Looking at the avatar picture, seems like a Merc carb.

 

Damn Win, I never thought of that; I think you're right.

 

^^Getting pretty blind, though.

 

It has the 8CM intake. 4bolt carb. And the numbers that are present do not fit the description of the dating system.

I reckon someone built themselves a pretty decent cruiser. It has to sound great with the dual exhaust.

 

If you can make out what is stamped on the block surface, I would appreciate you posting it, as I am always trying to add more to my knowledge base.

 

This is what is stamped on my block. Doesn't translate to anything I've seen yet.