All this talk about how desireable the "Z" blocks are got me wondering exactly what I had sitting in the corner of the basement. Got out a wire brush and a flashlight and here's what I have. It looks like a Z with what is most likely a lower case "c" over the top of it. The Z is definitely there, but the c is a little more prominent. Was the magic Z just an artifact from an earlier run? Or was the c actually the leftover part as the Z was stamped into the negative part of the mold?
From the Techno site: BLOCKS: All 59 series blocks are identified as 59A 59AB 59L, 590, 59X, 59Y, and 59Z and 59 without a letter. The 59L,X,Y, & Z blocks were supposedly military and were thought to have used stronger materials (higher nickel and carbon content) in order to meet tougher military specs. I do remember boring a 59Z block in the early fifties that nearly burned the boring bar up it was so hard! The machinist said hed never seen such a hard block and hed been boring them since the mid thirties! So maybe there is something to the military tale. Other knowledgeable sources have held that the L blocks were Canadian truck blocks and had thicker walls than any other 59 series blocks. I dont know whether its true or not. However, I do kncw we bored several L blocks to 3-7/16 during my race days in Texas without ever having any problem. The block identification letters are located just below the 59 block designation on the clutch housing. If there is no 59 above the letter on the bell then it is most likely a later replacement block and nobody has been able to decipher those codes.
Suppose I should have mentioned that there IS a 59 on the bellhousing. The other marking is a couple of inches to the right of that. I get that a Z is good. But I don't see any reference to a c anywhere. Anyone savy to the actual process Ford used to put the numbers on the block/in the mold? Just trying to draw my own conclusion as to how this mark got there. It's all just guessing I suppose...stewmeat and puppets.
The Jalopy Journal
