Telling what year it is?

Is there a way to tell what year a motor is? i have a 302 i plan on rebuilding and i would like to know what year it is to get parts and stuff. Is there anyway to tell what year it is by looking at something particular? thanks Nate

 

Nate,
There should be a series of numbers on the engine that when decoded will tell you when it was made. If I remeber it right, they are out of sight behind the starter. I had a 302 about a year ago that I decoded. I remeber removing the starter to get to the numbers.

Find the numbers and post them here. Somebody will be able to tell you what it is.

JT.

 

Also,
This is a long shot, but if the engine is a later model and the ID tag is still on the valve cover....The year should be printed on it plain as day.

 

Ford part numbers are really easy to decode. You can tell what year the block is by the first 2 numbers. The first digit (a letter) is the decade, the second is the year. Make any sense? C= 1960's, D=1970's E=1980's, etc. Example= a number starting with D2 is a 1972 part number. C8 would be 68. The next 2 numbers are what car or truck model the part fits, I don't have a list of those. These 4 digits tell you the year and model designation, the rest is base part number. Anyways, the first 2 will tell you what year it is.