1965 289 2 barrel rebuild question

[joeyemma]

I have a 1965 Ford Mustang convertible with an old a tired 289 2 barrel engine in it. I am going to replace the engine with the same type of engine rebuilt. My question is the core...should I keep my original core to rebuild down the road. I am hearing from some that there is not VIN on the 65 engine so there is no way to tell if it is the ORIGINAL engine for this car. I just bought the car 3 months ago so I have no way of knowing if this is in fact the original engine. Should I just return the core to the re-build company or will my car be more valuable down the road if I keep the core and either re-build it and put it back in the car eventually or does it even make a difference? Thanks

 

[woodsnake]

I would say keep the original, if you have the space.
You can buy a running car with a 5.0 and transmission pretty cheap these days.

 

[joeyemma]

ok...this is what I found on the engine.....

289 with a 7 underneath it

then C 60-E9495A

on the door panel...76A R26 11T2361

VIN 5FO8C754226

Is this the car's original engine?

Thanks

 

[D.Hearne]

You need to get the date codes to tell if it's close to being the original engine. The date code is the number/letter/number combo next to the casting numbers on the engine block. They look like they're cast into a tag with two screw heads. First number is the day of the month, the letter is the month code, starts with "A" for January thru "M" for December, skipping the letter "I". The last number or numbers is the day of the month it was made. This code should decipher out to a few days to a month before your car was built. This same date code is also found on the heads, under the valve covers, next to the valve cover rail. Usually hidden by built up gunk. As long as these codes are dated before your car was built, you can safely consider it to be the original engine.

 

[joeyemma]

I can't see the date stamp because the block is so dirty and cruddy (I will find it when the engine comes out and is stripped down and cleaned) but I did find the engine tag...it was still on the block...it read...

289 65 7

5-E

65

I know that could have been put there by somebody, but I doubt it. I would say the engine is original...any thoughts?

 

[D.Hearne]

If that engine tag was still on it, I'd say it's a good bet the rest is original. Little stuff like that usually gets left off in engine swaps.