I cleaned off the top of the piston that was sticking up the fartherest. It's stamped 040. I haven't looked at the bottom yet.

  Dennis in Lititz PA

Dennis.  The engine may not be the original engine as the '64 models I would have thought to have had C2 blocks.  Dates on the back of the bearings may quantify this if they are the original bearings.

As far as measuring tools go, the bare minimum would be a dial caliper. This would get you in the ball park on bore and crankshaft journal sizes.

But if you’re going to get serious, then a set of micrometers and snap gauges would be warranted.  For the Y, you’d need at least a 2-3" and a 3-4" micrometer and I prefer being able to read in ‘tenths’ of thousandts or a ten thousandts resolution.  The snap gauges would be used to facilitate measuring inside dimensions such as cylinder bores, main bores, and connecting rod bores while being able to use the same micrometer that's being used for any external dimension measurements.  But micrometers do require some practice both in reading and the ‘feel’ to get consistent readings.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

Thanks Ted, what kind of measuring tools do I need to invest in?

  Dennis in Lititz PA

Dennis,

You can check the bore size to see if it's been overbored.  3.750" would be the standard bore for the 292.  The amount of overbore may actually be stamped on the top of the piston, ie. 020, 030, 40, 60, etc..

Look at the backsides of the bearings for an undersize such as 010, 20, 30 etc. to indicate that the crankshaft has been ground.  The original bearings are dated on their backside and should be within a couple of months of when the engine was actually built.  Similarly, some of the replacement engine bearing brands are dated on their backsides with the month and year; ie. "04 86" which would indicate April 1986 and can give you an idea of when it was rebuilt assuming the bearings were not really old stock.  The crankshaft may have been stamped if it had been ground undersize and there will typically be two of these numbers; one value for the amount of rod journal undersize and another for the amount of crankshaft undersize.  These stampings are usually found on the front of the #1 journal but I've found them stamped also on the counterweight edges.  And not all grinders stamp their cranks thus making you really look harder.

If it was just a re-ring and bearing freshen up, then looking at the backsides of the bearings for being non-Ford or having dates would be a reasonably good indicator.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

I've been smitten. Last weekend I bought a 292. The fellow said it came out of a 64 pickup. It's a C1AE block with C1TE heads. It also came with a set of ECZ-C heads. Passenger side head is off, #2 piston is removed, it has a hole in it. One of the valves is missing,looks like the remains of a stem is still in the spring. I've never taken an engine apart before.

Could that engine have been original to the truck?

How would I know if the engine has ever been rebuilt? What do I look for?

As of now I have no plans to pull the 239, it did ok this year.    Thanks

  Dennis in Lititz PA