i have to replace the original engine in my comet with a remanufactured one and was wondering is it worth the core charge to keep the original block
Without knowing the year of the car, and the date code on the engines it is hard to answer your question with any meaning. If you can get an engine with the same date codes then no one can tell its not the original engine so long as you put all the accesories back (especially the date code / engine ID tage on the coil) in their original ciondition. Ford uses a dat code C3XX where the C=1960 and the 3 =3 so the date would be 1963 - D =1970 and so on. the xx is the vehicle group ID and identifies the group of cars it was made for / used in. There are no serial numbers stamped in the engine or heads just the date of manufacture (a C3 could have been used any time during or after 1963 until a revision was put into use). PaulS
its not worth keeping in my opinion.....but, opinions vary the "numbers matching " mindset is great for limited/low production and/or special production vehicles. (shelbys/boss/hemi cars/vettes, ect...) where the matching # cars bring more money when it comes time to sell to avid collectors that care about such things.
i would think that if it is a rebuildable core you might want to keep it for a builder. what is a core charge these days $$$? spare blocs are getting hard to find and expensive, at least around here.
If it is a 302 block that has the hole for a z-bar engine side mount I would keep it ... Most rebuilds nowadays have the later style block for use only with cable operated clutches.
I also agree with Don and dmhines, the non-302 rollers are starting to become harder to find in a lot of junk yards. A friend of mine owns a junk yard and is keeping every non-roller block, he saying that in 10 years they will start to become very valuable. Terry
