Thread: FE Block Identification

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Hi Kapp,

The C6ME block is a 1966 Merc casting. Same as is on my "428" (which turns out to be a 410 bored .060). C8AE-H heads are 390. Again, same as was on my extra engine. They came with a number of different configurations. How many exhaust flange bolt holes? If 12, they're 390GT heads or have been bored to look like 'em. If 8, probably from a full-size Ford or Merc car.

Probably not a bad setup. Some of the C6ME blocks were 390s, some 428s, and some 390s with the longer stroke crank (that became the 428CJ crank, and was used in the 7 litre Galaxies and so on 1966 or so).

If you're really lucky, it could be a Galaxie 428 (7 litre). Best I can tell, there weren't any 352s built on the C6ME block - they were either 390, 410, or 428. I think I'd read that the 352 ended production in 1965, but not sure about that.

Anyway, probably a pretty good piece. The C8AE-H heads breathe okay - somewhere around here I have the dimensions, and they aren't far from the 427MR heads or 428CJ heads. The problem is with a bend in the runners, if memory serves - too tight an angle.

I'm sure someone will have more details, and I'll post 'em if I find 'em.

If you have any photos of the back of the block, you can post them or send them. A "C" scratched roughly in the back of the block was for a CobraJet engine and an "A" was for the 428. The "C" will appear backward, as the letter was scratched in the sand of the mold before casting.

When you get to the crank, if it has a "1U" on it (I think it's the second weight from the back), it's the 410/428 crank.