Ford 289 K motor ???? Weird HP water pump/timing case cover

[doberdawg]

I pulled a good looking dressed up small block from a 63 Ranchero because it looked "weird". The water pump & timing cover (part numbers SHEFFIELD 640E-6059-A) turns out to be HP for 260/289/302. It looks strange & seems to be without a place for a fan. A search says it is HP & the part number is a 1964 ford part number. Same part number with a 5,6,7, also available for those years.

Anyway, searching further, the block number is: C5AE-6015-E. I searched that & got excited, then confused. Excited because it was identified as a K block, confused because some sites claim the block was used on C, A, & K code motors. It runs with an unidentified noise, perhaps a push rod as I saw a couple receipts for push rods in the glove box. (The engine has 155 lbs compression in all 8 - the most even I have ever seen - & good oil pressure) The engine, pistons, heads, everything is virtually new. The cherry Ranchero, paint, interior & engine & all associated scream MONEY. Somebody put a LOT of $$$ in it & never finished the project, still has 4 lug 6 cyl. suspension.

Can anybody help me identify what I have? BTW apparently some K motors have VIN numbers front right of block. I would love to see a pic of exactly WHERE. Mine has "5D6H" where I am guessing a VIN could have been placed, & I am not getting any "hits" on researching the number - ???date code??? If I could figure how to post pictures on this site I would as it is the FRONT of this engine (timing cover, water pump [higher mounted, than traditional & I believe High Volume - Output??] with no fan, that perplexes me. Many HP parts are missing, Harmonic balancer, bearing caps &

I plan on putting another engine in the Ranchero & either put this in my 65 Comet Wagon, or trade it for a well built traditional 289, 302, or 5.0. for the Comet 404 wagon.

Oh please help me "read" heads too. Mine are stamped 289 & 66, I am guessing 1966 289. I don't know what to look for beyond that. Hydraulic lifters as i see no adjusters, single springs. What & where are the "screw in" (if it has them) studs - what studs?? How can I tell if mine are pressed in or screwed in?

[roy]

K code motors had solid lifters, screw in studs, but, those aren't the factory heads you have are they.
Other than the heads, I don't think the blocks were any different than stock 289's, although the main caps were supposed to be
thicker.
I had a set of K heads, & after speaking with Bob Mannel, who wrote the difintive book on the small block Ford, he suggested sell em to someone building a factory correct K car as if your looking to
add HP, buy a set of GT-40's or GT-40P's or aftermarket Alum, heads like Edelbrocks or AFR's.
Are you a member of the Fairlane Club of America? You could post your numbers at the club site & have an answer in a few minutes
I can post #'s for you at the club site, if you like
heads are just 66-289:s you can do some porting on em, add screw in studs, a set of good springs to match an aftermarket cam, but, by the time you do all that you might as well have visited a local yard & grab a set of GT-40's off an Explorer, they will flow better, give you more HP than those 289;s will for half the money

Did you look above the starter? That's the location of the sm.block vin #'s
When you say no fan, you mean there wasn;t a fan on it?
Sounds like either way, you have a nice short block to build up

[doberdawg]

Sure, post it on the Fairlanes site, please. What year explorers have the GT-40 heads?? According to my research Ford selected their best blocks - fewest flaws - for K motors. Above the starter is where I pulled the numbers I posted, the VIN (not all K's had VINs) is located, according to my research, on the front of the block, right side. Now some sites are saying that all 65 289s have the numbers I posted, which would deflate the info online about it being a K block. My heads are 66 289, hydraulic lifter heads. Not sure if C or A if there is a difference.

I am hoping that I do not need to build up the block. It is a fresh rebuild, according to what I see with it on a stand & valve covers & oil pan removed. It had the strongest AND most even compression I ever saw 152 - 156 lbs. No gunk or sludge anywhere & looked like slimy assembly lube on the bottom of the otherwise perfectly clean finned aluminum oil pan. It was installed with spacers under the C4 (may be because it needed more angle because it still had 6 cyl rear end? I did not like the install & had an unidentified noise which a friend thought might be a rod knock. I was (may still) going to plasti-gauge the inserts. But after a visual & everything NEW... I am going to put the carb back on (new on new manifold) & start it on the ground & listen with a stethoscope. I am leaning toward a collapsed lifter or push rod for the noise. The car sat in a barn for 8 years, & there were receipts for 2 push rods, 1 each 3 weeks apart around the time the people I got it from bought - & gave up on it. The whole car is a mystery & I have tried to contact previous owners, no return calls or letters. Anyway, unless crank or cam got damaged I don't think I will need to tear it down - hope, hope. Fan, the water pump seems to have no place for a fan. I posted the part numbers here, hoping for some clarification. Those part numbers seem NOT contradicted, it is a HP water pump & timing cover, for 260 & 289s..

[roy]

I;m no Hi-Po expert, but Bob Mannel sure is over at Fairlane Club of America site.
The numbers on the block are sequence numbers, which are used to discover if the motor in a F;lane is from the right year/month,
Allot oF K code motors can only be identified by knowing how to decifer these numbers, rear of block on rail, some had that area ground flat first,
#;s show very well, some were just stamped, haphazardly, like the guy doing it was hung over!
Seems those #;s u posted, are on most all of those year 289's
Heads will have a pocket cut in head under springs, screw in studs, as you know & one of these numbers stamped
just inside where the valve cover bolts on - 19,20 or 21-only K-code heads sported one of these sets of #'s
& on the heads, In between the 2nd set of valves #;s will be - C3OE, C4OE or C5OE(at least tells you the right year)
If you can get on the Fairlane club site, scroll to K-code forum, - all anyone ever wanted to know about the K-code motor is there!
Seems the mains are thicker, & a 289 guy can tell if
the Distro,Generator, fan, water pump were all K-code specific parts & d**n expensive to pick up
Fan was aluminum, 4 blade 16"
K-code Water pump has no backing plate
(I;m just repeating what I;ve just read over at the Fairlane club site)

[doberdawg]

What is the URL for the fairlane club site? Not the HAMB ??

[w2zero]

fairlaneclubofamerica.com

A true K code block should have a number stamped into the block on a tab that shows where it sticks out from under the head. K code rods have 3/8 bolts and the timing gear set is narrower than the stock 289 piece. Reason for that is there is an additional balancer swinging off the front of the crank inside the timing cover. It is sometimes referred to as a "hatchet" because of its appearance.

[doberdawg]

Not always true. Many did for specific makes & models of cars. Many did not, & you could (I did in 1968) buy a new K motor from Ford. That motor would be a "K" & would NOT have the VIN. Now, half a century later many/most of the survivor Ks have been rebuilt, & modified. Many lost the heavier caps, harmonic balancesr, timing & water pump {I guess some got them??] & would barely be recognized as of "K" origin. I wish I had been able to post photos as it LOOKS strange with the timing cover & water pump (no fan). But I am about to give up, I will try the Fairlane site, thanxxxxxxxxxxxxx....much!!!!!

[w2zero]

Two things you could do, I would certainly recommend buying Bob Mannel's small block ford book for one. It is the Go-To book for the SBF and has detail found no where else. The other or alternative would be to join the FCA and have access to the same information but it would be best to have the book too. Your continued interest in the early fairlanes and meteors would definitely warrant this.