engine codes of late 289 cobras

[Dan Case]

Originally Posted by LMH

Regular production 5 bolt blocks ran out during assembly of approximately the last 60 Cobras. As John stated, the 15 automatic transmission cars all received 6 bolt blocks with their C4 transmissions. The current research indicates that Ford assembled about forty-eight 5 bolt non-production engines for Cobras with four speed transmissions after regular production had ceased. Not all were used in Cobras.
Larry

Based on documents SAAC has 42 of the 48 were installed in new Cobras. A 43rd one was used as a warrantee replacement for a Cobra. That left just a few unaccounted for engines as the completion of Cobras came to an end. That batch of engines don’t fall into the categories and design levels detailed in Bob’s book because they mix 1964 model year and 1965 model year parts. They are not just like the known or documented five bolt block service engines either. My red car received one of the 48 odd engines. In researching it and other engines from that batch I came to appreciate how much different it was from five bolt bell housing HP289s built immediately before and six bolt bell housing HP289s built immediately after.

Ford kept making small batches of five bolt block HP289 engines for quite some time after six bolt bell housing engines became production models. Several service HP289 engines have been well documented, which did not get any Ford applied sequential identification number, with engine blocks cast a year after five bolt engines were no longer used in production.