Decoding Ford date codes

Engine components with date code castings 3 or 4 digit date codes

Ford 3 or 4 digit date codes on engine castings are very much similar in their composition and by far the most common types. It always starts with the Year digit then the Month digit followed by 1 or 2 numerical digits for the Day. This type format is valid where the date is set at moment of casting.

This 3 digit sample date code casting number is for a 302 engine block C8OE-6015-A with date

code 9B7.

	9B7	Year 9 = 1969	Numeric
	9B7	Month B = February	A - M     January through December   There is no I , the I is omitted
	9B7	Day 7 = 7th day	Numeric 1 to 31
This engine block was cast on the 7th of February 1969 making this block a correct for 1969 model application.

This 4 digit sample date casting number is from a 351C intake manifold D0AE-9425-L with date

code 0L27.

	0L27	Year 0 = 1970	Numeric
	0L27	Month L = November	A - M   January through December   There is no I , the I is omitted
	0L27	Day 27 = 27th day	Numeric 1 to 31
This intake manifold was cast on the 27th of November 1970 making this intake correct for 1971 model application.

Below is an example of a different type of date code. This date code is different to the regular 3

digit type and has only 2 components to it(Month, Year). A73 comes from Fan Blade D0ZE-B.

	A73	Month A = January	A - M     January through December There is no I , the I is omitted
	A73	Year 73 = 1973	2 digits Numeric
This Fan Blade was built in January 1973.

Decoding Ford Carburetor date codes

Autolite carburetor use a 3 or 4 digit date code system.

Starts with the year on left, a letter in the middle for the month and a 1 or 2 digit number on the right depicting the day of manufacture.

this tag is typical of an Autolite 4300 carburetor, C8ZF-A with date code 8B13.

	8B13	Year 8 = 1968	Numeric
	8B13	Month B = February	A - M   January through December There is no I , the I is omitted
	8B13	Day 13 = 13th day	Numeric 1 to 31
This carburetor was assembled on the 13th of February 1968 making this carburetor correct for 1968 model application.

Decoding the Ford Holley date code

Holley Carburetors with 3 digit Numeric date codes.

This sample code is from a 1969 BOSS 302 carburetor with date code 951.

	951	Year 9 = 1969	0 - 9
	951	Month 5 = May	1 - 9 = January through September   0 =October   A =November  B =December
	951	Week 1 = 1st week	0 - 5 Some months contain up to 5 weeks
This carburetor was built during the first week of May 1969

Holley Carburetors 4 digit Numeric date codes.

This sample casting number from a 1970 carburetor with date code 0995 .

	0995	Day of the year 099 = 99th day of the year	1 to 365
	0995	Year 5 =5th year. 1975, 1985 or 1995
More then likely this carburetor was built on the 99th day of 1975

Holley Carburetors with 3 digit Alphanumeric date codes

For this exercise the sample date code casting number is 0FB

Decoding Ford sheet metal stampings

Most Ford panels have a date code stamped in them. It is usually part number and part alphanumeric. The first set of digits is the Month, second part is the Day, and the third part is a code for the stamping plant combined with the Shift that actually stamped the panel.

Decoding Ford sheet metal stampings

The Year is not represented in these stamping date codes since it is normally assumed the year of the car is a given default. This means if the car is a 1965 Mustang and the date code on the hood is "3  9  D1"  then this hood was stamped in March of 1965.

One should also take into account the model year since actual year may be different. A date code of "11  28  W2" on a 1967 Ford means the part was stamped in November of 1966, making it correct for the 1967 model year.

This date code was found on the inner fender of a 1966 Mustang assembled in San Jose.

	1  21  D2	Month	1 = January
	1  21  D2	Day	21
	1  21  D2	Plant	D =Dearborn
	1  21  D2	Shift	2 = 2nd shift
This date code is January 21 1966 second shift in Dearborn

This date code is found on strut support of a 1968 Shelby. It is a little different as compared to the others where it displays the Shift number prior to the Plant letter.

	1  7   2D	Month	1 = January
	1  7   2D	Day	7
	1  7   2D	Shift	2 = 2nd shift
	1  7   2D	Plant	D =Dearborn
This date code is January 7 1968 second shift in Dearborn

A door panel from a 1964 Mustang.

	8  28  2B	Month	8 = August
	8  28   2B	Day	28
	8  28  2B	Shift	2 = 2nd shift
	8  28  2B	Plant	B =Buffalo
This date code is August 28 1964 second shift in Buffalo.

In general the basic format prevails but as always Ford had a variety of variances if the stamping formats.

This date code is found on a 1966 Mustang but the code does not indicate which Plant

	12  16  2	Month	12 = December
	12  16  2	Day	16
	12  16  2	Shift	2 = 2nd shift
The date code is December 16 1965 second shift.

Table 1.1 Some popular Ford sheet metal Stamping Plants used in the 60s-70s