gumby23":j5567ywc said:
When I look on Car-part, I see that listing and a few others listed as large pattern. I also see more confusion on which VIN label is which, but that listing at least has a pic for verification.
I think the verifiable listings there are more realistic than the eBay ads. I also suppose that as long as the low-mounts are mixed together in listings, and available at roughly the same price as high-mounts, then they will be valued equally overall.
Key board warriors lump everyting together. The above X code wasn't a 1979 to 1983 thing, it was a 1 year only 1983 engine with a dedicated colored Throttle Stop Positioner emissions packge very much like the 1982 engines, but it had some blocks still with high mount and C3 Bordeux gearboxes, not just the C5 low mount. Its kind of hard to tell what is what. Generally, the X code rocker covers were grey, but if it was high mount C3 equiped, it was blue.
The 1982 X codes with the low mount C5 were generally totally grey from rocker cover to block, unless it was a high mount automatic C3.
As stated many times, the thing I use to remember the eX BLT burger mnemonic.
LAST YEAR OF THE 3.3/200 was 1983. That year only,
X VIN code
For 1980-1982, two years only, the 200 got a
B code
In the years before, Ford changed the default VIN codes for 250 and 200 engines.
In 1969,
L code for 250, which was kept till 1979
in 1969, it was
T code for 200, which was kept till 1979
1980 only, the 250 engine code became
C.
Ford didn't then, and doesn't now, care about continuity.
1979 to 1983 was Fords worst financial crisis ever, with whole plants being closed down by the EPA.
There was a bunch of changes to the whole six cylinder plant that were making these engines.
Ford felt they were initially only ever supposed top be inventory fillers, and the Vee engines, the 1980-1983 4.2 D code and 1982-1986 3.8 6 code engines were supposed to get rid of the old log head engines.
Codes X, B, L, T and even C were all the letters left in the alphabet soup bowl for Ford to assign.