Photos of Early Experimental Block Without Oil Return Pipe
 

Here are the first 15 photos supplied by Steve Sturim at Steve's Antique Auto Repair. I'm posting these for Steve Plucker.

Two more photos will be posted in another message.

Joe

Re: Photos of Early Experimental Block Without Oil Return Pipe
 

Here are the last two photos supplied by Steve Sturim at Steve's Antique Auto Repair to Steve Plucker.

Joe

Re: Photos of Early Experimental Block Without Oil Return Pipe
 

Re: Photos of Early Experimental Block Without Oil Return Pipe
 

I know a guy in the SF bay area who has a block like this. Last I spoke with him, he was looking for a valve cover. Anyone know of one for sale?

Re: Photos of Early Experimental Block Without Oil Return Pipe
 

Why would an experimental block have a production serial number on it? If it was in a production vehicle it isn't experimental. Just an idea that didn't work out as planned.

Re: Photos of Early Experimental Block Without Oil Return Pipe
 

These engines ultimately got a serial number and were incorporated into the production line. Somewhere, I had seen a document that gave the approximate quantity of engines produced. Guess is that after Ford did there evaluations, the engine ended up on the assembly line as NOTHING was wasted.

Re: Photos of Early Experimental Block Without Oil Return Pipe
 

According to Ford’s records of Daily Produced Engines that were assembled between July 9, 1928, (A236787), and October 2, 1928 (A477642), a specified number of “Special Experimental Engines” were produced.

What made these “special” was that the Oil Return Pipe Assembly, A-6645, along with the Oil Return Pipe Connections on the block, A-6015, and the Valve Chamber Cover, A-6520, (Fig. 21) were all deleted.

The addition of oil return holes were drilled on the floor of the valve chamber (Fig. 19, 20) to allow the oil to drain back into the Oil Pan Assembly. Each engine had the regular Model A/AA engine number stamping to indicate 1928 production.

Between 1353 and 1355 engines of this type were built. These can be substanuated by the Part Release data of April 23, 1928 for each specific part that was changed and those few engines which have been documented. Two engine numbers have been documented so far: A259209 (July 17, 1928) and A286625 (July 29, 1928).

NOTE: The above information came from: “Authentically Speaking: Inside Oil Return System (The Experimental Engine: July 9, 1928 through October 2, 1928)”: Model A News/35/3/9 (1988) and Vol. 7 of MARC’s “Technically Speaking”.

Pluck