[DavidG]

Everything that distinguishes a '33-'34 four from a '32 four is a bolt-on part. The so-called short block (cylinder block, crankshaft, camshaft, pistons, connecting rods, etc.) is the same for all three model years' engines except for the crankshaft as only late '32 fours have a counterbalanced crankshaft.


In other words, if the engine in your '34 has a counterbalanced crankshaft, there is no way of knowing if it is the engine the car was built with or a rebuilt engine. (Obviously if it does not have a counterbalanced crankshaft, the engine is not original to the car.)


Your engine number (VIN) of B526XXXX) is in the ball park, but you won't find it on the engine block but rather on top of the flywheel housing which is a bolt-on component and may or may not be attached to the original engine block.


You're correct, '34 fours are rare as Ford stopped offering them in its U.S. cars, commercial vehicles, and trucks in April, 1934 as the demand for them keep declining throughout the '33 model year and into the '34 model year. I once had a four-cylinder '34 roadster and presently have a '33 four-banger coupe.