[rotorwrench]

There seems to be some things here that could be inconsistent with actual number use in that time frame. The "99" engines were an option for 1940 cars on special order but not so much for 1941 or 42 due to the war build up. While I never say never, it could be that the Ford was "specially produced" with the "99" prefix but it could also be a frame change due to a crusty rusty frame unless the original transmission stamping matches the frame stamping. The frame difference was only 4 inches between Ford and Mercury in 1941 and they are very similar. We have had discussions about the torque tube lengths and the way the front radius rod ball was mounted for the Mercury cars. This doesn't answer the number discrepancy though. The other possibility is that it has a post war Ford car frame. The numbers seem to indicate that the serial number is from the 1946 model year. They broke the 1 million number with the 99A prefix that year.

The 221 V8 was always 85 horse power but the numbers were loosely played with after the war. The G series 6-cylinder was new for 1941 and was 90 horse power. The 239 started out at 95 horse power in 1939 but evolved to 100 horse power after the war. You can find this in the prewar parts catalogs. After the war and up through the green bible final edition of 1950 or so was when the numbers changed. They referred to all the 239 CID engines as 100 HP in that publication. The 59 series 239 engines were the 100-HP version but they had some differences from the prewar engines that gave them the new rating designation.