engine number question

If you are referring to the stamped number found on the engine block just below the LH driver-side cylinder head, that number is unique to our Panteras. NOT a Ford number.

Larry

The engine number has NO relationship to the chassis serial number. There were no blocks that were intended for any particular Pantera. The motors came in truckloads from the U.S. and the next one grabbed off the pile went into the next available car coming down the line. Given unlimited resources to chase serial numbers, you might find that the next block number from yours was originally in a 1969 Ford Galaxie in New York, USA.

Yes- that's an early block number but at this late date it's impossible to trace anything except through Santiago DeTomaso's Info-store in Modena. He has ALL the records for your car including the engine number, whether it came with a radio in Europe and many other things. It will cost you $$$ to find out. Ford had almost nothing to do with building your '72 Euro-GTS. DeTomaso & Co built all the Euro cars on a separate assembly line, and DeTomaso was famous for using anything that remotely fitted.

Panteras were NOT built in sequence, either. There are many stories of cars being pulled off the assembly line for any number of reasons, left alone in a corner and finished up a year or more later than the next sequential serial number. Most extreme case: the 1970 prototype kept in the Factory Museum in Modena had no engine & was missing a few other parts, and was finished up sometime in 1993 so it could be sold.

Peter,

It may not be of much value, but my car is 5357 (1517 cars away from yours) and my engine number is 4392 (1105 engines away from your original block #).

So I agree that the "alignment" of chassis and engines seems like it is not in a strict synchronization.

Rocky

Learning all the time here,

Bosswrench I didn't know there was a separate line for euro models.
Larry, I also didn't know that the number was "Pantera oriented" is there a ford number somewhere?
Rocky, your numbers do prove no close relationships.

BUT on the plate where the 3840 is stamped in the hole the motor number says 3287! so it must have been changed.

It seems a great pity that MR Santiagos info is not on the clubs data base for all to see.

Is keeping the info so private that lucrative,


but I do vote Labour!!!!!!

thank you for the information fascinating stuff.

quote:

Larry, I also didn't know that the number was "Pantera oriented" is there a ford number somewhere?

Just the standard Ford casting number.

There was no sequential Ford numbering of engine blocks.

Again, just a DeTomaso thing.

Larry

Some of the early US Panteras did NOT have a motor number stamped into the engine block, and did NOT have a motor number placard.

John