Hi Guys I have a 1968 Cougar GT 390 that was built January 31 1968. What date code carburetor should I have? Should it be 2 to 4 months before production? Some people have told me to have a C7of-9510-B but I thought I needed the C8of-9510-D. It has a motorcraft on it now but everything else is all original so I want to put it back. It has the AIR pump and all the emissions on it yet also. That is the other thing. How do I know if it has California emissions? thanks
There is no such thing as “California Emissions” for your car because the 1968 390GT was legal in all 50 states. Regardless of which state it was sold in, all 1968 390GT equipped Cougars and Mustangs had Thermactor smog pump and related equipment. The correct carburetor for you is the C80F - D. This is a relatively common carburetor that is easy to find and not generally very expensive as a core. You should find one with a date at least 30 days prior to when the car was built.
After searching for 15 seconds here’s one for sale at a very reasonable price:
Another 30 seconds of searching finds an even better one:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1968-Original-Ford-Mustang-Cougar-390-Automatic-Holley-Carburetor-C8OF-9510-D/323836083638?epid=1123653719&hash=item4b66227db6:g:wfMAAOSwPqRdBpJk
Just confirming that you have an automatic transmission in your car.
Some Holleys were built in batches so this makes dates somewhat limited and this can affect the time gap. In general (without know if they were batch built) typically the difference from the cars real build date is 1-3 months but of course the date should really be compared to the engine assemble date to be more exact
Thank you
Agree, I’ve seen carb dates as far ahead as six months and be correct.