I believe my 1973 XR7 Hardtop has had an engine transplant. The current engine number is 3B19457C. Can anyone help with decoding that number?
Yes, you are correct that it is an engine transplant. It breaks down as:3-Year (Possibly 1973), B-Assembly Plant of the car that the engine was originally in-Possibly Oakville,Ontario Canada & 19457C-VIN to the car. Since it starts with a “1”, it was in a Ford originally (Mercury would of started with a “5”.Also, recheck to see if the letter “C” is either a 0 (zero) or a “6”.
Also to determine what year the block is, check for the engineering number, it should start with a letter: D would be for the decade of 1970s, D3 would be 1973,E would be for the decade of 1980s, etc. and also look for the casting date: ie: 3B22 would be 3-year, B-Month of February & 22-22nd day.
Good luck. John