There would be NO reason to grind the C off the back of block. I didn't see any other grinding on the block either. It's not like someone was deburring the block and got carried away.
If you didn't know it was an intentional 428 PI/CJ indicator, it looks like a sloppy pile of slag or a flaw that uselessly adds weight to the block. When building a performance car and trying to shave pounds, this is the type of thing I might do when I didn't know more about the markings. Hey, it's cheaper than buying an aluminum water pump, and fits right into my budget.
It does look like a PI/CJ block to me. It's sad about the semi-loss of the marking, but not a disaster.
Wes Adams FORD428CJ
Built Ford Tuff With Good Ford Stuff
79 F-250 X-Cab 4x4 with a 6.9 Turbo Diesel
64 Falcon X-Ram 428
55 FORD Truck 4-link Rides on air with X-Ram 428
2000 Yamaha V-MAX VMOA#4277
2000 Yamaha 700 Mountain Max
2001 Polaris 600 Edge X
2001 Polaris 500 SP
Wes Adams FORD428CJ
Built Ford Tuff With Good Ford Stuff
79 F-250 X-Cab 4x4 with a 6.9 Turbo Diesel
64 Falcon X-Ram 428
55 FORD Truck 4-link Rides on air with X-Ram 428
2000 Yamaha V-MAX VMOA#4277
2000 Yamaha 700 Mountain Max
2001 Polaris 600 Edge X
2001 Polaris 500 SP
This message has been edited by ford428cj on Oct 12, 2008 9:53 AM
Wes Adams FORD428CJ
Built Ford Tuff With Good Ford Stuff
79 F-250 X-Cab 4x4 with a 6.9 Turbo Diesel
64 Falcon X-Ram 428
55 FORD Truck 4-link Rides on air with X-Ram 428
2000 Yamaha V-MAX VMOA#4277
2000 Yamaha 700 Mountain Max
2001 Polaris 600 Edge X
2001 Polaris 500 SP
I've seen quite a few permutations of the "C" scratch. From tiny to huge in any plane you want to pick. Other than being ground down the block looks real from the limited info available. It has re-enforced mains and the date code is within the CJ production window. There's more to conclude that it is a CJ block than not...
53 F100, Volare clip, 4 wheel disc 390-wide ratio toploader
The new Michigan Casting Center (MCC) started casting FE heads for the 1972 model year and had ramped up capacity to cast FE blocks by 1973. MCC only cast FE/FT blocks with the reinforced webs, and basically all pickup trucks and heavy trucks with FEs and FTs got their blocks from MCC. MCC apparently only case blocks with a 4.050" bore, most were std cylinder (FE) a minority were heavy cylinder (FT). Only some industrial applications (360/390/427/428) were cast at DIF after MCC came on line, and a few of these later 360/390 DIF blocks did not get the reinforced webbing.
Prior to when MCC started casting blocks, reinforced maincap webbing in the FE was not common. MCC blocks and 105 blocks are the same thing. MCC used the 105 to describe the FE/FT, just as DIF and CF used 352 to describe the FE/FT.
the supposed "C" is on the wrong side of the block from the ones I have observed. It's above the starter in the picture. Maybe my eyes need recalibrating--Joe-JDC.
