[Mr427]

HI:

I have been asking these questions directly of several of the major kit car manufacturers, regarding the single vehicle evaluation by inspection and certification people.

I have not received any satisfactory answers. It seems none of these cars are tested under federal vehicle safety standard for certification. With this cleared you would not have to undergo a grueling and expensive inspection of your Cobra - with the possibility of being turned down. What do you do then?

All the kit car manufacturers need to address this issue right now, because if they don´t, it will certainly be used as an excuse to shut them down by federal authorities.

With this issue blowing in the wind, export is much more difficult than it should be.

Now as to your question on the engine block. You say it is a 1972 block. Any Ford reprentative can vouch for the casting dates on corporate engines. They should. You should simply call Ford´s customer service division and ask. It may take some time and work to find the right department to speak to, but it can be done.

That aside, there is another way to determine the exact date of manufacture of your engine. On the left cylinder bank at the rear of the engine block, there is a glass-flat area that is machined after the block is taken from the cores. This area is then stamped with a metal die. The number that is stamped on this area indicates the build year and plant where the vehicle was built and the unit consecutive number. If the engine is already painted, you need to take a patch of 200 sandpaper and lightly sand the area and then go over it with a 600 grint water paper. Use a mirror to see the letters and a fluresescent light shing almost horizontally across the area. The letters are stamped shallow and very thin, almost as if drawn with a .05 lead pencil or scribe.

Here is an example from my own block: 0H521518

0 = year of manufacture, 1970
H = Plant, Lorain, Ohio
521518 = Vehicle consecutive running number.

There are ways to track this vehicle down, if you need to. Several services are available in that regard.

The 429 ceased production in passenger cars in 1974. It was first avaialble in the 1968 Ford Thunderbird.

God luck.