Just to ad to this, My '57 date coded block had a cross drilled cam in it also. 292 out of a '57 T-bird. 

The dot between the 0 and the 1 makes more sense with the picture.  That’s the screw head that holds the date plate to the mold during the casting process.  Based on the picture that’s provided, I’ll go with the date code being 501.  That is expected to make the casting date October 1, 1955.  After that point, it went through the machining process before actually being assembled as an engine on Oct 19, 1955 assuming that stamped date for the assembly is not being misread.  If this engine is original to the car that it came out of, then the production date on the car should be shortly after the engine assembly date.  That information will be on the VIN data plate on the car.

The various stampings on the bottom pan rail are likely just inspector stamps for when various operations were performed to the block during the machining operation.

Any other thoughts on any of this is welcome.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

Finding rust in the water jackets is not uncommon; that, alone, is not indicative of the block being bad. The rust, of course, will have to be removed, as it's a common cause of overheating. 

Here are the photos. There are also some markings on the pan rail as shown.
There is a lot of rust in the water jackets so I'm having doubts if this block is good. I'll get it tanked and thickness checked. We'll see.



'55 T-Bird
Battle Ground, WA

Assuming the date and assembly codes are correct, the block was cast for a 1956 model vehicle.

On the stamped number ‘50T61’, I get Oct 19, 1955 (Wednesday) for the assembly date.  The 6 does not make any sense as that should be 1, 2, or 3 denoting the shift that the engine was assembled.  The ‘1’ could possibly be the inspector for that shift but that could also denote the shift whereas the 6 indicates something else.  The ‘6’ likely indicates the engine line or the assembler.  The tail end of the assembly date on the block does not follow the normal hierarchy sequence as stated in the service bulletin I am using.

For the block casting date ’50.1’, the period in the date is unusual.  But eliminating the period, the date would be October 1, 1955 (Saturday?) which does fall in line with the assembly date.  Block castings did not usually occur on weekends so that Oct 1^st date is questionable.  If the period is an incomplete casting of another ‘1’ thus making the date October 11, 1955, then that makes the casting day a Tuesday which makes more sense.    A picture of that casting date on the block might prove to be helpful.

The arrow pointing to the ‘1’ denotes 1^st shift.  Likely a dayshift casting.

Other interpretations of those numbers always welcome.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

There are numbers on the front valley gasket surface.  The first digit is not completely stamped.  I think it is stampted 30T61.  It also could be 50T61.
On the passenger side of the block is cast 50 then a "dot" and a 1 so 50-1  There is also a pointer cast in pointing at a 1.
Do these mean anything to you?
Thanks.

'55 T-Bird
Battle Ground, WA

Your ECZ block could have been cast anytime from 1956 thru 1958.  The date code would help to verify exactly what year and month your block was cast.  The date code for that block is typically found on the passenger side of the block just under the deck.  The actual assembly date is stamped on some blocks on the valley cover block gasket surface the front of the block.

‘10 78’ on the bearing is very likely October 1978 which at least gives a date for when the bearing was manufactured.  It was used sometime after that in your engine.

That’s a ‘Yes’ on all the aftermarket Y camshafts having the grooved center journal.  Two problems arise in that the 1^st is that the journal groove is marginal at best for the oil supply and the 2^nd is the current crop of cam bearings having a softer babbit than was originally used in the engines.  A combination of shallow cam journal groove and soft babbit ends up with the cam bearing wearing quickly into the journal groove and thus shutting off the oil supply to the top end.  Common fixes are grooving the cam hole in the block behind the cam bearing, purchasing bearings that have the groove on the outer O.D. of the bearing, or machining the groove in the cam journal deeper.  Having too much oil to the top end is easily rectified by using restrictors at the corresponding rocker arm pedestal on each bank.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

Thanks all for the replies!  Yes the engine has been gone through.  Cylinders are .040" over and the crank is .020/.020 under.  It is an ECZ-A block which means its a 1956 engine, correct?  I tried to add a photo of a rod bearing.  Would 10  78 be a date of mfg?  The main bearings are not Ford and the numbers are very hard to read.

Question - Do all of the aftermarket cams come grooved?  I was thinking of grooving the block like Eaton shows but if all cams are grooved then I guess there is no reason to do that.  

'55 T-Bird
Battle Ground, WA

i got a cross drilled cam in a B9AE block which was rebuilt.they used the newer cam bearing and no problem as the rockers were like new.the engine i would guess had about 20,000 on it.nothing wrong with a cross drilled cam.

I sent a pm.

miker
55 bird, 32 cabrio F code
Kent, WA
Tucson, AZ