Re: Stupid Ford parts book

What problems are you having and which vehicle are you trying to research -the N-Series tractor?

Tim 'PloughNman' Daley(MI)

??????????????????????????

Thats what henry started with the "T" or before
and they still use today. Every mfg uses some sort of group numbers to idenfy different sections of equiptment or model.

The Ford mechanical part numbering system was
introduced with the Model A in 1928. There is a
method in the madness, in that with experience you
can tell what the part does, where it goes, when
it was introduced, and what model vehicle it is
primarily intended for. The vehicle information
is, alas, no longer used by Ford, having been
dropped during the Jacques Nasser era - another
example of his destructive legacy.

The breakdown is very logical. It consists of
three parts. The prefix identifies the vehicle
the part is intended for. Examples are 9N, 8N,
and B8A, which are, respectively, a 9N tractor, an
8N tractor, and a 1958 Ford full-size car. The
numeral indicates the model year. B is the 1950's
decade, C is the 1960's, and so on. A "Z" was
often added to indicate a service part that was
different from the original, but intended to
replace it functionally. "Z" parts often fit a
broad range of models.

The letter following the model year indicates the
vehicle type. A is for full-size passenger cars,
S was for Thunderbirds, B was for mid-size autos,
and X was for the Falcon-size autos. T was for
trucks, from pickups up. Thus, a C0TZ-9510-B was a carburetor for a truck, introduced in 1960, the second version, and was a service part intended to fit several models.

The four-digit basic part number covered most of
the chassis parts. Five-digit parts started with
electrical items (including ignition) and above
16000 included bumpers, tools, mirrors, heaters,
and shock absorbers.

All these part numbers were later expanded by
adding a letter after the first digit, but by
ignoring the the letter you can tell where the
part is used by treating it like the four-digit
number. Thus, a 7119 can be a countershaft thrust
washer in a manual transmission, and a 7A119 can
be a pin for a parking pawl in an automatic
transmission. Both are transmission parts, but
they are different part types.

Lastly, there is a suffix letter or letters that
indicate differences within the part. A "B" would
be a later version than the "A" suffix part.

Since a 6010 is always an engine block, and a 9510
is always a carburetor, it is pretty easy to
identify the part, and more important, it is
easier for the parts organization to find a part.
As one Ford warehouse employee told me, "all the
water pumps are in the same area."

Body parts had their own numbering system, which
is similar, but complicated by having many more
numbers to deal with. Same with fasteners and
hardware.

Many parts have engineering numbers cast or
stamped in them. These have no connection to the
repair part numbers, except for the core number.
An engine block will have a "6010" as part of the
engineering number, but the prefix and suffix are
linked to the design instead of replacement.

In modern times, with computers and automated
order picking, there is little incentive to have
an organized part numbering system. Numbers seem
to be generated in the order that the parts are
approved, or at random, or pulled out of someone's
anus.

Very interesting!

Zane

You folks that have this kind of information running around loose in your heads and so freely share NEED more coffee.
Thanks for sharing.
Makes me want to go find some older Ford parts to look up