Here is information from the 1979 version of the OSI
John - thank you for posting this. I have a spreadsheet with about 150 lines of FE head part numbers. Give me some time to study the pages you shared from the `79 OSI and follow up.
One takeaway so far is the MCRL books have been particularly helpful in that they've correlated many of these PN#s to engineering numbers. However, tying those to castings is another story. Typically a C6AE-6049-J engineering number would correlated to a C6AE-6090-J casting. Part numbers are another story. They may include gasket, bare head only, head with valves, one head with gasket and so on.
Generally the HiPo FEs castings are mostly identified, but not so with passenger engines. You'd think a C6AE-6049-U engineering number identifies with a C6AE-U casting, but hard to be certain. The reality is in 1966 Ford had myriad FE head engineering numbers including C6AE-6049-A, D, J, H, K, L, M, N, R, U, V, Y, Z, AD, AE which gives you an idea of the variations (all those engineering numbers came from OSI and MCRL books).
Then there's the C6AE-6090-R head which was used in the Fairlanes, Ford F100-250 trucks and full-size Ford/Mercurys which commonly called the "poor man's Cobra Jet head" due to the larger-type Low Riser intake ports (though it has smaller exhaust ports). This head was drilled both for 14-hole shock-tower Fairlane exhaust pattern as well as Ford/Mercury 8-hole. Kevin Rolph who's been logging FE head castings & dates has found the earliest casting sometime after Oct 10 1965.
What's interesting is that the MCRL correlates part number C1AZ-6049-G with engineering number C6AE-6049-R. That doesn't mean C6AE-6090-R is the actualy engineering number for casting C6AE-R, but it sure looks like it. If that's not enough, the C6TE-G is a a very similar head with large Low Riser intake & smaller exhaust port measurements. In the same manner, the MCRL correlates PN# C1AZ-6049-F1 with engineering number C6TE-6049-G. Hmm ... interesting how the only two heads with pre-66 type intake ports seem to have C1AZ part numbers, no?
Interesting. They only printed 3 versions of the OS & I prior to 1979 for Ford parts. Or am I reading that incorrectly. Need to check print dates on the versions I have
Jeff - from what I understand Ford printed two OSIs per year during the 1960s, one each in January and July. What's not clear to me is who often a separate Lincoln Mercury OSI was published. My guess is the same. I have both a 1966 Lincoln Mercury OSI and 1966 Ford OSI, both printed in July.
The key with the OSIs and MCRLs is to match the volumes into a set. For instance, the July Volume 2 OSI covers from Jan 1955 - May 1961 (FD7632), Volume 3 (1966) covers May 1961 - July 1966, Volume 4 (1973) covers Jan 1967 - July 1973 and so on. The intent of the matched set is to cover every part. -- Roger