Topic: original Ford part numbers database?

[palacekeeper]

I've been working on picking up some parts for a 1970 Mach 1, and I've been finding often that the same part (or seemingly the same) sometimes has different OEM part numbers when you find them online, and it's hard to tell which exact part number my car was supposed to have. In some cases I can look at the car and see what it currently has, but in other cases where the original part has been replaced, I don't have that option.

Is there database online somewhere where I can search for parts for my car (by VIN, for example) to make sure that I'm buying the correct ones? The main Ford parts website only goes back to 1980, apparently. You can search farther back but nothing comes up other than a section for caps.

Thanks!

[jwc66k]

There may be just such a source. It is a Ford document that cross-references Ford "engineering" part numbers to service numbers. It was available as a paper document (book form), and as a micro fiche document set. Unfortunately I do not have the Ford number, and the last time I checked with a Ford service department, they didn't have any idea about this. Check with Fred Ballard - fredsclassics @ hotmail.com who is also a former Ford Service manager and a member of this forum.
Jim

[palacekeeper]

Thanks Jim! I'll give that a try.

[flyingfred]

There may be just such a source. It is a Ford document that cross-references Ford "engineering" part numbers to service numbers. It was available as a paper document (book form), and as a micro fiche document set. Unfortunately I do not have the Ford number, and the last time I checked with a Ford service department, they didn't have any idea about this. Check with Fred Ballard - fredsclassics @ hotmail.com who is also a former Ford Service manager and a member of this forum.
Jim

As a correction to this post, I was a Ford and Lincoln-Mercury dealer parts manager and not a service manager although in some dealers I did both.

I have both books and microfiche of the Ford engineering cross reference numbers but by no means is it complete. I am unaware of there ever being an online version of the cross reference books. These books do show up regularly on Ebay but there are a lot of them as they were issued sometimes every few months. Keep in mind that these books will only be useful if there is actually a Ford engineering number on the part. Even then the cross reference was far from complete in coverage. In the specific instance of 70 Mach 1 moldings, they can have several different engineering numbers for the same part based solely on when the part was actually produced which is not necessarily based on when the car was produced. For instance the front fender molding on a 70 Mach 1 which has the lettering for MACH 1 on it is only one Ford part number but on the reverse side there are at least 3 known different engineering numbers for the same part. If you really do not know Ford parts and are seeking a Ford part by part number, you will need to dust off a Ford MPC (Master Parts Catalog) somewhere. They are available as books, microfiche and CD from vendors on Ebay. I personally learned Ford parts on Microfiche 50 years ago as at the time, that was the latest thing. Even though the books go back to the beginning of time, I am much faster with the books now than microfiche because I know the basic numbers. The down side to the books is if you do not have them permanently setup, they are heavy. A friend of mine has a full set of the 65-72 books currently on Ebay:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/180-FORD-65-72-MOTORCRAFT-CAR-PARTS-MASTER-CATALOG-ORIGINAL/273800025763?hash=item3fbfc0d6a3:g:W0gAAOSwTmpcml10

-Fred-

[palacekeeper]

I kinda figured it wouldn't be that simple but never hurts to ask to narrow things down. I guess the most sensible thing I can do at the moment is to search the part number on Bing or Google (much prefer Bing) for example if one is provided for an Ebay Ford NOS part - at least to make sure it appears to match up to my car. Aside from that, I'm thinking I could post a question on this forum from time to time for a specific part if its not clear, as someone on here will likely know!

Thanks again.