The really big news is... was this crank in a Toronado engine? No. An
H/O engine [as owner said rumor was]? No. This forged steel 455 crank was
right out of a freshly dismantled, numbers-matching.... 1968 455 low compression,
presumably 2-V engine, car possibly equipped with a tow package. This has
been confirmed by another lucky person. Supposedly forged cranks came in
every 455 produced during the first month of production for the 1968 model
year.
Specifics:
400943 crank, numbers barely visible, on the rear weight. Notch in rear
face is a 'rounded-L' shape, longer than say a 425's L, and the corner
is smooth, not a nice right angle. Just like Mondello's tech manual shows,
except he shows a sharp corner there. Forging flash removal left a very
wide "part line" as per usual for a forging. The front throw has AC
stamped in it.
VIN deriv: 38M250256
Engine Unit #: 8284939
Block cast on day 15 [Jan 15]
Dist'r #1111288 8A1: '68 LC 455, made Jan01
Xst mans: A-T, cast on day 2-?
C heads, small valve, cast on day 3-13 or 13-13 [rusty]
Motor mounts were on the forward pair of holes, and only the rear block
drain holes were drilled, thus negating the theory that it was an H/O motor.
[ Thanks to Chris Witt, Luke Hogan, Tony Waldner for this information ]