Valve cover bolts are the big bolts on the top of the engine, holding down the plate (usually marked "Ford") on top of the valves. The number of bolts corresponds to your engine type, which will help you locate the more useful ID tag.



2 bolts: 239/256/272/292/312

5 bolts: 332/352/360/361/390/391/406/410/427/428

6 bolts: 221/260/289/302/351W

7 bolts: 429/460

8 bolts: 351C/351M/400;
, The tag is a series of numbers and letters etched in and used to decipher the year, make, and model of you engine. It is found underneath the bolts on the left or right side of the engine, near the front of the car. You can find the tag here on all six-cylinder engines made after 1964, and on some V8 engines.The tag is roughly three inches long, half an inch wide, and made of aluminum.
If you are unsure what kind of engine you have, think back to the valve cover bolts as you work through the following steps. This will help you narrow down your options.
 Check under the dipstick, which is the small, plastic-handled piece that lets you check your oil.
 These are the last few places the tag might be. If it is not there, it may have been removed, fallen off, or only be visible when the engine is not in the car. Depending on where you find the tag, you can learn something about the engine:Indicator Bulb: 360, 330, 391 engines.
Dipstick Tube: 352 engines.
Carburetor Stud: 401, 477 534 engines., Once you've found the identification tag, you need to know how to read it to get the right information. Luckily, the tags are simple to breakdown. From upper left to bottom right:Cubic Inch Displacement (CID): The first three numbers, found in the upper left corner, tell you the size of the engine.

Manufacturing Plant: The single letter to the right of the CID is where the engine was built. "C" is for Cleveland, "E" is for Ensite, Canada, and "W" is for Windsor, Canada.

Year: The next two numbers are for the year the engine was built. 70, for example, would mean it was made in 1970.

Month Built: This hyphenated number and letter correspond to the month. The months are in alphabetical order, so A = January and M = December. There is no "i" so people don't confuse it the number 1. 0-A would mean January 1970, 5-C March 1975, etc. (assuming the year code is for the 70's).

Engine Code Number: This final 3-digit number is the ID of your particular engine. You can look up this code online to see the specs of your current engine.
Use the number of valve cover bolts to narrow down the type of engine you have in front of you.
Locate the ID tag under coil attaching bolts for six-cylinder and some eight-cylinder engines.
Check under the dipstick attaching bolts on eight-cylinder, 352 Model engine.
Look under the heat indicator bulb, carburetor attaching stud, and ignition coil bolt if you still can't find the tag.
Learn to read the ID tag appropriately.
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