And another old mystery tool found today

[David Jackson]

You never know what you might find in your toolbox; in my spare tools toolbox, bottom drawer, I found some old tools I probably put there years ago and forgot about them. The one in this thread has no maker's name that I recognize. It has an open end about 1" across and a hex end maybe 13/16" (spark plug maybe?). The overall length of the tool is 9 5/8 ". The most unique feature to me is the open end, it is pver 1/2" thick and not squared off. At one time it may have had black paint or some other kind of coating. The numbers on the underside are hard to photograph for some reason; they are M 40 - 17017.

I am not absolutely certain how I came by this tool; it may have been in a little shop of a house I bought in 1968.

Anyway it would be fun to know what it is!

 

[Zeke]

Easy find eBay. Ford SP wrench as you suspected. 12 bucks.

 

[LB-1911]

The numbers on the underside are hard to photograph for some reason; they are M 40 - 17017.

Anyway it would be fun to know what it is!

Ford Wrench M-40-17017

Ford wrench #M-40-17017, spark plug/head bolt combination. One open end, one boxed. Used on Model A & T automobiles. Circa 1930.

http://www.goantiques.com/d-wrench-m-42168379

https://www.google.com/#q=M-40+17017

 

[Gmonkee]

Ford 8N tractor spark plug and headbolt wrench.

FoMoCo in an oval, after 1950, Ford in an oval its 1939 to 1949. It was made for Ford on contract to Moore Drop Forge. They made a lot of the Ford tool kit stuff.

Goantiques has it just a bit wrong. The Ford T and A head bolt wrenches are different, 1930 is a bit early for the existance of this wrench. I have the evidence in steel at my house.

 

[David Jackson]

Thanks guys. It seems there are lots of them out there for sale. Most of them have the Ford name on them in some fashion; do you suppose the one I have is a Chinese copy? Or, maybe the outsourcing thing was not as big in those days as it is now.

 

[ttpete]

Ford 8N tractor spark plug and headbolt wrench.

FoMoCo in an oval, after 1950, Ford in an oval its 1939 to 1949. It was made for Ford on contract to Moore Drop Forge. They made a lot of the Ford tool kit stuff.

Goantiques has it just a bit wrong. The Ford T and A head bolt wrenches are different, 1930 is a bit early for the existance of this wrench. I have the evidence in steel at my house.

The M-40-17017 was for the flathead V-8s that used 18 mm sparkplugs. (1" open end)

The M-01A-17017B is for the V8 with 14 mm sparkplugs (13/16" open end).

Fords of that era all shipped with toolkits, that's why there are so many Ford tools around.

 

[Gmonkee]

Ahhh, I stopped my research at the end of the A period and never followed up after the tractor kit stuff I found quite by accident. The T was my point of focus and the rest to identify what clearly was not T tool kit fodder.

Moore made them with logo for contract and after the contract was filled they could make them for aftermarket sales without the logos. Every vintage tool maker of the teens to 30's was in this game. It was a lucrative market at the time.

 

[ttpete]

Ahhh, I stopped my research at the end of the A period and never followed up after the tractor kit stuff I found quite by accident. The T was my point of focus and the rest to identify what clearly was not T tool kit fodder.

Moore made them with logo for contract and after the contract was filled they could make them for aftermarket sales without the logos. Every vintage tool maker of the teens to 30's was in this game. It was a lucrative market at the time.

Ford has the easiest part number system to decipher. All parts have their own Basic number. A camshaft is always 6250. The Prefix denotes the first model year that a particular part was used, and later on, the decade, year, and car line. The Suffix denotes a modification or variance of the part.

So take, for instance, "C3AZ-6250-AA".

C=1960's
3=1963
AZ=Ford big car

6250=camshaft

AA=This denotes the 324 degree duration solid lifter camshaft for the medium riser 427 CID engine.

 

[David Jackson]

Ford has the easiest part number system to decipher. All parts have their own Basic number. A camshaft is always 6250. The Prefix denotes the first model year that a particular part was used, and later on, the decade, year, and car line. The Suffix denotes a modification or variance of the part.

So take, for instance, "C3AZ-6250-AA".

C=1960's
3=1963
AZ=Ford big car

6250=camshaft

AA=This denotes the 324 degree duration solid lifter camshaft for the medium riser 427 CID engine.

How does that work for this number?

 

[WWIIjeep]

How does that work for this number?

It doesn't. IIRC, the FoMoCo part numbering system started around 1950 and retroactively covers most 1940s Ford vehicles as well. Your wrench dates from the late 1930s and predates that system.

 

[Gmonkee]

Ahh, but there is an older code system that just happens to end at 1948, at least as my notes go. The prefix m-40-(part number) signifies 1933 and 1934 cars.

Congrats Dave, you have the first part of the coveted '33 Ford V8 you always wanted.

The prefix codes:

T- Ford T up to 1927
A- 1928 to 1931 model A
B- 4 cyl 1932
18- 1932 to 1933 8 cyl
40- 1933-1934
48- 1935
68- 1936
78- 1937
81A- 1938
91A- 1939
01A- 1940
11A- 1941
21A- 1942
(war years, little civilian production)
69A- 1946
79A- 1947

And that is all that I have in my notebook. Info taken from a Ford model T car forum.