Replacement Valve Covers

[P72Ford]

My research says that all panthers came with Romeo engines; W is the 8th character in the VIN.

GM did similar goofy things on the 4.3 V6, you had a Romulus engine or a Tonawanda engine. The cam bearings are different for some reason. Just seems dumb to me to have a nearly-identical engine made in 2 places that are not actually identical.

For sure. There was also a balance shaft version of the 4.3 (maybe it was the vortec); I remember running into that years ago doing an S10 engine swap.

[packman]

^^^^^^^^8th digit on mine is a W. I will count the valve cover bolts to confirm though.^^^^^^^^^^

[GM_Guy]

Yes, the vortec 4.3 had a balance shaft (which you can remove if you where so inclined). The new 4.3 is a vvt, theres no mention of a balance shaft in them.