That might get fuzzy. Officially 1968 was the transition year. Should be last one built in '68. But if you consider warranty supply, I bet there were some made for a year or two after. Not for production, but for warranty. One of the more famous ones is the Boss 302 blocks. While only '69 and '70, there is a '71 block. It was a warranty engine or parts room 'crate' replacement engine.
So you bring up an interesting topic, and if forces me to clarify some definitions. Unfortunately I do not "own" the internet, but if I ever write a book...the last hundred pages will probably be dedicated to a glossary of what I mean.
So you are absolutely correct as to service blocks, and warranty items. BUT there is a huge difference in how things are managed with respect to logistics. Your example of the B2 block is true, but the vastly more famous one is the C8AE-6015-H side oiler 427 block. That thing was in production until at least 1973, and you can argue that the Pond blocks (which are due in December BTW) are still being cast.
Moreover, there is a "crate engine" vs service block distinction as well. But as long as the part is active in MRP, there is no trigger for a last time build. As part of the product lifecycle management process, someone would of course manage the inventory levels when the part goes obsolete. For the 289 block, it would be superceded by the later 302 block, so no reason to do an inventory build. But for the Boss block, or the side-oiler block, those are managed. I am VERY reluctant to call anything from the 60's and 70's a "Crate engine" because of course those didn't exist until Ford Motorsport started selling compete engines in the parts department. Back then, warranty engines were managed separately, and are generally configured in a short-block, long-block, or "engine" configuration...but never came complete. Every GPD rebuild I ever saw either didn't have the accessories, or the accessories were wrong. And I can indeed confirm that early produt lifecycle warranty engines were in fact brand new "in the crate." But over time, the supply would get diluted with recycled cores. Obviously this does not apply to warranty "campaigns" where something was wrong.
As far as the "last 289" built,
@ntsqd is asking a vague question. Are we talking 289 engines, or 289 engine blocks, or motor vehicles with a 289 cubic inch engine installed? For the purpose of my sanity, I consider the 289 to be the CAR with the 289 engine in it. And it8 is abunduntly clear that the EPA certificate on the 289 cubic inch engine expired in 1968. So it would be illegal, and highly unlikely that Ford would sell an uncertified 289 V8 after 31-Dec-1968. Now as far as selling a 289 vehicle after the model year change in August...it is legal, and possible, but unlikely and logistically unreasonable. You can see this effect in the P's and Q's from 1972.
So let's talk 289 blocks. What exactly is a 289 block? Well, it's whatever Mother Ford decided it was. And in 1967, the C8OE-6015-A block was a "289" block. IDGAF if the block was cast with the giant letters "302" in the lifter valley. That means absolutely nothing (yet). The giant letters "352" were cast on the front of most every FE from 66-72. Those letters mean nothing definitive necessarily, sometimes. Yes, the C8OE-6015-A block was used in 1967 289 automobiles. Yes, it was cast in Cleveland. Yes, it was also used in the 302. No it was not a 302 block (yet). Yes, the design group intended for it to be deployed in the 1968 model year. and yes...when the exact same block is filled with a 3 inch stroke crankshaft, it is a 302 block. So yes, there is a period of overlap in august of 1967 where you could have that lump of iron knocked out of a sand cast mold, and it was a 289 block, and the one right next to it 46 seconds later was a 302 block. And yes, it was coming from the Cleveland Foundry to the Cleveland Engine Assembly line and then to Dearborn, Metuchen, San Jose, Atlanta, and many other assembly lines. And yes, some are going to get ahead of others within that very narrow window.
@Jakedog this question comes up all the time on the Mustang side. They are worse, and more wrong than here. The nice thing about Bronco owners is that they are ususally modest, reserved, practical, reasonable and honest. The Mustang side has two camps. The liars, and the truthtellers. Unfortunately, you can't tell one from the other, and often the truth-tellers are wrong. My original post is the result of a Mustang forum question. Because some knucklehead insisted that the 289 was gone in 1968, replaced by the 302. And everyone knows that's not exactly true. Because the C code 2V-289 persisted until the end of 1968 production. And the J-code 4V-302 was availabe for the entire 1968 production. BUT once you step out of Mustang, and into Bronco...or worse, 1968 Mercury Montego Export...the unicorn 2V-302 enters the chat.
