Getting to reassemble my '56 Ford Thunderbird and now I'm wondering if I outsmarted myself. Had the 312 Y-Block rebuilt, but wanted a bigger cam, so the rebuilder installed a cam from a '57. The '56 has a "teapot" carburetor and a non-vacuum distributor. Anyone have advice on how to set this up? I want to retain the '56 distributor as it has the tach drive gear. Am I screwed?
Fords factory 57 cam works fine,but to get full benafeit *from it,you also need factory higher lift rockers* Ford designed to go with{1957 only rockers}. The teapot works{ I never have liked the teapot}, I like later Ford 4bbl better,it is higher CFM .there aftermarket plates to mount bigger base carbs on with. As for timing,with out the newer dizzy with sintrifcel. I guess you could set timing by looking at what it is doing with a dial light,from about 2000 up/an set so your getting max about 36* before TDC {give or take 1 *for best run.
I don’t get a “non- vacumn” distributor, unless you’ve got an aftermarket with centrifugal and the tach drive and no vacuum can. Put up a picture. If it’s the original 56, it should have the dual vacuum can. 55’s used the single can, and 57 went to the centrifugal with a vacuum can. Trying to run with no “mechanical” advance will result in very poor performances. I’ve run the oem 55, keeping the tach drive and using an MSD timing computer. It works, but it’s not an optimal solution. Dana’s right about total timing. With the 57 up distributor 8-10 initial and 36 total is a good starting point.
I run 57 4-barrel intakes and newer square bore carburetors which necessitates a 57 or newer distributor as well. Easier to deal with in my opinion that the teapot and associated distributor.
If you want to wake it up use 57 312 heads and intake the G heads were 57-59 The 57 intake are pricey for the money I would go blue thunder or Mummert But on EBay I see after market bird distributors in the $250 range. For less money and power Use a adapter on your manifold for a late style carb and the after market Distributor.
The issue is his mechanical factory tach. I will agree that using the OEM all-vacuum distributor with the teapot is less than optimal, but finding a 'correct' tach-drive distributor with both mechanical and vacuum advance may prove to be all-but-impossible. I wonder if he could use one of those electronic-to-mechanical speedo drives to operate the tach. Knowing how many cable turns equals what RPM on the tach would be needed, but those all feature pretty wide calibration ranges and some research in what kind of signal it would accept may allow that to do the job. Or have the OEM tach converted to electronic, I'm sure someone could do that. Sunpro and some others make small-face electronic units, I'd think would be doable. These aren't all lo-buck solutions, but sometime you have to bite the bullet...
Have you thought about getting a cam from the '57 supercharged 312? I thik it holds the valves open longer to get more air/fuel into the combustion chamber. Just a thought.
That’s why I asked for a picture. There’s some after market distributors with the tach drive, centrifugal advance, but no vacuum advance. With the curve set properly they work fine, just give up the part throttle advance that helps with gas mileage. There’s also a couple aftermarket’s with centrifugal and vacuum but no tach drive. Ted Eaton’s reviewed those. If it’s a stock 56 loadomatic with the can removed, it’s effectively a locked in distributor, and those don’t work on a street y block.
CRT has an electronic distributor with both mechanical and electronic tach-drive specifically for Y-block Tbirds. It has both centrifugal and adjustable vacuum advance. Price is about $250/w free shipping. It is made in China. However, a member of y-blocksforever.com sent one to Ted Eaton (eatonbalancing.com) for testing. Ted posted positive results on y-blocksforever.com. The 57 "G" heads are just as expensive (if not more) than the 57 intake. Heads made through April, 57 have been known to crack. Beginning in May, 57, the G heads were "posted," which reduced cracking. The recommended milling of non-posted heads is .025. Ted had a customer's posted G heads that had been milled .080. The 57 cam and G heads were used for the C (292), D, and E-code Thunderbirds. The G heads have nominal 69cc combustion chambers. F-code engines, being supercharged, had heads with 82cc combustion chambers. 113 heads were later replacements for G heads; they have the same size valves (1.92/1.52) but 72cc combustion chambers, as found on 55-56 heads and heads made 58-up. 471 heads are later truck heads/w same combustion chambers and valve sizes as F-code heads. All Y-block heads made beginning in May, 57 are posted. 57 "square" exhaust manifolds are bigger than those used in 55-56. The 57 Tbird exhaust manifolds are being reproduced and are available from Tbird suppliers. Expect to pay about $600/w shipping. If you want to keep the Holley 4000 "Teapot" carburetor, which has a cfm rating of 390, there is a do-it-yourself modification that will render it compatible with 57+ distributors. You can find the article on eatonbalancing.com. Although there are adapters available that will allow you to put a 57+ carburetor on a 55-56 intake manifold, it will not flow as well as a 57/Mummert/Blue Thunder manifold. Also, hood clearance could be a problem, particularly if you also have the pcv-draft-tube carburetor-conversion spacer. You will have to use the stock air cleaner or an aftermarket air cleaner/w drop base, or your hood won't close. Send a pm to me, if you want more info. I have a 55 Tbird, and I've been down this road.
You live in Escondido Ca. the home of John Mummert and his Y- Block business. Call him on the phone or drive over to his business and speak directly to him about what you are wanting to do. He has helped many Ford owners.
Here's the CRT Y block distributor upgrade: https://crtperformance.com/shop/ols/products/ford-y-block-272-292-312-star-with-hex-drive-shaft
I also remembered I bought this carb several years back, and I have the adapter to the original 4bbl manifold, so this may be part of the solution too. I will have to dig out the distributor and check it out...to see what variety I've got. Thanks for the other inputs.
The upper body is different between the loadomatic and the 57 up centrifugal. But there’s an outfit called FBO in Cottage Grove OR who’s doing custom work and may be able to do that. But it’s custom machine and welding, so it won’t be cheap. They just finished a custom unit for a 368 Lincoln with 4 Webers on another board. Took a couple go arounds but they got it right.
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