A friend of mine has a 322 Y block. Just had the heads skimmed and refitted. There's no adjustment on the rocker arms for setting clearances. Are adjustable rockers available or do you have to use adjustable push rods?
I take it that you're working on a Buick 322, since all Ford Y blocks came with adjustable rocker arms. Adjustable pushrods are probably going to be easier to come up with than adjustable rocker arms for that engine.
If you are working on a Buick engine, it’s a nailhead not a y block. All y blocks have adjustable rockers. You should change your title if a Buick.
There was a Lincoln Y block variant with hydraulic lifters and it was a 332. If the heads just had a mild clean up cut the lifter adjustment might still be OK. The Linc heads also had conventional side by side intake ports.
Are you sure about that? I ran with a couple guys that drove Ford Y block powered cars in the late ‘60’s and I recall the ECG-Z heads were the hot ticket BITD. The ECG prefix in the casting designation was for the Ford Y blocks and Ford heads had the over and under intake ports. The ECU prefix was used for Lincoln Y blocks that had side by side intake ports and do not interchange with Ford heads, the engines are similar but not matching. The Lincoln blocks also had a different oiling system that allowed hydraulic lifters, something the Ford Y blocks never had. Can you post a photo of the intake manifold showing the port layout?
All Y blocks had adjustable rockers, as they all had solid lifter cams. There are two rocker ratios as well. I don't remember for sure, but I think it was 1.43 and 1.54 on some of the 312's.
In over 50 years of being around ford y block I’ve never seen fixed rockers. They came in 2 ratios (above). They had an adjusting screw with a lock nut and a screw with interference fit threads. I have seen them so slugged up you really couldn’t see the adjustment. Or, it is one of the Lincoln y blocks that had hydraulics. This link is to Mummert’s site. Got a fuzzy picture of the assembly and the various length pushrods for different combinations and milled heads. All the cam cards I’ve seen show lift with the 1.5x rockers. http://www.ford-y-block.com/valvetrain.htm
As I understand it, all 1956-57 engines used the 1.54 rockers, and they went back to the 1.43 version in '58.
You mean 332 FE? Had a couple of those in 59 Wagons with 2 speed automatics (couldn't do the low gear start like my 55 or 57) and they were NOT big on power. Small 2 barrel and non adjustable rockers like most FE engines. I have read that the 59 332 had less compression than the 58 332. I have also read that there was a 4 barrel version available but have not seen one in person. Have seen a couple 352 and 390 police package "interceptor" engines with solid lifters and adjustable rockers.
Spoke to him earlier its a 332 y block in a 59 Skyliner. Hydraulic lifters. No adjustment on the rockers.
332 is concided in the FE family although it is a y block design. There are adjustable rockers for the FE's, or just have to hunt some down, or buy new.
My cousin had a 59 Ford with a 332 and it was definitely an FE engine. From Wiki: The Ford FE engine is a medium block V8 engine produced in multiple displacements over two generations by the Ford Motor Company and used in vehicles sold in the North American market between 1958 and 1976. The FE, derived from 'Ford-Edsel',[1] was introduced just four years after the short-lived Ford Y-block engine, which American cars and trucks were outgrowing. It was designed with room to be significantly expanded, and manufactured both as a top-oiler and side-oiler, and in displacements between 332 cu in (5.4 L) and 428 cu in (7.0 L).
Okay, understand Ford 312. You have adjustable rockers and solid lifters. Don't worry about the machine work on the head for valve train. You have adjustable rockers, so set the valve lash with feeler gages. problem solved. What you should be worried about is the intake manifold fit.
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