1952-59 Ford I need a 292 or a 272/312

Group,

In just over a month I am leaving to move to Denver and I want to drive my 54 out there.

The 239 in it is worn the F out. It'll make it out there but I kinda don't want to deal with it. I need a new engine.

Anyone have a good running 292/272/etc?

It needs to be somewhere kinda close to NYC

 

your wanting to drive from nyc to denver colorado in your 54? very brave soul.

 

ive got two 292 one motor one with auto trans one runs one dont if you just didnt live so far away from east tenn sorry

 

Thanks guys. Yeah Im driving it out! Heck, its been well behaved for close to 8k miles or so locally... right?

Thought I found a 292 locally but the seller didnt get back to me

 

Driving local is one thing but driving long highway speeds that far is another thing ! You should really consider just towing it behind a truck or something along that line . Just trying to keep up with traffic in the "slow lane" will be hard enough . Heck the speeds on the highways are 70 mph or better . When you have to cross the mountains , some of those roads can be steep too .
If something would go wrong and I pray nothing happens , you are stuck right where you are and no one will have parts to repair the car either . If you do take that drive , I would carry along these parts -- set of spark plugs (in case they get oil fouled) , set of points , rotor , distributor cap , fuel filter , couple V belts , thermostat - if it gets stuck , 2 gal. of coolant and some water , upper & lower radiator hose and heater hose if they haven't been changed since you got the car , trans fluid because not everyplace has "Type F" trans fluid and motor oil . With you having to do a lot of high speed driving , I would think you might use some oil . That should cover the minor things that you can fix road side . Of course you will also need the tools to do the work , something to clean your hands with , some coveralls to stay clean , good night lights if it happens at night , a piece of cardboard to lay on or kneel on and a rain coat of some sort with an umbrella for your helper to have when they are holding a light for you . You always need to keep your helpers dry too ! These are some of the things I carry in my cars when making a long trip depending on which one I am driving . Being stuck on the side of the road really does **** !
If that little 239 Y-Block makes it with no real issues , I would keep that engine even with it's low HP ratings !

I wish you the very best during your long trip with no issues to cause you problems and a very good , enjoyable and very safe trouble free journey ! Take plenty of pictures when you stop to sight see also !
It might also be a good idea to find out if there are any Group or HAMB members along the roads that you will be traveling on , that might help you if something does come up . There are a lot of us out there that will help others out when in need .

So when are you leaving ?
Good Luck and enjoy the sights you see !

Jim

 

If you start the trip with a good running Y block, I would be more worried about tires, brakes, and wheel bearings. If all those things are good to go, carry plenty of the correct motor oil. At high al***ude, most motors use more oil. I have overdrive in my car, it travels well at 2250 RPMs about 65 to 75 in the slow lane.

 

General Gow just did M***achusetts to Bonneville in his '54 last year. You might PM him and ask what he did to prepare, or what he wishes he'd done.

Good luck! Wish I had a 292 for you.

 

The engine runs really well, it just uses and leaks a lot of oil so on a trip i just check it every 100 miles or so and it's down about a half a quart.

Here's what I am planning on bringing as far as spare parts and such go:

Complete tune up kit.
Fluids
Hoses
Fuel Pump
Belt
Tool Kit

Also planning on changing the radiator out before i go, it's old and crusty (And has a hint of a pinhole leak)

What else am I missing.... Oh yeah, a carb kit, fuel line and filters.

Not sure if I am taking 70 or 80 out but I am leaning towards 80.

I also have AAA Premier, so that covers up to 200 miles of towing. WORST CASE scenario I can't think of any place where I'll be more than 200 miles from help.

As far as the car goes, the tires are kinda new, I bought them last september but they have about 8k miles on them but still have around half tread.

Brake shoes are in good shape, wheel cylinders and hoses are new, wheel bearings good and have been repacked. Rear axle has a slight leak at the pumpkin, I'll address that before I head out.

Let's see.. what else... I have my hidden amp and speaker and just fixed my cigarette lighter so I can play my Sirius radio so I'll have Howard Stern to listen to

Figuring I'm not going to push the car, the trip will take me about 3 days. I'm driving the POS Lexus out and that I can run at 90 all day long and not worry about it, that'll be a 2 day trip.

The Lincoln is not to be trusted, it's being shipped out. I also have to worry about shipping one of the Vauxhalls and the M5, so this is gonna get spendy.

 

I think I got an engine! Going Friday night to snag a low mile 292....

 

RLD14 , I wish you well with your road trip , should be a whole lot of fun .
Just one thought I had while reading your post above , You said Hidden AMP and listening to tunes .... Is your car running an Alternator or still the Generator ?
Just bear in mind that if you are still running a gennie , on a long trip with all those neat ol tunes being blasted through a modern sound system ( including an amplifier ) the Gennie will be struggling to keep up ( as in provide enough amps ) . This will mean you'll have the Regulator pegged the whole way and may find yourself effectively " running on the battery " rather than the charging system . On a long trip like this with the situation I've described happening you'll be very surprised how quickly a set of Generator Brushes will burn out .

Hey , Enjoy the trip - Wish I was along for the ride .

 

i would take 80 and miss a lot of cities. 90 is a toll road except thru pa, so lots of road patrols to check on stranded motorists. you pick up 80 in ohio, just west of cleveland which is also a toll road. it merges i 94 in indiana but skirts the south side of chicago. after 80/90/94 split and shortly east of I-57 in illinois, it becomes a free (non toll) road. run 80 over to i 76 and that drops you into the northern part of denver.

sounds like a fun trip, but i can understand the anxiety. if all else fails, be sure to tell the uhaul place you are towing a model a with out engine or your wifes prius behind your 1/2 ton otherwise they will tell you you dont have enough truck.

keep us posted.

 

Not too hard to do a 302/5.0 & AOD swap in a '54 usually the combination is price friendly.Parts are easier to find and much less than Y-block parts in cost.

 

That sounds like the trip of a lifetime! Cruisin' 'cross country in a '54....priceless. I wish you only the best.

 

Jeff,

NOOOOO!!!!! I love my Y block! I will do an AOD tho.

I'm gonna go 80, this way I can get some Chicago Pizza. Anyone live near 80 on here and wanna meet for lunch or dinner?

 

4t6,

I'm running an alternator. I have a $40 stereo.. Small amp from Amazon hidden under the dash powering 1 speaker in the stock dash location. It takes AUX inputs so I use either my iPhone or Sirius.

But with lights, wipers, stereo on I'm still charging... At idle. I checked

 

also try a chicago style hot dog. not sure where to get the pizza or dog off the interstate, but google should find you something not too far off your route. best time to get thru chicago is after 9am or after 7pm. traffic is a ***** around gary ind.

 

RLD14 , sounds good . Just didn't want to see you get stuck - would be a hell of a long way for ME to come and help you out

.

 

Well... Denver might not be happening.....

But the 292 still is. Now maybe I'll have to figure out a big road trip for the 54 this summer...

In more amusing news the Lincoln tried to set itself on fire again today...

 

there might be pills you could get for that ..... the suicidal Lincoln

 

Not nearly as far as Denver, but I HIGHLY suggest driving up to the Syracuse Nationals in July. Absolutely great show....one of the biggest this side of the Mississip (http://www.rightcoastcars.com/syracuse-nationals.php) . Last year they had over 7,500 cars showing.

 

Syracuse? Was already planning on going

Probably will take the Ford, the Lincoln is not to be trusted, it still needs lots of work.

Oh.. speaking of the little ****, I mean Lincoln... yesterday I took it to a small local cruise and one of the guys there wanted a ride in it, during said ride the radio started smoking like a cigar factory on fire, looks like the rectifier burned up so that's another thing to fix.

 

hey 4t6.. it aint no distance for you to help rld. just a hop (in a plane) skip (across country) and jump (into a rental car) and there you are. dont you feel closer already?

 

Dwaynerz , that'd be an awesome trip . You send me the plane ticket and I'll drop everything and be right there

.

 

OK,

Quick stupid question time. Im going to look at this engine and hopefully buy it tomorrow night.

First, what sort of cold compression am I looking for?

And on these I can just throw 12v straight to the starter to crank it over, right?

 

Keep good notes and take lots of pictures. You may be able to write a nice article about your adventure and sell it to a car mag to defray your costs.
Good luck and have fun.

 

Not sure about the compression, as long as it's consistant across all cyl. Ya 12 volts right to the starter even if its a 6 volt system, but not to the coil if its 6 volt.

 

sorry 4t6, fresh outta plane tickets at present

 

I'll post more later.. But man am I happy!

The 292 is a "good'un". Ford reman 292. 1961 as best as I can tell, C1AE casting number on the block.

Oh, the seller removed the manual bell housing (I had no need for it) and there wasn't even a TRACE of oil out of the rear main. Oh yeah, looked in the cylinders with a bores cope, cross hatching on all of em. Clean heads... Just NICE.

I'm happy. But there's more to today's adventures haha. I'm just taking a break on the NY thruway and pretty close to home.

Bill

 

sounds like you got a good one , can't wait for the rest of the story .

 

Here's what I put on the main board... But I'll get better shots of the engine for you guys.

Soo... I've been looking for a good Y block for my 54 Ford to replace the smoking worn out 239 and my 60 Lincoln also needs a ******.

Well I found a Lincoln trans out of a 59 for $50 on Craigslist in Long Island And the guy said he had some other parts. I also found a low mile crate motor 292 up by Kingston NY.

And we just took an older S10 on trade at work that was going to the auction... So that's parts, truck, and motivation..

First run was to Long Island, all the way out in Patchogue... Got there a little late bc it took over 3 hours to go 70 miles!

The seller had a 59 Premiere coupe with 30k miles, and based on the pedals id agree.



There's the ****** loaded in the bed of the truck, and for a total of $150 for everything I also got a 4bbl intake manifold, an extra treadle-vac, generator, starter, voltage regulator, carb (ok so the carb is junk), heat riser for the intake, fan and power steering pump!



Seller was a real cool guy and happy to see the parts going to a good home.

The next stop was from eastern LI, to just south of Kingston NY, with still broken AC... oh boy. Luckily I caught very little traffic on the way back, just some on the Cross Bronx and that wasn't even bad, the car gods must have been smiling on me because I was cruising along the LIE at 70-75 the whole way back, that's unheard of.

So I get to the seller of the 292s house, real cool guy, has some 56 Chevys including one that has been in the family since new!

The 292 came out of a dump truck that got wrecked, it's a reman 61, a C1AE and a quick look down the bores with a bore scope showed PERFECT cylinders. This is a score!



So we got that loaded and I headed back to Jersey... Left at Noon, got back after midnight. Tired and sweaty but damn was this worth it!