My in need of much love 49 Mercury is a complete car, still has the flathead in it, but I live in Texas, so AC is a must, and I need a little more power than the flatty will provide. I am one that believes in keeping a car all of manufacture parts, meaning if it's a Ford, it should have Ford drivetrain (I'm actually a Mopar guy, but the 49 - 51 Mercury is my favorite car on the planet). I was pondering with the idea of putting a Y Block engine in it, so as to keep a nostalgic look. What are your thoughts on this swap, and what transmissions can I use behind it, rear end????
you can bore a 272 to 292 - 312s are really hard to find.......but I would put a 331-390 caddy in it if you can get over the ford in a ford thing
Well that explains your being all anal about drive train. LOL If I had to choose a ford Y block I would think that the 312 would be my first choice but that I would probably end up with a 292 and be happy with it. Lincoln had some excellent Y block options as well. 279, 302, 317. 332, 341 and 368" motors, were all Lincoln numbers I don't know which would be the most rare. yes a Y block is a great choice for a merc, fordomatic and any number of 3 speeds and 3 speeds with OD are a bolt on and a '57 Ford rear should s work real well with that setup.
you can put about any tranny behind the caddy with an adapter. have you thought about a 351 not a y block but it does the job well. I don't live in texas but I run a warmed up flatty in my 51 merc with the overdrive 3 spd doesn't take a huge amount of extra ponies to run modern ac. 292 warmed up might be fine.
Dont get too hung up on the 312. They are harder to find and are usually more expensive. You can make a 272 or 292 block into a 312 with a 3.800" bore and a 312 crank with machined journals to the 272/292 spec 2.498". The 312 crank had larger journals 2.625" and a longer stroke 3.440". In reality you best option is to find a 272/292 block and buy a stroker kit. You can get these blocks up to 334 cubic inch. Mummert sells the stroker kits http://www.ford-y-block.com/stroker kits.htm
In about 59 or 60 my friend Don Anderson put a 292 in his 53 merc. He cut the engine mount crossmember out of the wreck and welded it in to his car. If you get a Y block that has the standard bellhousing, flywheel and all, I would bet lots of '49 through late 70s or 80s will bolt up. If you want a slush box, I don't know
Well in reality, I'm looking for nostalgia as well as reliability, saw a 49 Merc at Goodguys a couple of weeks ago, with a warmed up Nail Head in it, and it looked bitchin. I don't really have to have a Ford in Ford set up, but being a Mopar guy, you rarely ever see a Chevy engine in a Mopar, unless it is an older car, say from 56 back, and even then the Mopar guys will give you solid hell lol!
Early caddy parts as pricey as Y block and then there is weight flat head 569 Y block 610 early caddy700 lbs. If you want to keep it Ford you might think about FE.
The Yblock will sound as close to a flatty as you can get. Would be cool in a Merc. Heck, throw some mercury valve covers on it. 292 is the best all around as mentioned previously. Do it!
Y blocks are a torque motor so one should move that Merc just fine,I put a 351-W in my 55 sunliner and I think the 272 had more torque so I am gathering all the parts to put a 292 in it. Adapt it to the original 3 speed and do not use a 50s FOM trans,after driving Olds with a 4 speed hydramatic for years those trans suck since when in drive they start out in second.
come on put a early (up to 62) Caddy in it...easy swap ......what could be more traditional than an Mercalac.....? You can leave the Hydo behind it or go with any of the adapters available. Believe me, when you pop the hood, you'll get a crowd (yeah, mostly older) that will be oweing and awing.
Do they make adapters to run a more modern trans, either auto or stick? My friend that has the 272, also has a 3 speed overdrive from a 57 truck, would that work? Can I still use the clutch pedal that is in the car for that set up?
The flathead is rear sump the Y block front sump. A nailhead is narrower and will fit to the ford trans with a adapter. Ive got a 322 nailhead that was taken out of a 52 ford Pk. used a offenhauser ring adapter to mate it to the ford tranny. They pulled the nailhead to install a 455olds and automatic trans. Stupid stupid &dumb . nailheads are the coolest mills around and have enough torque to pull anything.Ive also got a 401 that has weiand intake and valve covers and tri Y hedders and a adapter bellhousing and lasalle trans. My vote is Nailhead.
For grins my 56 Ford Convert has a 292 Y block with a 1952 Ford OD stick shift. And my 50 Shoe Box has a Ford C 4 and a Gear Vendors OD behind a 292 bored to 302. Both cars are more than adequate!
That's sweet. My problem right now is that I am just a poor guy, I paint cars for a living, working for someone else, I don't have a shop of my own. So rebuilding one of these nostalgic engines is an exspensive undertaking to say the least. You guys have given me lots of ideas though, and that's why I like this place. Thanks again for all of your input!
Actually if you move the shifter selector to the right position they start out in first,, I do it so naturally I don't remember where it is on the indicator,, the green dot transmissions. I think it was an economy thing.
You can run a T-bird oil pan to help with clearance issues. Also Hurst made a engine mount that adapts from the stock flathead mounts to the Y-block. I think Red's Headers will make you a set of headers that would work for the Y-Block. Also lots of adapters to go from Y-block to stock mercury transmission. I am planning on running a 56 merc 312 in my 50 with a 3x2 setup. I don't give a shit what anyone says I think it would be awesome! I also know that I've seen a thread on here with a guy that has done this before. It looks like a ton of work, but totally worth it.
If you want to use a Y block it will work fine.The 292 is a good,torquey engine and will pull your Merc along fine A/C and all.I finished a fresh Y block late last year for my 55 Ford.With the exception of an SBC it doesn't cost anymore to rebuild than the other engines people have mentioned.If you search the net enough you can find surprising deals on new Y parts.I just checked my receipts and it cost me right at 1500 dollars to rebuild that 292.machine shop bill was 470 dollars for cleaning,boring , honing and installing new cam bearings.I polished the crank,rebuilt the heads and assembled the engine.I could have come out about 350 dollars cheaper if I hadn't bought stainless valves and the Isky cam.I could have used the stock cam and refaced the old valves.If you already have the flathead why not pull it apart and see how bad it is? It might be in good enough shape to repair without undue expense.
if the flat head is running and don't have cracked heads or block ill trade him a whole pile of Y blocks for it.
Ive thought about this for the last half hour. I cant help it Im gonna give you a bit of un solicited advice. If your painting cars for a living and not making really big money. Quit your selling your health and most productive years of your life. You cant & shouldnt give that away by working too cheap. You can earn a $1000 per week driving truck. Possibly save 10% of whatever you take in and get some seed money to do something for yourself. There isn't any future in working for someone who tries to starve you to death.
One thing about a Y block it has an external oil pump so its easy to modify the oil pan. Car pans front sump truck pans rear sump.
I a not sure that a Y block would be my choice for the Merc unless I had one in good shape. I like 'em so don't misunderstand what I am saying. I one time pulled the 6 cylinder out of a wrecked gremlin to out in a '54 Ford. I had the gremlin and the drive train was good. Eventually when I had the option I put a 351 Clevland in it. Not because it was a Ford motor but because I like them real well and it became an option. You see where I am going with this right? If I were a died in the wool MOPAR guy I would be all about finding a 413 and stuffing it in there. it would be old cool and would have no problem pulling an old boat of a car around.
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