I have a old mercury motor and transmission sitting out at my place. I am told you identify the year by the color of the valve covers. They are yellow, does anyone know what year it is?
you identify the year by the vin. That number stamped on at the factory. I've never seen a merc mill that was yellow from the factory that i recall, but I'm colorblind
They say Mercury on them in cursive. My dad also said it came out of a old mercury car. He just can't remember whhat year it was he said old.
the engine size changed just about every year... 54=256 55=292 56=312 57=312,368 (368 had red valve covers) 58-60=312, 383, 430
DUH, its possibly a Y Block!! Go here for ID info. It misses a lot of Merc stuff but if you can post the block code I can ID it. http://www.ford-y-block.com/techincal.htm If the dizzy is up front it would be a later engine such as the FE, MEL or SBF family. Those ID's are also available.
I seem to recall the 55 engine was the one with yellow valve covers. did you follow the Y block link above? there's a block identification page with casting letter info, that might narrow it down.
I followed the link I will check the engine numbers when i get close to the motor later on this week right now its in the back of a truck 50 miles away from me.
This is a Y Block. Note the rear mounted and angled dizzy. Also the large front timing cover. I have a 55 Merc 292 here, it is an original red but FOMOCO often had different colors per model. Some year Ford pickups had yellow blocks and it was often popular to put Merc valve covers on a 239 or 272 and con your buddies into thinking you had a 312!
Ok so I'm going to ask the obvious, if you had a 50 year old engine, and you knew that a kid with a rattle can could have changed the color at any point in the last 50 years why would you go by color? Just curious I guess. Check the numbers and go from there. Its a lot less likely that the numbers have been changed than the paint.
I can usually spot an original paint job on an engine...and there are 50 years old engines with original paint on them still.
Didn't '57 and '58 Mercurys have an optional 368 Lincoln motor available? The Lincoln Y-block had a the same distributor set-up.
yeah, but the valve covers on the lincoln engine in the merc were red...he said his are yellow...and we know no sane person would paint valve covers yellow, so it can't be the Lincoln engine.
I'll have to dig up the pictures of my '55 Mercury's engine with its ugly, school bus yellow valve covers and air cleaner! I 'm not sure what the person was thinking when they did it. But, it was probably something like "That looks purty!"
Hey, in '54, Ford painted the block and heads yellow! What an excellent choice for something that's going to have oil leaking all over it.
Hey, I just saw a 66 Comet at a cruise that had yellow valve covers and air cleaner looking really original and it was a small block ford. Is it possible that they did this even later? I don't recall ever seeing yellow ford engines, but I never really paid that much attention.
57 only as the Marauder option, 58 was MEL 383/430. The 368 intake bolt lineup is different than the Ford and the Mercs all had rams horn dual exhaust (NOT Ford compatible); the casting # on block or intake can easily ID it. If any of those Lincoln derived Y Blocks were used in a big truck they often had a cross over exhaust pipe that went across the middle of the block snug against the timing cover. The various Y Block and F100 forums have some 100% pure restorers paranoid about engine colors. Ive seen yellow mentioned on all but never paid any attention to detail. Yeah, yellow is perfect on factory designed leakers!
So you can look under the hood of the pusher and tell me by the color of the block what its running? I didn't really think so. I didn't say that it couldn't have 50 year old paint on it. What I said is that the only sure way to tell what you got is to check the numbers. Trying to tell what an engine is by the color is just an ameture way to show that you really don't know much. Look at it this way, how many 272s over the years got T Bird rocker covers.
Hi! The yellow cover you have Came fr.o.m. A 292 mercury engine fr.o.m. 1955 have had many 55 mercs and all have yellow engine valvcovers and air cleaner!!!
I have two 292s from 1955 Mercurys and both had original banana pudding yellow paint on the block, heads, pan, oil pump, and oil-bath air cleaner Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
All Y-block Merc engines were embossed in block letters, not cursive. Aside from this, as other posters have said, all other things point to a '55 Merc 292. ---John
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