1952-59 Ford Finally Giving a Little Love to Ruth

Interesting. Thanks so much for the commentary. Since I won't be fuel injecting any of my old cars, I suspect I could likely still see longer life just in the better formulations of oils. To that point, the current 292 in my car really isn't as worn out as I would have expected considering it is at almost 120k miles. My main reason for a rebuild of the 312 is somewhat related to the fact that the current 292 leaks out of pretty much every gasket other than the valve covers that have been re-sealed.

I also have read that the better oils make a big difference in the oil starvation issue in valvetrain that y-blocks were plagued with as well. I ***ume there is some validity in that?

 

Yes the oil issue to the top end from the third cam bearing will be helped by the newer oil formulations and if you install a PCV system and remove the road draft tube it will reduce the possibility of sludge formation as well. There is an excellent write up on the top end oiling I believe in John Mumert's Y-Block (could have been Tim McMaster) on how to improve the oil to the top end by either cutting a groove in the block behind the third cam bearing or deepening the groove in the cam at the same location. Then remove the oil return from the rocker arms and block the holes to provide full pressure to the rocker arm shafts. As far as the leaks, that is the reason I don't have a Y-Block in my 55 anymore. I couldn't find enough corks in the state of Oregon to plug up all the holes. The 302 in the car now has been leak free for 5 years, not to mention everything to rebuild it was about 1/2 the price. I have no issues with how the Y-Blocks run however and they have a distinct sound all thier own. Mark

 

Mark, another advantage of the electronic fuel injection coupled with engine management is fuel economy and power. I recently bought an F150 with the twin turbo 3.5 Eco Boost engine. Great towing power and fuel economy in the 20s on 87 octane fuel in a full size crew cab pickup.
That was unheard of in the good old days. However, I still use carburetion on all of my old stuff.

 

NOSFORD..............Absolutely wonderfully explained! Thanks for posting that info, I always wondered about the logevity of todays motors compared with old.

 

Yeah, all my old stuff has Edelbrock carbs. Hell, I still have a couple with points! My old cars are lucky to see 2000 miles a year anymore. At one time I was all about NOS, I kept everything stock but as I got older I started changing safety items, dual master cylinders, disc brakes, better radiators with electric fans, 12V with alternators, etc..

 

Same here regarding the safety items. My cars are a lot faster than they were originally and our drag strip has a fairly short shutdown area.

 

Got the stance a little better putting in some 3" dropped Posies springs. Rockers measure exactly level front to rear. However, not a lot of clearance in the rear. I will likely end up with air shocks or helper bags or something to make sure that I can haul stuff in the trunk for road trips, etc.

 

Let me know what your process is for getting those rear wheels off with the dropped springs once you get to that point.

 

I haven't tried yet, but the wheels are only 5" wide and I am running 6.70-15's which is way better than trying to get the 205/75/15's off that were on it mounted on the original wheels before. I had to let all the air out of those to wiggle them on or off. Pretty sure I can get these out aired up without too much issue, but will report back.

 

Ahh, yeah that will be different then. I have the 205/75/15s on mine. It requires unhooking the lower spring mounts and letting the shackles flip.

 

I solved the tire removal problem on the 54 by puting shock extensions on that let the axle drop just enough

 

I have 255/65 x 15 tires on 8" rims on the rear of my '55. I jack both sides of the frame and let the axle hang down. No problem getting them on/off.

 

I put a rear end from a 97 Blazer under my 56, 4 inches narrower than stock. I'm running 235/60/15s on 8 inch wheels and jack mine up by the axle and take the tires off.
I'm getting too old to mess with shock extensions and letting the air out of my tires.

 

Got it outside yesterday so my son could use the lift. Definitely sits lower although may be a little exaggerated where it is parked. Picking up a free 292 today for the heads.

 

Got the 292 and some other stuff too…

 

Looks like a 1960 or newer so it's got the better distributor and possibly better heads.

 

Pulled it out of a 59 and it has one 113 head and what appears to be one ECZ-C.

 

Yeah, heads got swapped around a lot through the years.

 

I bought a 59 F100 with a 292 and a truck 4 speed for cheap many years ago. It ran but not well, I drove it home and dug into it as I had to have it smog tested in Calif at that time and no was it would p*** as it was. Discovered a dead hole with no compression, burned exhaust valve. Grabbed some tools and bee lined to the local Pick-A-Part auto wrecker and found several Y-Block trucks and a couple cars. Grabbed a head from a F100 that already was missing the intake manifold, had it off in about 20 minutes, flipped it over and it looked like the valves were good. Took it home (for $20 as I remember) and had the truck running that night, p***ed smog the next day. Never even thought to look at a casting number or anything other than it was a Y-Block and not a 239. So yes, they did get heads swapped around a lot back when. I had that truck for 35 years, just sold it last year. Mark

 

Picture of my old F100 not too long after I got it. Paid $300 for it in 1989, it had a 4:11 rear gear in it with a granny 4 speed. The thing would climb trees in first but was only good for about 55 on the freeway. I was swapping out the pumpkin for some 3:00 gears in the picture. Mark

 

Cool pickup. I had a couple 60’s years ago. You had yours back before many were paying any attention to those pickups.

 

Yeah, I've had a few. People made fun of them and called them refrigerator style when everyone was building F1s but I liked them.

 

I had a 1965 C30 Chevy truck with 5.38 gears, wound up tight by 45... but it would haul #4500 of s**** steel without breathing hard.