Technical A Kid's First Project: 1957 Fairlane 500 Town Victoria.

Do a compression test.

Inspect the plugs, look for oily plugs. This will help identify the offending cylinder/cylinders.

Forget about the PCV stuff, that’s just more oddball **** to fool with. It’s not going to help your problem.

If you have decent compression, it may ****ing oil down the guides. It’s been a long time since I have been in a Y but new umbrella seals can work wonders.

This car has sat for years. Personally I suspect stuck rings and bad seals. Double check for anywhere or anyway it may be ****ing oil.

A new set of gaskets, a cylinder hone, set of rings, a good cleaning, lapped valves and new seals should do wonders.
Personally, I would park it and go through if it’s losing a quart every 40 miles.

 

theres a rural machine shop near me that rebuilt my sisters vw beetles head, they did a good job so i figured id give them a shot. most of the engines misc has been done, id need new valves, and guides, seals are new, springs are new, pushrods are new, etc.

for setting ring gap, im hoping i can get away with "pre gap" rings.

also, for now im staying Y block, i already have so much invested in this might as well stay Y until a 427 FE falls into my lap.

 

new seals, its just leaking out the road draft, which research says it could be due to nothing other than the tube itself having issues. they mounted the tube really really low on the 54-59 fords, so any amount of extra pressure will blow oil out the road draft.

the only other place its leaking is the occasional drip from the rear main.

otherwise, its the road draft is where its coming from.

compression test is on the list of things ive done, it was all in the 12x range other than number 1, which was in the 10x range

 

the reason im suspecting its something new related to the road draft is because it wasnt this bad until after i drove it in june. when i drove it in november of 2023 it leaked NOWHERE NEAR as much oil, and basically none came from the road draft. which leads me to suspect it is the issue. part of the issue is that im pretty sure its also leaking from _around_ the road draft can pretty heavily, going to try adding a washer to the top of the can and tightening it up some.

it hasnt always done this. previously it was getting around 200 miles per quart, but ever since the road draft decided it was time to chuck as much oil as possible full force onto the ground, its lost a LOT more.

 

Haven't read the leak info in detail, but does your road draft tube still have the screen/filter installed? that could cause a big increase in oil loss as it is supposed to trap it and return to the pan.

 

OK…..
Compression test shows 120lbs except for #1 which shows 100lbs.
Is that correct?
Is this a recent test?
Have you done a wet test? A wet test is squirting oil down plug hole to see how that raises compression.

Did you notice oily plugs?

120 pounds of cylinder pressure I would consider good, 100lbs is fair.

As far as road draft……
It should not loose that much oil through the tube.

Get a flat piece of cardboard, a tarp or maybe even an old sheet, lay it on the ground under the car and run the car for several minutes. Stay with it.
The cardboard or whatever should catch oil and help pinpoint the area of loss.

As mentioned by KenC the road draft should have a screen and it should be clean. The oil filler tribe and cap should have a screen in the cap. All that stuff needs to be clean and clear.
There should be a gasket for the tube connection. There could be sludge or trash blocking the oil drain holes causing oil to be pulled into the draft tube.
It’s worth a shot but it could be as simple as cleaning stuff up, making sure stuff is clear and ***embling it correctly with the correct gaskets and hardware.

 

That much oil comes out the road draft tube for one reason, you can keep telling yourself otherwise but that won't make it true.

 

...i dont think there was a gasket... im going to need to check that.

however at work i added a washer and tightened down the can. the road draft has since gone from a stream to just a drip every couple minutes... fixed maybe... still puffy but no more oil stream.


in other news i got pulled over today!

reason? loud exhaust, no seatbelt, and "expired plates"

they made me change out the plate to the historical instead of model year.

i changed it back after they left, i paid the registration for a model year plate im gonna use a model year plate!

compression test was done shortly after i got the car. after doing the valve seals i checked my plugs after running it for a few hours and the only really oily plugs on number 8 and number 6 have been resolved.

 

yeah... im trying to wish away the issues at this point.

im certain it needs rings and a valve job... just needs to last this weekend

 

the leak is mostly gone????

i know this sounds like ******** but the dripping has stopped after i tightened up the cap after adding a second washer. whaaaaat????

okay apparently the cap just wasnt sealing so instead of draining back it was pouring out... neat?

 

Great to hear! road trip!
Did they actually write you up for seat belts? Not required equipment in 1957.
If you have the time, I'd suggest fighting the whole thing. However, I also know that this will put a target on your back, and they can charge you more fighting than just the stupid fine. It's your call.

I hate that civilians can't claim ignorance of the law, but police are held to the good faith doctrine which refers to the principle that police actions are considered lawful if they are based on a reasonable belief that the law is being followed.

 

i silver tongued the **** out that cop, didnt get a single fine! the most serious offense to them was the model year plate for some reason. they said "its illegal to run such an old plate" i just said "sir it isnt, i have paperwork to prove it" "i dont believe this, ive never seen it, are you going to keep telling me how to do my job?" "no sir, i have no idea what your job is like, i just know my own personal experiences and what i did to get this car road legal." "fine, just swap this tag onto it to make it legal again" (i swapped it)...

they leave, i get back out, and swap it back immediately lol.

the loud exhaust is evidently juuuust quiet enough too.

seatbelt was easy because it has to be original manufacturer equipment.

 

oil level hasnt dropped since yesterday... maybe i'll get 200 miles per quart!

wishful thinking, i know lol.

 

I was looking at a 69 roadrunner when I was 17, my dad asked a buddy used car salesman to look at it before I bought it.
All he did was start the engine, removed the breather cap from the valve cover, placed his hand over the opening reved the engine. Looked at me and said this engine is tired and worn out.
He said there shouldn’t be that much pressure.

 

i did get it for what would have been 100 bucks 52 years ago to be fair. car needs a lot of love. i could have bought a seriously nice one with how much this one has in it lol.

 

Personally I wouldn’t be that concerned, simply keep the oil level up.
I’ve had cars that I replaced the filter and threw a qt in instead of draining it out.
It was a constant oil change

and to note, I didn’t buy that roadrunner, that salesman found me a 67 Camaro, and it had a good engine.

 

I went to HS with a group that drove to Florida for Easter break in an old Chevy wagon with an awful oil leak. It had a bunch of busted valve cover bolts.

There and back, 27 quarts of oil. We did get the broken bolts out in shop cl***.

 

upon completion of the trip to and from lloydfest, we are returning to our regularly scheduled programming in this thread.

update: the exhaust leak DID get worse and it even blew the gasket out, coincidentally i also called the exhaust shop today, theyre very busy but he'll work me in on the 10th...

of October. hes very well renound in the area and technically this is my birthday gift from APRIL so im glad to finally use it

 

Good stuff
How did I miss this thread?
Dan

 

its pretty old in terms of continuous threads and VERY long lol

 

For the exhaust leaks/gasket blowout - You need flat surfaces and even bolt clamping.
Flat can be done high dollar by having the head and manifold surfaced, or just using a block (flat metal preferred) and some 80 grit. Plug the head ports so the junk doesn't go in the engine.
Bolt clamping means clean threads in the head and the bolts, making sure the bolts aren't stretched and the right length, then tightened evenly. Fresh lock washers (if used) with sharp edges that haven't been heat cycled longer than those cops have been alive will help too.
If you have some way to spot face the area where the bolt head clamps, it will at least make you feel like you have done everything possible.

 

the manifold to head isnt leaking, its the flange where the previous shop messed it up and wouldnt warranty it

 

I don't know if Remflex sells exhaust gaskets for your Y-block but you might want to call them on it. They aren't cheap but they will seal, the bolts won't back out, and you won't have any more exhaust leaks.

 

Good info, but his issue is the manifold to pipe.

 

Ohhhh. They sell those too.

 

BTW, I understand now why the road draft system on this car might leak oil!
I went back looking for the exhaust part of the story and found this.

 

oh yeah its right at the crank case lol. thats the main issue with this era of ford road draft. leaking oil with any extra pressure is a given.

 

the first day i drove the 96 the tire blew on the way into work... guess the 57 isnt quite done with me yet in spite of the exhaust gasket. note: there is a HUGE torque loss.

gasket pictured here lol.

 

hit a big pothole on the way home from my girlfriends yesterday. heard bad noises and now the car drives funny. wuh oh.

big clunks when going around turns... gonna need to investigate