Advice on Buying This Y-block 292?

I’ll try to keep this short.

I’m thinking about buying this 292 I found on Craigslist near me. My plan is to swap it out with the very worn out 292 that's currently in my '64 F100 so that I can take my time rebuilding the original motor. I need to keep this truck on the road, as its my driver and gets me to school and work. Here’s the link to the ad: http://providence.craigslist.org/pts/896592639.html

I talked to the guy over the phone, and he said that he pulled the engine out of a 1962 F100 4x4 with around 60,000 miles. The reason why he pulled it was because the rest of the truck was all rotted away, and he was planning to drop this motor in the place of the straight 6 in his 1961 F100. According to him, the last time it ran was about half a year ago. He says that the motor ran great though, and it doesn’t leak or smoke at all. It has a 4bbl Holley, and the motor is complete air cleaner to oil pan. It comes with the bellhousing too (not sure what kind though since its out of a 4x4).

Basically, I wonder what you guys think about this engine? Does it sound like a fair deal? Obviously I’m going to go and look it over before I fork over the $300, but I figured I’d ask here for any advice first.

Are there any specific things I should look for on the engine to be able to better guess its real condition?

Thanks a lot for all the help! --Matt

 

Buying an engine that is out of a car and you can't hear it run is always a gamble. Y Blocks are no exception. Rear main seals were always a problem with these engines as well as oil drain holes and oil supply holes to the rockers in the heads. Pull the valve covers and see how clean. If real cruddy, probably has the oil problem.

If the engine has been laying in one spot for awhile, check the ground at the rear main area. If its oil soaked badly, it probably has the main seal problem.

They usually always leaked a little at the rear main seal, if the ground only has a little oil stain it may not be too bad.

 

I just wrote a respond to you hit a ****on and erased it so I'm going to make this
short.
Was givin 1 motor from Corbie from the Shifters CC, Michigan it had a crack in it what gave it away was when we pulled the head off and found one cylinder was steamed cleaned.
Found another motor on craig's list out of a f100 4x4 with 60,000 for $500 pulled the heads sent them out found a crack . Between both motors was able to build one good motor. There are no guarantees buy some gaskets pull the heads and inspect the cylinders.
There are pictures of the 58 f100 project that 1lowtruck and I have been work on the last few months. Were building it for my wife and were almost finished. She is on the HAMB under Diamond 49. Good luck with your project and if you have any question PM me.

 

One Battery, engine stand and radiator.

Fire it up.
Or just do the compression test.
300 for a y-block with all those parts is not really a bad deal.
The 312/292 from the the 54-57 years were prone to crack.
The 292 58-62 were the best blocks to use.
The crank is also steel in the truck 292 58-62's. They also came with the one piece rear main.

 

Just bought a 292 out of some home made tractor a farmer down the street from my shop had. It had not run in 20+ years. It took about 5 minutes and it runs perfect, aside from the car needing to rebuilt.. I would take the gamble..

 

Cool, thanks for all the advice guys.

I doubt the seller will let me tear apart his engine before I hand him the money, so I'll probably have to pull the heads off when I get home. However, I have a question about that: If I pull the heads off, is there anything specific involved in putting them back on properly? Is it as easy as I might think it is; just change the gasket and bolt it all back together? I've never really worked on an engine before besides basic maintenance and cleaning, so I don't know what all the standard procedures are for stuff like this.

Thanks again. --Matt

 

There is a book on rebuilding a Y-block. Get this before you attempt any repairs.
Knowledge is key here.
You may be diving into more work than you need.
Pulling the heads may not be required.
How about a compression test?
How about spraying the cylinders with marvel mystery oil. Rotate the engine threw the 4 cycles. Ge the ring freed up and working.
Clean the varnish from the carb bowls. Check the points.
Change the oil.
See if it will fire. You could save yourself a ton of cash here. A y-block rebuild is not cheap.
If the enigine does have only 60k on the clock....this engine may have another 60K.
Eventually the heads will have to be pulled for hardened seats and a valve job....cause basically lead gas has been gone for quite a while.
Go with the simple approach.

 

Spark plugs. Pull them and inspect them they will tell you a lot about the condition of the cylinder they came out of. If there brand new or the seller wont let you pull them he's hiding something. He also should not object to you pulling a rocker cover, if its all sludged up I would p***. Mike

 

Thanks for the warning. I was just replying to tiger mark about inspecting the cylinders... I wasn't planning on doing much else besides pulling the heads to check out the innards and then putting them back on. That is, of course, unless there is obviously something visibly wrong in there...

I will of course do all the things you mentioned though; change the oil, run a compression test, clean out the carb, clean the distributor (I'll swap in my Pertronix unit), change the plugs, etc. etc. etc...

 

Whenever someone asks me how much such-and-such engine is worth, my standard answer is $50. Unless you can hear it run, inspect the internals, or get a money-back garauntee from the seller, that's too big of a gamble for me to throw money at. I don't know about you, but I'm not exactly a rich man. If the engine truly is in good running order, then as long as you offer to provide new head gaskets and re-***emble, the owner shouldn't have a problem with you pulling the heads. If he does, move on... There's probably a reason.

I just rebuilt a nice low-mileage y-block not too long ago. As mentioned above, check the rear main area for excess oil leakage, check under the valve covers and in the valley for sludge build up. That's probably the main issue with these engines, poor/non-existant PCV setup/poor maintenance coupled with small oil p***ages in the rockers and drainback holes in the heads caused top-end wear. Good luck!

 

Books to get Ford Y Block by Eickman J. and Chilton.
Y-Block; will give you helpful hints like removing oil feeder lines and plugging them to redirect the flow of oil for better rocker lubrication etc.
Chilton; Show you all the proper patterns and torque which if my memory is correct is 70lb.

From my experience there not cheap to rebuilt but it,s worth being different.
Do like the other HABMers said as far as your basic and take the gamble that it's a good motor when you are ready to rebuilt the present motor is my advise but if you are not ready (money) and your motor is decent I let sleeping dogs lie.
PM me if you get stumped and I'll do my best to get you a answer.

 

Matt,
Check out my profile . There are two albums on the 58 f 100.

 

That's one pretty motor Diamond!

 

300 bucks for a running Y-block isn't that bad of a deal....the one your looking at is a dressed runner with a truck bellhousing? I'd say its fair money for what it is. However, since your on a time and budget constraints I'd check into it a little more before you jump. Try to get more history on the motor. Last rebuild, valve job, etc...if any. Most Y-blocks were sludge makers when run on older oils back in the day....expect to see some sludge....expect to see all the Y-block rocker/valvetrain wear issues as well.

Another thing to think about is to ask if it was in a plow truck (based on your location). 60,000 miles in forward means plenty of miles in reverse when cleaning out driveways and parking lots. 60K on the odometer could easily be an easy 80-100K on the motor.

'Runs well' can be a relative term. If it smokes less than your motor, has better compression than your motor and runs as good as or better than your motor than its likely that it'll buy you some time to rebuild the one currently in your truck.

-Bigchief.

 

pull out the plugs and inspect them first as that will tell you lots about the motor. compession test and pulling the valve cover. don't get in a hurry or you could burn yourself. do you know somebody you could pay to go with you to help check out the motor. unless i can drive a vehicle that motor is a core as they can really change how they run when under a load. buyer beware! good luck.

 

Find out what heads and block it is by the casting numbers. If they are the desireable pieces, it's well worth the $300. I got a Y-Block from a '58 F-100, turned out to be the good C2AE block and the posted 471 Heads that are the exact same as the '57 Supercharged heads. Not the best block & heads available, but much more desireable than the majority of the others that escaped the crusher.