Y-Block vs. 350 etc. Reliabilty, Parts availability, etc..??

sorry if this has been covered many times before, but I'm looking
for some solid advice to show to a good friend of mine.....
looking for personal experiences and the like,
NOT a Ford vs. Chevy 'war' at all.... hahaha


He has a stock '56 Ford F-100 with a Y-block and 3-spd stick....

He needs a reliable drivetrain, so he can easily make a
1000 mile
round-trip drive, at decent freeway speeds, about once a month or so....

His Y-block runs strong but leaks oil pretty bad right now,
he's had a good leak in his radiator that has been repaired,
but other than that, he has had no major problems of any kind....

He is torn between doing a simple rebuild on the Y-block, (not a crazy hop-up),
replace his stock 2bbl carb/manifold with a stock 4bbl carb/manifold,
(he already has the stock 'rams-horn' exhaust too..!)
then get a better geared 9" rear end, and eventually M2 the
front, lower the rear, and adapt a T-5 to the Y-block....

OR

Drop in a fresh 350 Chevy and T-5, a better geared 9" rear,
then tackle the suspension....

my opinion, is that it would be easier, and cheaper,
to do the first option a step at a time, (engine rebuild first)
since he already has a decent running Y-block... then go from there...
plus I know you can adapt a stock bellhousing for the T-5
'relatively' cheap and easy... (not with the $700 adapter plate, haha)

but honestly,
is the 350 etc. option going to be WAY more reliable in the long run..??
would it be cheaper..?? easier..?? how/why..??

won't a basically stock rebuilt Y-block be strong and reliable..??
(esp. if you are really good about oil changes..?)
good gas mileage..?? fairly easy to get basic parts..??
still be able to do a burnout if he wanted to..?? hahaha


Now also keep in mind he is on a relatively tight budget,
lives in the middle of nowhere, and does not have a lot of tools,
or engine building experience at all...
But all that really means, is that somebody else will be
doing most of the work for/with him....


Let's hear some advice from either side, or boths sides,
by personal experience, or what you would do and why....

Thanks a lot...!!! -Snacks....

 

Ya know, I grew up in the 50's and I never, ever remember my Dad saying "I'd like to go on a trip but I'll have to wait for Chevrolet to invent the 350 engine so our car will be reliable enough to make it"....Geez, rebuild the Y-block, put in a 3.00 gear (or O/D) and drive it...Join the hundreds of thousands of Nailheads, Rockets, Hemis, Ponchos, Flatties, Blue Flames and such that, over the years, have given hundreds of millions of miles of trouble free driving to their owners...

 

The Y block is a stout motor & will easily outlive a SBC, in my opinion. Any engine thats been freshly rebuilt had better be reliable no matter what the brand. I'm dropping a 292 in my Studebaker & it will be my daily driver. I've had the 292 for over 8 yrs in my '64 F250 & it always starts right up & runs like a champ. The Y block & the inline 300 are the toughest engines Ford made!

 

I drove a 292 Y-block powered '56 T-bird to high school for a year and beat the **** out of it regularly. The only thing I can remember is that it leaked and burned oil... smoked a bit on start-up... but otherwise ran fine.

I can also remember waxing this dude in a Chevelle one day... he had a 283 in a big ol' four door Chevelle... waxed his *** good...

But after that, we did a hotrodification on the T-bird and I put a 351W, 9" rear and a C-6 in it... the only mistake being the C-6 ******... If I had it to do over, I'da put a C-4 in it... or a 350 SBC and a 700R4.

Sam.

 

You know, the point about the engines being reliable when they were new is excellent, and one missed by many.
Same thing with suspensions--King pins in '50s cars went for ever--why does everyone want to put Mustang II kits in everything? FatMan now has a swap for Mustang II front end in a '67-'69 Camaro, proving that modern hot rodding is more about getting all the sheep to move in the same direction.
Do a rebuild on the Y block (complete--new valves, seals and springs, bore it not just knock off the ridge and add new rings, etc: build a brand new engine), gear the 9-inch, update the clucth, new synchros in the trans, add a fan shroud to the radiator and a 5-blade fan (or more blades) and go.
The truck is almost 50 years old, and it's gone this far. Done right, it should go another 50 until the next rebuild.
-Brad

 

y-block, baby. My father had a '57 fairlane from his high school days until the Army grabbed him up. Then my aunt drover it a lot, then sold it. Wonderful car, and my father deserves most o' the credit cause he rebuilt the brakes, rebuilt part of the engine. Awesome engine, car.
-Crew

 

Well..........I had a 56 F100 (big window) years ago. It had 52 thousand original miles (1972)....... I lived in Charlotte NC. I drove it to Charleston SC a couple times a month. My 56 was a Ford-a-Matic. The Y block leaks, the rocker arms shafts are difficult to find. Cannot find parts on the road. I had a fuel pump die....waited two days in Charleston to get a pump (1972).....If it was a SBC, could have got one anywhere. Adjusting valves, leaking oil, sorry wore out pieces and limited parts on the road <font color="red"> SPELLS </font> Small Block Chevrolet.........hands down. I put a 69 Chevelle 350/350 in it. Also got a 59 F100 rear (9 inch) and a 3.00 gear.

People did drive them everywhere in the 50's, BUT there were mechanics at almost every service station or gargage too.........not so now. If you break down now........it's Auto Zone, Advance or the like.....which means you are screwed if your chain parts stores are like ours around here

 

i'd have to go for the more modern motor. go with the small block. it's a closed hood, anyway sowhat if it does have an sbc in it?

i have to go with parts availability in corporate, self serve gas station, no mechanic on every corner world.


jerry

 

What deuce roadster said.
Even my more 'modern' 235 Blue Flame is getting hard to find parts for. Every year less stuff is available from the chain stores.
Having said that I have driven my car on several 1000 plus mile round trips, one was 5000 miles. But the car did leave me stranded with a major breakdown in Baltimore. It was then that I would've loved to have had a SBC.
Forget the 'sheep' business, it's 2004 for crying out loud, even my ******** musician friends are ditching their tube amps in favor of solid states that only look old.

 

snacks....i drive the **** outta my t.t-5 will give that truck overdrive abilities to keep high revs down..will last forever.as for parts...i can get just about any part for my 272 yblock...alot of stuff from napa orielys or autozone.gotten gaskets,dizzy,fuel pump.rebuild kits on yblock.com.its still just a ford.i dont see why a yblock cant do the job...everybody gets pissy about sbc.seems to me sbc guys ride the excuse of reliabilty.i did blow a y block up.ive also seen blown up sbc.dont believe the hype.why not a sbf.....they are excellent motors.

 

I'm right in the middle on this one. I'm told that you can use a fuel pump, from an FE motor on a Yblock if you can't find the Y block specific one. I've never had a problem finding parts for my '55 Fairlane except for the damn pinion seal and rear axle bearings. Napa had the distributor, they always have the tune up parts, most of the gaskets, even if they don't you can just make 'em. I love the fact that you don't need to pull the distributor to change the intake on a Y block. And, running through some gl*** packs, they just sound cool.

That being said, I would hate to get to the middle of nowhere and have the water pump go out on me, I'm sure that isn't easy to find, even at NAPA. I would be alot more aprehensive about driving the Y block around the country than the 350 I have. Not sure why, just something in the back of my mind.

I also agree, a fresh motor is a fresh motor, however, my old car (now in OldCarPilot's stable) was a 350/350 and I beat the everlovin' **** out of it every day for 5 years. At the time, it was a 25- year old Stock motor, never been rebuilt, 100k-170k while I had it. It was the most reliable car I ever owned, probably because that particular model wasn't powerful enough to break anything.

So, I guess out of desperation, I'd probably use the SBC too. But like Jerry says, you don't need to show anyone. Save the Y block for a project that won't have fenders/hood. That's my plan.

 

Why only choose between a Y-block and a Chevy engine? A Ford 302 or 351W is just as reliable and easy to find parts for as a 350. And the myths about Ford engines being more difficult to install and parts being much more expensive don't hold up if you do a little research.

Although I still play my hot-rodded Telecaster through a tube amp, so maybe you should go with the Y-block.

 

(Shhhhssshhhhh...here's a secret...if you don't TELL the engine it's not supposed to be reliable...it won't know the difference...it will just go on about it's business as it has for years and years!!!)



Man, fix the y-block and keep it! By time you BUY a small block Chevy, BUY a T5 trans, BUY swap mounts, BUY headers, BUY a radiator, BUY all the little stuff needed to complete the swap, you could have rebuilt the original y-block and bought a spare to carry in the bed!

The y-block was maybe a little bit down on POWER compared to the small block Chevys, but they were smooth as silk and reliable to a fault! NO reason to swap one out and roll the dice on a new engine and trans when the stocker has proven itself over the last five decades...what MORE does it take to convince you??? MANY a 350 has been born and died as the world turned 'round and that y-block motored on...1000 miles ain't NOTHING to an engine like that!

 

Y BLOCK.

The only cross breeds that make sense are cl***ics that cannot be supported or cannot be hot rodded w/ engine of same make. Willys, Anglia, etc. Otherwise, Chevys get chevys, Fords get Fords, Mopar etc. Anything else is just *******ized.

The SBF is a good option to parameters in original question.

A Y Block is still a good rebuild. 2 years ago on original 292 made a 500 mile trip in my 56 Victoria. Last year used a $179.00 adapter and installed a beefed up Mustang T-5 to turn the stock 3.73 rear. Made several 300 mile trips to Dallas and ran the 1/8 mile drags @ 2004 Birdsapaloosa and drove home.

Now in final re***embly of a punched and stroked Y Block. 325 CID, 312 crank, balanced, big valve heads, headers, aluminum 4V intake, lopey cam - DAMN this thing is gonna be fun. Probably will be my daily driver after the AC is installed.

EVERY part is available for a Y Block, maybe not at the corner but available. Build the Y and if you are scaird to death a fuel pump or water pump will shut you down, put one of each in the vehicle. Contact Thunderbolt (www.tbolt.com) and you can get one built stock, mild or wild in Houston, freighted to you and send in the core.

TC

 

you know this is really a tough decision. The Y block has a big cool factor and it is already in the truck and running.

The chevy motor is still in the junk yard somewhere and probably not running.

You plan to rebuild either one no matter what so it doesnt matter about the chevy not running.

You say that he is out in the middle of nowhere. Even in the middle of nowhere you can get sbc parts. they are also cheaper. You know all the catalogs when they say "As Low As" they are talking about sbc. you can get a complete rebuild kit for both engines but the y block will cost twice to three times the price for all stock stuff. with the chevy you can get performance rebuildds for cheap.

the t-5 trans basically bolts to the chevy and needs to be adapted to the ford.

If he goes with the chevy try to get as complete a motor as possible. Trust me when I say that the little stuff like alternator brakets and power steering brakets if he has it. and distributor ans coil brackets and so on adds up really fast. so if he plans to use a manual trans buy a chevy motor that already has a flywheel and belhousing. If you buy it all in one deal it will be a lot cheaper in the long run.

I would say that reliability both engine would hold up well it is just a question of if hunting down the hard to find parts for the y block when it breaks down or goin to kragen to get the parts you know they will have for the sbc is what you want to do.

You can probably build a 350 to 400 horsepower 350 for the price you will pay to build a stock y block.

I hope this helps. I tried to keep as much of my opinion out of this as I could and give you the facts.

Again this is a closed hood vehicle and the y block could be real cool in an open air vehicle.

Keep us updated on what happens and feel free to ask more questions.

SLAMIT

 

i think john should get off of his dead *** and post and intro and ask his own questions. ..............now as i love y-blocks and agree they can be just as reliable as the small block chevy.....i would have to say the sbc is the choice for him......he really does live in the middle of nowhere and ya can't just go to the auto parts place up the street now days and get parts for they-blocks.......he could always do the swap and save the running y-block for a later project....like an open car so you can see it..............just my.02............call me dude.....

 

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............call me dude.....

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Hey, Dude!

 

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I had a fuel pump die....waited two days in Charleston to get a pump (1972).....If it was a SBC, could have got one anywhere.

[/ QUOTE ]

If you woulda asked for a fuel pump for an F series truck w/ a 390, you'd have been back on the road in 30 minutes.The fuel pump in my 292 is one for a '74 F250 w/ a 390, according to the parts house. Works perfect- been in there since about '96 or so.

But in 1972, the Y woulda been out of production for only 8 yrs, so I don't understand why it was so hard to get back then.

 

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But in 1972, the Y woulda been out of production for only 8 yrs, so I don't understand why it was so hard to get back then.

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I'd say that he was probably at a Checker auto parts, but I don't think they go as far east as Charlston.

 

Wow guys, thanks for all of the responses..!! Seriously....

I totally understand both sides here, but my initial thought
is/was to just rebuild what he has, make it fresh and reliable,
and yeah, keep a spare 'this 'n' that' around 'just in case'....
Also, that way there would be much less modification and/or
time involved, plus less new (new=$$$) parts to buy etc....

I'll be showing him all of this in the next couple days or so,
he's on his way up here as I type..!!

and yes Donnie, I'll call you dude....


Thanks again everybody, and keep it coming..!!!
I/We really appreciate it...!!

Later, Snacks....

 

Coolness factor; 350..0
Y block..6

 

Build the Y-block! If it does break U-Haul will rent you a trailer and a truck to tow it home in a pinch.

 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I had a fuel pump die....waited two days in Charleston to get a pump (1972).....If it was a SBC, could have got one anywhere.

[/ QUOTE ]

If you woulda asked for a fuel pump for an F series truck w/ a 390, you'd have been back on the road in 30 minutes.

[/ QUOTE ]



<font color="red">True story........

About 12 years ago, some friends and I were going to the NSRA Nats in Columbus. Riding in a 67 Chevelle.......283.......standard shift. In Beckley WV, it died. It kicked the fuel pump off the side of the block....at 3 AM in the morning. About 10 minutes later the WV highway patrol shows up. He calls a "road service junk yard man" and he shows up about 10 minutes later. He has a used SBC fuel pump </font> <font color="red"> In 25 to 30 minutes we were riding. </font>

Not being a Ford Y block man.......I asked for a 56 F100 292 fuel pump.......at the NAPA store. I called around and got the same answers.......not in stock.


.

 

When I was driving my '54 Buick everyday in Florida a couple years ago, NAPA had the water pump, dizzy, points/etc., master cylinder rebuild kit, wheel cylinders, and brake shoes. Those are the only things I asked about, and if they didn't have them in stock, they could get it by 3:00 that day if I asked in the morning, or by the next morning if I got there after 3pm.
A storage compartment under the seat would surely hold a water pump, fuel pump, spare generator (if you convert to alternator, see NAPA for a replacement), and maybe a carb rebuild kit. Think about what could break that would strand you that's an easy parking lot fix, and pack a spare. There aren't too many things that fit that list, so you wouldn't be filling the bed of the truck or anything. Then keep a good basic tool kit in there, and have at it.
-Brad

 

Some have made the point that if you have a water pump or fuel pump or some other part go out on the Y block you are stranded. I do not plan ahead much but I carry a spare water pump, fuel pump, distributor cap, points, etc. with me to avoid this problem with a mopar. The bigger the trunk, the more spare parts. I had a Y block in a truck for several years. Great motor, fun to work on and sounded great. I would go with the Ford all the way. Neal

 

Its like this any engine is reliable if ***embled correctly..as far as parts...I think alot of half way decent parts stores stock parts for Y Blocks...ie. tune up,gaskets,fuel pumps.water pumps...the parts stores i wored at kept all that on the shelf...as far as price differences..not much more than a Chevy to build and maintain...thats my two cents..

 

Distributor from NAPA are about 85$ reman
Water pumps are freely available,
Rocker arm shafts are about $19
Fuel pumps same as FE freely available

Your choice ultimately but I am biased

 

i just pcsted that my y-block die this week-end on the way to a meet never realy had any problems with this y-block it was the best motor i ever had but not that luck with others with them napa had or got the parts next day i,m in same boat as you look for a y-block or a 390 big block or put a sbc in it

 

I just read this whole thread before I realized it was six years old.

Did he do the y block or the Chevy?

 

keep a ford in a ford.