I was wondering if these engines are any good? I dont know much about em but they seem to look right in a old school car. I want to run one in my daily driver but do they make good power? Are they dependable? are the parts easy to find? Or should I just put a 351 in?
Don't tell Curtis Turner they won't run like a che ( I can't say that word ) With a little tweaking and modern day oils (clean) they will suprise you. Nothing sounds better through a set of gl*** packs than a Y-Block.
Dependable? Well millions of Fords from '54 'till '62 ran 'em and I don't remember any more Fords broke down on the side of the road than Chevys, Oldsmobiles or the like... A local Milwaukee area racer named Frank Smith beat the snot outta dozens of Chevys (and Fords Pontiacs and Mopars) on the local dirt tracks in the 60's using Y-blocks and a few FE's...he won seven consecutive track championships at Hales from 1965 to 1971...I think that's pretty good considering the incredible fields of cars at Hales in those days...It was nothing to see 125 plus cars in the pits each Saturday nite...
I agree they do sound good. I'm putting a 272 tri-power with a 4 speed in my A model coupe. If your planning on putting one in a A with deuce rails (or a Amodel frame) it can be a lil rough. Its a real tight fit and not much room for a big steering box. I also had to cut my fire wall alot. But they do look real cool and nostalgia.
I don't have any in a daily driver, but I do have them in my Model A PU and my 57 Ford Wagon. Both cars have been driven long distances, always start, run cool, and have never let me down. Oil pressures have been good. Yes the rockers are noisey, but that's just part of them. And I have generators on both. The 312 in the A has a 4spd toploader behind it, and the 292 inthe wagon has an FMX. Neither are break-neck drag racers, but they will hold their own with smaller displacement engines with similar hopping. Parts are still available. You can get starters, water pumps, fuel pumps, dizzies, etc thru Napa still. I say go for it!!
The one that came out of the box I bought at Napa or Carquest or wherever. I dunno the application I told them. Probably 62 truck or something. Probably 2-3 years ago.
Do what you want. If you want a 351, put it in. I love the -Y-. The bottom ends are strong as hell, and everyone likes tinkering with valvetrain, right? I've a 292 in a daily driven Ranchero that I just bought, and I'm gonna put a 272 in my 34 pickup project. Hop up stuff is still "reasonable" for them, though I can see them becoming the next Nailhead/Rocket/Hemi/Flathead as far as prices/fads are concerned.
I've been driving my '57 for over ten years. Replaced the 272 with a mild 292 about six years ago. Nothing sounds like a Y-block with gl***packs. It's dependable as hell and certainly different.
1. The Y kicked Chevy *** in NASCAR in 55-57 but the design limited going much beyond a 312 so the FE was developed as the HP leader. The FE is also a Y design. 2. The Y uses solid lifters fer crissakes, of course theyre noisy. 3. Only reason for oiling problems is ***holes of the day using cheap **** and never changing it. Run a modern 20W50 and they will run forever. 4. www.ford-y-block.com and also Reds Headers have a lot of Y stuff as well as loads of tech data. Several good forums also. 5. They cost more than a SBF to build but so does everything else out of the belly ****on mainstream. 6. I run a warmed up 292 with Edelbrock 573 and 3 94's in my 54 F350. Building a hot 292 as a 60 over 312 for a nostalgia Altered drag car. By turning a 312 crank down to 292 journals you regain the block strength lost in the original 312. 7. If you want a screamer take a 292 and put in a 239 crank. Comes in as a 264 and will wipe any nostalgia 265 Chevy in that cl***. 8. Block walls are THICK. A 272 or 292 can easily be taken out to 312 bore +060. So can the 256. Sonic test before going big bore. The 292 and 312 shared the same block castings and the only absolute way to tell is look at the mains caps. The 292 is EBU, the 312 is ECZ. Late production engines and factory replacement cranks do not follow the oft quoted dimples and crescent ID's. 9. The 292 was used thru 64 in trucks, 62-64 F600's had forged cranks and are referred to as the 292HD. 10. There are plenty of interchangabilities between Y's however there are head intake and exhaust port differences to be aware of if you are going for the best combos. Offy manifolds ****, Edelbrock late 553 and all 573's are excellent flow. Still reasonable on Ebay. The Blue Thunder 4bbl is a giant step over the stock late intake but not really necessary on an average street ride. The stock intake can easily be cleaned up to flow very good; $50-75 gets you nice ones. 11. Trannies are a stumbling block for many. The Y is a torquer so it can do a world of hurts to a 39 ******. Anything Ford up to a 60's 4spd toploader will bolt on or easily adapt. Wilcap or others probably have adapters to a Muncie or Saginaw. Adapters to a C4 are available but pricey. Ford only offered the Y with Fordomatic or Cruiseomatics and Merc equivalents, never the FMX. However there are plenty of articles on marrying a CruiseO and FMX. 12. The Holley Lodomatic dizzy was used thru 56 and on some 57 272's. It was designed to work with the Ford Holley 2 & 4 bbls which provided venturi vacuum, NOT manifold vacuum. Ford switched in 57 and dizzies are downward compatible with the later style carbs/intakes or early/intakes drilled for a manifold vacuum port. I ran a stock 239 for several years with a late dizzy and the original 94 carb. Drilled the intake & plugged the carb port. Major improvement in performance and gas mileage. Any questions? Ask away. Past my bedtime, be back tmw.
Former Y-block owner here. Here's my 57 Fairlane on a run to Death Valley in the mid 1980's. Swapped the Fordomatic for an original 3 speed column shift with overdrive. Made several trips to LA and Sacramento with it too.
"Why not a Y-block" man there are great! Totally unique sound, running a 56 board .030, 4 94's on a u-fab manifold bolted to a top loader 4 speed, in my Model A coupe, Got over 8ooo trouble free miles on it , gets 17 miles to the gallon on the road. They are Kool!
My old man ran em back in the day. He used to say a stock Y-block could run right with a stock Chevy comparably equiped. People who say otherwise are Chevy lovers, and would never admit it. Here the one I run in my 57: 272 block punched out .080 over Mummert Y-274F cam, ECZ-G heads and the intake setup you see, T-10 4 speed. It runs pretty strong, which makes me believe my old man was right. A shot with a friends 3x2 setup for laughs:
Y Blocks are definately the best sounding, two guys in the Injectors run Y's; a T bucket an a 33 sedan, both sound awesome and the bucket has straight pipes that are music to my ears. Here is the supercharged dual quad Y in Mike's C-dan
Just curious as to who made that blower manifold for the Y-block(production or home built). Any facts would really help me out, since I recently bought a trans adapter from unclescooby, and have a line on a freeby running 292. I plan to get this setup in my 3 window soon. Any specs(pullys, belt(s) etc.) on the help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Drew
Here's my Y block experience.(But I'm a chevy guy so take it FWIW) Bought a 63 C700 single axle dump, 5sp trans,2sp axle,10.00X20 gum-dipped Firestones,292 or 312 never really knew except it was the original motor,$700 this was 1977. Drove it(loaded) from Ohio to Florida. Spent the next 20 years beating the snot out of it. Don't know how many times I came out of the asphalt plant weighing 22,000 lbs. OK It did eventually burn the exhaust manifolds off (monster looking rams horns) but the local Ford dealer still hadem.Yes I couldn't get more than 6 months to a year outta the plug wires cause they would burn up too. Couple fuel pumps,quickie carb rebuild,and run the valves once it a blue moon.Couldn't kill it(and believe me I tried). Sold it in 97 $700 and it went to a farm in Ga. still wearing the gum-dipped Firestones on the rear. As of a couple years ago it was still in service. The Yblock certainly has my respect.
Like any 40+ year old engine, some parts are easy to find, others aren't. Speed parts are still available, for a price. New speed parts are also being manufactured. They run forever, they're noisey, heavy, and my 292 gets better gas mileage than the 6 cylinder in my 93 Wrangler! You're kinda screwed in the ****** department. ****** adapters are sometimes more expensive than a good used later model ******. I have a 2bbl on my 292, and I can still squeek the tires. Someday, when I grow up, I'll put my tri-power on there like the rest of the big boys. This is one of those things were you either like them, or you don't. Do a search to see all the past arguments over this.
A couple of major magazines ran an article a few years back on a Y-block build up. They told how to adapt an FMX to the early Cruiso bellhousing.
Here is another slant on the CruiseO/FMX marriage. It also references the SR article. http://www.y-blocksforever.com/html/fmxupgrade.html Id also like to hear more about that blower manifold, Ive been searching for years for one.
My personal experiance with the FMX as written in SR was total ****. It was no where near as bolt in as Doc wrote. I had to have a custom torque convertor made (by Phoenix transmission in TX - I highly recommend these guys) and ended up spending overall more than if I had gone with a C4 adapter. My advice is to NOT use an FMX.
There are always going to be those who want to be "trad"; Ive looked carefully at 3 different FMX mods but the size and weight were a big factor. In my case it will most certainly be a C4, race prepped. The biggest plus besides size is that anything you want for a C4 from stock to wild is readily available.
I like standards, so a C4 or an FMX wouldn't even be a consideration since a small input top loader will bolt right up to a standart y-block bell. Just my personnal preference, and adapters are available to run an early ford. I think Wilcap even makes a T-5 adapter for them, although I'd have to look into that one. Drew
My girlfriend went the route of having her 292 Y rebuilt mild (1/2 race) for her 61 fairlane (fullsize) instead of the sbf route. Alot of the local ppl talk smack about her motor, but I'll respect thier opinion more when they can keep up with it.
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