I have a 1954 mercury monterey with a stock y block in it that is toast. I found a guy locally with a 312 out of a 56 ford truck that he says runs really well. He is pulling it out for a more modern drive train. Supposedly, the motor was rebuilt awhile ago but has very few miles on it. I'm going to look at it today. Will the 312 have the same bell housing pattern as the 239? I'm aware that most of the extraneous parts will have to be swapped from the 239 to the 312, but will I run into any major headaches? I'm aware that the 56 distributors are junk and need to be swapped to a petronix unit. I also know that the oil pans will need to be swapped. Any other advice would be appreciated.
Outside of a few external pieces I think it is pretty well a drop in. Ford guys swapped the Y blocks back and forth on a regular basis back in the late 50's and up through the 60's.
The problem with the 1956 and earlier distributors is the fact that they have no mechanical advance - they are the Load A Matic and use vacuum advance and vacuum retard. You need to use a 57 and newer distributor, and then put the PerTronix in that. You will also want to get rid of the T-Pot carb on the early motor and go to a conventional style 4 barrel.
I think your big differences are oil pan, maybe water pump and mounts and exhaust manifolds. I got in on a couple of those swaps that friends did about 50 years ago so the memory is a bit vague. We had a 52 Ford Hardtop with a 56 Thunderbird special 312 in it for a couple of years that ran like a bandit and would blow the doors off a lot of unsuspecting guys. That was in 57 or 58.
Some trucks used a front mount, which can be removed to put in a car. Other than that, bell housing and other bolt patterns are the same. Definitely use the 57 and newer dissy, with a Pertronix. Happy Roddin' 4TTRUK
A lot of the guys have been down that road in the 1952-59 Ford Group ask there and you will get all the facts.Grab one of these:http://www.autozone.com/autozone/pa...N-iyjx2Z9n80u?itemIdentifier=768101_311260_0_ Then contact member http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/member.php?u=15923 And he can set it up for you so all you will do is drop it in,be sure and get the matching coil if you go electronic.
There are two different front covers, and the truck front mount may need the truck cover. They are interchangeable, keep the bolts separate.
if it runs good for now though, can i just swap the distributor at a later date when I get some more cash?
Some of those mercury dist. Were different do some homework before you buy, john in williams cal. Is here on the hamb and he could help.
Would a 54 Mercury not be a 256? There are differences between the 54 Merc/Ford oil pans and the later ones forget what they are though.
Post a picture of the 312 showing the Carb and distributor up close,you might also want to check the casting codes on the block and heads to verify it is a 312.You would not be the first one that was told a 292 was a 312,: http://www.ford-y-block.com/identify312.htm and http://www.ford-y-block.com/Block identification.htm and the heads are here:http://www.ford-y-block.com/cylinderheadchart.htm
Why do you say the 56 engine is a 312? If you have not seen the dot on the crankshaft yourself, dont believe it. Does it say Mercury on the rocker covers? Feel free to email or PM me for more Y block info.
You can , but you will need to hook the vacuum advance to manifold vac not the venturi vacuum that the T Pot uses.
He says the new motor is from a 56 ford truck - so it wouldn't have Mercury valve covers. Although now that I think about it, 56 Ford trucks did not have a 312 option 1956 F-100 Engine Codes D O.H.V. 6 Cylinder-223 cid V O.H.V. 8 Cylinder-2V Carb (L/D)-272 cid Z O.H.V. 8 Cylinder-2V Carb (H/D)-272 cid R O.H.V. 8 Cylinder-4V Carb (H/D)-272 cid
JFYI, 312s were never used in any trucks, and '56 F-100 V8 trucks used the car based 272 Y-block. The 292 started to be used in '59 F-100 trucks. The truck front cover may be different than the '54 Merc 256, even though both ( I think? as Ford did) use a front mount. Nothing wrong with a 272, as the block, crank and rods are the same as a 292.
Yep. found out it was a 272 but it ran and didn't smoke so I ******ed it up for a really good deal. It has a new starter and water pump on it, and even has a new clutch. I got the whole thing for cheap. Thanks every body for your help. I will be doing a krylon rebuild on it next week.
I'm doing a similar swap on my 54 Ford. Using a 292 out of a 61 Truck. Lose the front mount, swap oil pan over, good to go.
Played with Yblocks for years & the best running one I ever had (for the $ spent) was a 272. Check out Mummert's ford-y-block.com site for all the info you need for yblocks.
The Jalopy Journal
