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Technical Rebuild or Replace my 292 Yblock Ford Engine - 55 Merc

Discussion in 'Traditional Customs' started by 55ChoppedMerc, Apr 19, 2023.

?
  1. Rebuild

  2. Replace

  3. Sell it

  4. Burn it

Results are only viewable after voting.
  1. 55ChoppedMerc
    Joined: Apr 19, 2023
    Posts: 3

    55ChoppedMerc

    Hard to get parts....labor expensive....replace seems a better choice but where do I find one?
    I'm in L.A.
     

    Attached Files:

    don colaps likes this.
  2. jimmy six
    Joined: Mar 21, 2006
    Posts: 17,036

    jimmy six
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    I’ve found it not hard to get ANY Y-Block parts in 11 years of owning one. If you feel rebuilding one is too expensive purchase one rebuilt. Different sites advertise them usually in the $5k range for stock..
    I do my own labor so …parts-is-parts and a Ford overhaul manual or a “How to…. are cheap. If the crankshaft does not need grinding, the bore taper is very little, and the cam shows no wear the parts needed a not much…. I’m guessing under a thousand. Any auto machine shop can do a set of heads and add positive seals. Rocker arm sets can be exchanged…
    Good luck
     
    Last edited: Apr 19, 2023
  3. Knocking
    Bad compression
    Smoking
    Stuck ????
     
  4. 55ChoppedMerc
    Joined: Apr 19, 2023
    Posts: 3

    55ChoppedMerc

    just knocking....no smoke - now dont start cause battery too low...but when it starts just loud crankling from engine
     
  5. 55ChoppedMerc
    Joined: Apr 19, 2023
    Posts: 3

    55ChoppedMerc

    Sounds good to me...as I mentioned in the other reply - there was never any smoke, just loud rattleling from engine.
    Do you have a machine shop, you're not far as the car is in Downey, CA
     
  6. Pull the Y
    Do as much as you feel comfortable doing plus learn a few more things along the way.
    find a machine shop.
    If it runs good but has a knock, it could be an ez fix.
     
  7. sunbeam
    Joined: Oct 22, 2010
    Posts: 6,393

    sunbeam
    Member

    When it comes to a knock kill one cylinder at a time to see if the knock changes if it does not could be an easy fix .
     
  8. guthriesmith
    Joined: Aug 17, 2006
    Posts: 11,881

    guthriesmith
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    I bought a good running rebuilt 57 312 a few months back with a transmission for $500. Good deals are still out there.
     
  9. jimmy six
    Joined: Mar 21, 2006
    Posts: 17,036

    jimmy six
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Lost my auto machine shop when the owner p***ed last year. A very good Bonneville engine builder I know uses a shop in Santa Ana and I can get his name. There were quite a few in the Signal Hill/LongBeach area years ago.
    Sometimes a full shop will do a tear down, do needed machine work and ask you to get the parts they need then ***emble it for you but they better know the idiosyncrasy of a y-block. The time on the phone chasing parts for our engines is not something they like. The shop I knew worked that way, I brought him everything.

    If you choose to replace with a 302/351 Windsor Ford it needs a front sump. A Mercury has less room than a Ford from the firewall to the radiator. If you’re thinking SBC you will need a 64-67 ChevyII pan and oil pickup it has a front sump..
     
    Last edited: Apr 19, 2023
    55ChoppedMerc likes this.
  10. miker98038
    Joined: Jan 24, 2011
    Posts: 1,576

    miker98038
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    A knock is just that, see what Sunbeam said. A “loud rattleling” makes me wonder how long since the valves were set. Not trying to be a jerk, just asking.
     
  11. Northern Auto Parts in Sioux City Iowa has rebuild kits. As much as I love Small Block Chevrolets, I’d keep the Y in it.
     
  12. manyolcars
    Joined: Mar 30, 2001
    Posts: 9,602

    manyolcars

    59f2.jpg I overhauled, not rebuilt, the 292 in my '59 23 years ago and its running fine
     
  13. OahuEli
    Joined: Dec 27, 2008
    Posts: 5,243

    OahuEli
    Member
    from Hawaii

    They are great sounding engines, especially with headers and gl*** packs. When I first got my avatar, rebuilt a '57 292, went .060 over to clean up the cylinders but that little engine ran its *** off. A 302 Ford is a good, solid reliable engine but about as exciting as a bowl of mashed potatoes.
     
    55ChoppedMerc and williebill like this.
  14. X38
    Joined: Feb 27, 2005
    Posts: 17,498

    X38
    Member

    I like mashed potatoes.
     
  15. manyolcars
    Joined: Mar 30, 2001
    Posts: 9,602

    manyolcars

    but, is yer potatoes exciting?
     
    55ChoppedMerc and OahuEli like this.
  16. alchemy
    Joined: Sep 27, 2002
    Posts: 22,651

    alchemy
    Member

    All Y-blocks have a clickety-clack. Are you aware of that?
     
    55ChoppedMerc likes this.
  17. 210superair
    Joined: Jun 23, 2020
    Posts: 2,143

    210superair
    Member
    from Michigan

    I agree a knock or clickity clak may not be as bad as you think..... And y block cool factor is pretty high....
     
    55ChoppedMerc, guthriesmith and egads like this.
  18. egads
    Joined: Aug 23, 2011
    Posts: 1,430

    egads
    Member

  19. Crookshanks
    Joined: Dec 16, 2010
    Posts: 368

    Crookshanks
    Member

    My neighbor 2 doors down has a very complete 292 with Fordamatic in his garage looking to unload it. Turns over and was pulled many years ago supposedly running. I’m in Norwalk CA. Hit me up if you’re interested.
     
  20. OahuEli
    Joined: Dec 27, 2008
    Posts: 5,243

    OahuEli
    Member
    from Hawaii

    Thats what feeler gauges are for.
     
  21. Wanderlust
    Joined: Oct 27, 2019
    Posts: 1,077

    Wanderlust

    They are noisy engines compared to newer stuff, I especially like the noise out the exhaust pipes :)
     
  22. SEEKONK JIM
    Joined: Oct 22, 2017
    Posts: 139

    SEEKONK JIM

    swap it out for a 302 ford motor
     
    55ChoppedMerc likes this.
  23. [QUOTE="Wanderlust said " I especially like the noise out the exhaust pipes :)[/QUOTE]

    I have heard this before. What makes them "different" ? Ben
     
  24. 57JoeFoMoPar
    Joined: Sep 14, 2004
    Posts: 6,497

    57JoeFoMoPar
    Member

    When we were kids, we'd do quick and dirty engine swaps. We'd have a toasted obsolete drivetrain like a flathead 6 mopar, a polysphere, a Y block, Olds... in an otherwise drivable car. We'd hit the newspaper cl***ifieds (pre-mainstream internet), buy some 60s/70s Chrysler 4 door with a B/RB, or a mid 80s caprice wagon, etc. for like $500, and just take the whole drivetrain out of it and dump it into the other car. That **** was fun back in the day, cracking beers with your buddies and putting cool, albeit rough and somewhat unreliable, cars on the road.

    We're older now, better funded, better equipped, and more skilled than we were back then. We're trying to do it the right way and do it to the best of our abilities. Generally speaking, any money you save on a rebuild you will probably spend two-fold reengineering a different platform into the car. That stuff adds up quick. Hoses, lines, linkages, exhaust... not to mention all of the ancillary stuff on the engine like a carb, ignition, water pump, starter.... and so on. You go to a different engine, even a "cheap" one like a SBF or SBC, it will be less but still add up. And ultimately, the purpose of doing an engine swap would be to improve reliability and performance. So if you put your platform together out of used junk, it negates the purpose of the job. There is nothing inherently wrong about a Y block, or any other obsolete engine. If it's in good working order, and you don't abuse it, it will be just as reliable as any other engine, new or old. The Y block is good engine, with its own idiosyncrasies. But parts are easily available and not terribly expensive in the grand scheme of things. I would work towards rebuilding the drivetrain you have.
     
  25. ekimneirbo
    Joined: Apr 29, 2017
    Posts: 5,327

    ekimneirbo
    Member
    from Brooks Ky

    Since your description of the noise is kind of vague, I'd take a cheap stethoscope or a long wooden rod pressed against the little "thingy" on your ear and see if you can pin point whether the noise is from the bottom of the engine or the top of the engine. Maybe remove a valve cover while its running and see if a valve is loose. Might not need anything but a valve adjustment. Also, torque converter bolts have been known to loosen and make a tapping sound. I'd be sure where the noise is coming from before deciding on an engine change or overhaul.
     
    55ChoppedMerc likes this.
  26. jimmy six
    Joined: Mar 21, 2006
    Posts: 17,036

    jimmy six
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Norwalk Ca. boarders Downey Ca. That’s a no brainer… bring a HF piano mover and a rope..
     
    55ChoppedMerc and 57JoeFoMoPar like this.
  27. cabong
    Joined: Nov 29, 2005
    Posts: 939

    cabong
    Member

    Seems all Y-Blocks are solid lifter, so they will make noise. So did my '62 Fuely Corvette. My wife and I have owned many Y-Block powered cars, and loved them all......
     
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  28. X38
    Joined: Feb 27, 2005
    Posts: 17,498

    X38
    Member

    Same firing order as a flathead V8.
     
    55ChoppedMerc and firstinsteele like this.
  29. jimmy six
    Joined: Mar 21, 2006
    Posts: 17,036

    jimmy six
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    You can make a SBC sound good with a 4-7 swap.:rolleyes:
    I’ve had my 56 Y-block for 11 years and would never ever put gl*** packs, Smithy’s, turbo, or anything other than stock. I don’t want or need to hear it.
     
    55ChoppedMerc likes this.
  30. Wanderlust
    Joined: Oct 27, 2019
    Posts: 1,077

    Wanderlust

    Sorry for your loss
     
    210superair and jimmy six like this.

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