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

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

 

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

 

Knocking
Bad compression
Smoking
Stuck ????

 

just knocking....no smoke - now dont start cause battery too low...but when it starts just loud crankling from engine

 

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

 

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.

 

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 .

 

I bought a good running rebuilt 57 312 a few months back with a transmission for $500. Good deals are still out there.

 

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..

 

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.

 

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.

 

I overhauled, not rebuilt, the 292 in my '59 23 years ago and its running fine

 

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.

 

I like mashed potatoes.

 

but, is yer potatoes exciting?

 

All Y-blocks have a clickety-clack. Are you aware of that?

 

I agree a knock or clickity clak may not be as bad as you think..... And y block cool factor is pretty high....

 

Some good Y-Block info here--https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/the-all-inclusive-almighty-y-block-thread.1221157/

 

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.

 

Thats what feeler gauges are for.

 

They are noisy engines compared to newer stuff, I especially like the noise out the exhaust pipes

 

swap it out for a 302 ford motor

 

[QUOTE="Wanderlust said " I especially like the noise out the exhaust pipes [/QUOTE]

I have heard this before. What makes them "different" ? Ben

 

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.

 

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.

 

Norwalk Ca. boarders Downey Ca. That’s a no brainer… bring a HF piano mover and a rope..

 

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......

 

Same firing order as a flathead V8.

 

You can make a SBC sound good with a 4-7 swap.
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.

 

Sorry for your loss