Why is the 292 Y block motor getting a bad rap?

Yep. I always changed my oil at around 2k, being used to motors without full flow filters got me started with that. The next guy that bought my car, if he didn't there's no doubt in my mind he ended up with no oil upstairs............

 

they twist off oil pump drive rods too

 

My brother had a 54 239 in a 2dr sedan. He wrecked the car, we went to a salvage yard and bought a 55 2dr sedan and put the 239 in it. Ran a long time , don't remember what happened to the car. My Dad bought a 60 4whd 3/4 ton p.u. The engine was tired, we put a 4 star rebuilt long bock in it. It was a 292. Was still running when we sold it many, many years later.I think the Y-block is a hell of a good engine. And I'm a chevy, Hemi guy. Lippy.

 

My brother had a 54 239 in a 2dr sedan. He wrecked the car, we went to a salvage yard and bought a 55 2dr sedan and put the 239 in it. Ran a long time , don't remember what happened to the car. My Dad bought a 60 4whd 3/4 ton p.u. The engine was tired, we put a 4 star rebuilt long bock in it. It was a 292. Was still running when we sold it many, many years later.I think the Y-block is a hell of a good engine. And I'm a chevy, Hemi guy.I use to punish that Y-block in that P.U. Lippy.

 

Had a 292 in a school bus that was cut and ramped and hauled a dirt track car to one track in VT, bear ridge speedway and another car to a paved track at Catamont when it was open, it p***ed everything on the highway and accelerated faster going up them their mountains, we could leave late and still beat every body to the track. 292s' FOREVER also check out the guy that has his rebuild drag motor Y block sporting 322 inches in a FED CALLED Y NOT A Y BLOCK bad *** runnin Y block you will ever hear.

 

Oil problems are a thing of the past i just ordered my all new rocker gear (modified for full oil pressure) from John Mummert and remember to use good oil like ''Brad Penn oil'' if the Y-Block was good enough for Bat Man it's good enough for ME.

 

They're great motors

 

Let's be honest, the Y-block was less than a great design...But I always loved the sound of them. They had this drawn-out blatty sound when I wound them out through straight pipes. Sounded way better than the 283 Chevs, IMHO. My first one was a '56 Hardtop with a 272 - three-speed. Not real fast, but lots of fun. Second one was a '57 Fairlane 500 with a 292. Managed to put a rod through the block on that one. My fault - Not the engine's. A friend had a '54 with a built 312 that was very impressive, indeed.

 

I was at a Napa the other day thumbing through the new catalogue; and actually found that Napa still has a part number for their y-block top end oiling kit. It has a hollow bolt that replaces the rear vavle cover bolt, and a compression fitting and copper tube setup to go from there. Interesting....

 

Don't mean to change the topic, but did anyone ever design an aftermarket Y-block head with inline intake ports for these engines???... And also a matching intake manifold??? Just curious.

 

"Don't mean to change the topic, but did anyone ever design an aftermarket Y-block head with inline intake ports for these engines???... And also a matching intake manifold??? Just curious. "
Yes , Weslake and there were some "cammer" heads made for racing in Argentina.
Ford ( Argentina ) also produced a "phase 2 " Y-block with Windsor based heads and a 2V intake.

Most of the "problems " with Y-Blocks are a throw back to the old days of **** oil & infrequent servicing.The y-block in my '32 was pretty much an unknown qty when I got it. I dropped the sump , pulled the intake & valley cover and cleaned out the sludge. Then carefully cleaned what I could. I then pulled the rocker covers - all good under there. Refitted sump , valley & intake. Filled with a quality high zinc oil & haven't looked back. Done about 10k miles since ( changing the oil every 3k miles ).

I.M.H.O. there's nothing prettier than a dressed Y-block or the sound of one.
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I used to see old time mechanics do them up with copper tube and fittings, deffo not a store-bought deal by any means. They thunk it up on the spot.

Bob

 

Because its not a 312.
Nothing in the world wrong with a 292 that wasn't wrong with about any mill from that era.
I've seen 'em with oil line run on the outside also. Totally not necessary. Build it right and drive it like it is a 50s mill and you'll have a runner for a very long time.

 

LONELY...exactly where did you hear the Y-BLOCK is getting a bad rap...POP.

 

just wanted to add this to this old thread to answer some question and comments others have made.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbPl24ncqa4

 

mine is a 56 292 bored .030, 4 94's in my A coupe and love it. top loader 4 speed, get 17 MPG on the road , only have 14,000 miles on it but the more miles the better it goes.Plus they do have a very distinct sound especially through straight pipes!

 

Ted Eaton's 375cu. in. 500hp y-block opened a few eyes this year at the Engine Masters Challenge. Check out the tread that was posted.

 

292 and 272 get a bad rap for one reason and one reason only, they are not a 312. All Y blocks have good and bad points to them all can be overcome and they are all good engines as far as I'm concerned.

 

Impressive video! I've been around a long time, and the Y-block has had a bad rep as far back as I can remember. I can remember, back in the '60's, smoking the tires in my '56 Ford hardtop with a 272/3-speed. And later, I remember racing my Chev 283 against a very strong 292 Ford. And I also remember a friend who had a built 312 that made spooky horsepower! Those things made power, and they sounded cool as hell! But the Y-block was always looked down on because it wasn't as "modern" as the small-block Chev. The Y-block itself wasn't as sophisticated of a casting...The heads were not optimal...The rockers were on old-fashioned shafts instead of studs...The engine was relatively heavy...And on and on... And so, eventually, the Y-block was replaced with the modern Ford small block. The small block is arguably a superior engine, but the Y-block has way more cool, especially in an old rod. Ok, I'm rambling, and I'll shut up now.

 

I did 2 Y block swaps, (292, and a 312) back in the 60s, and both ended up being good engines. When I purchased the engines, both of them had an external oiling kit that routed oil from the oil pressure sensor to the rockers. The only problem I could find, was that the p***ages up to the heads were clogged with crud. I cleaned the p***ages, and both engines ran well for me until I found a 394 Olds to replace the 312.
Bob

 

set the valves at .012 hot and you will never hear them ! i work on them all the time and never any problems

 

It's a F-O-R-D

 

Just was given one (292) over the weekend. Glad to find this thread.

 

I will be going through a 62 292 this winter to put in my 55 sunliner.

 

had a 59 292 .had bad lifters and ground a cam round. ask ford about this and they said that they had some bad cams. replaced the cam and ground another one down. then had to replase both.

 

I've been running my 59 292 for about 11 years now with no problem
It was a stuck motor with 52,000 miles. I replaced the pistons, but did not bore it.
Its still standard bore

 

This is a Y-Block! stock cast 292 crank, cast aluminum flat top pistons and stock EBU rods topped off with a set of un-posted ECZ-G heads.

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