Thread: My first short block done! Another Y for the road.

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No I'm not 17, but 57 (late starter). After having two motors rebuilt for me, and having torn down 5 or 6, this is the first one personnally assembled and machined to my specs. So this is what you guys have been having fun with all these years !
As you guess it is a Y, 292 bored .060, deck milled for pistons .004 in the hole, very mild Isky cam 260 duration and .448 lift, balanced crank/pistons/rods, mains line honed, double roller timing chain, degreed cam for 3 1/2 degree advance. The most I could get with static compression was 8.95:1 without going to much more expensive components. Forget exactly but the dynamic compression ends up at like 8.1:1.
This motor should be a huge improvement. The 292 in now has 7.2:1 compression thanks to a machine shop that installed some 312 rods.
The next big excitement will be firing it up, but that wont be until winter.
The front timing cover will be replaced with the aluminum unit now in use, and the damper needs to have some timing marks made and painted.

Nice work! Gotta Love the Y-Blocks.

Originally Posted by redlightning

Nice work! Gotta Love the Y-Blocks.

Yep, I agree. They are a very overlooked engine IMO. I love to see them in a traditional rod. Yours looks really right.


Don

Good lookin' motor so far

Thanks guys. The heads for it are in use now. I redid them 2000 miles ago and their springs are perfect for this cam. However they still have the two piece keepers & I need to find out if there is a one piece available to fit, preferrably lighter. Intakes are 1.92". The aluminum 4V Blue Thunder intake and alum pump also will be changed over.
A steel billet flywheel lightened 5 lbs may be a Christmas present.
The truck should get 20 mpg with this motor, rear end and light gross weight, possibly up to 24.

Nice looking motor.

I recall building a Ford short block many years ago.
Which brings up one of my off the wall questions -

The crank was hard to turn, probably from incorrect ring or crank bearing sizes.

What is an acceptable crank 'hand-turned' torque on a rebuilt shortblock?

For instance - if it spins with a speed wrench - its too loose???
On the other hand 30 ft/lbs is probably too tight???

Thanks - Bert

I've never read a spec for that, but would think 30 ft lbs too tight. Using the bare snout, no balancer or bolt, this turned easily by hand.

The rope rear main seals can make one kind of hard to turn.

Congrats, 46Y. Really great to see you resurrecting one of the old Y-Block engines!!!! My first Ford ('56 2dr sdn) had the 272 in it. One of the mechanics at the Ford garage sold me, then helped me build (for free) a 312 T-Bird engine with the tri-power carbs!!!! Thought I had died and gone to heaven when Roy got me all educated and the engine all tuned up!!!!

As Denny said, if the clearances are correct on the bearings and rings the engine should be ok. Those old rope seals do put a lot of drag on the crank!!!

I've been curious enough to check the breakaway torque required to turn the crank with the shortblock assembled. On a couple of small block Chevies I built, it took 30-35 ft/lbs to get the crank turning, then a little less to keep it turning.

This is a "64 motor, so it uses a rear seal retainer that takes a normal type neoprene seal. That brings up a minor problem encountered. The retainer takes two vertical side seals in addition to the semicircular neoprene seal. They are supposed to be dipped in oil and then slid down into the slots with the retainer in place. I ruined the first set of side seals. Dipped them in oil for a minute and then tried inserting and no way. So another set is due in this week. May try one of two ideas. Dip in oil and immediately slide in, or coat with silicone and no oil, then insert.
Tech's breakaway torque is similar to what I found on the assembled motor. The cam bolt calls for 40 ft lbs and the assembly would turn if you didnt hold the crank snout.

Thankyou Denny. I will do it that way.

red? wheres the blue????? i thought this was a FORD engine!

hah, just givin ya a hard time. thats a real good lookin engine though. since im new to Y-blocks, what makes them a "Y"? im tryin to visualize the internals in my head, or is it just the shape of the block?

Originally Posted by 71fordkid

Siince im new to Y-blocks, what makes them a "Y"? im tryin to visualize the internals in my head, or is it just the shape of the block?

Yeah, when you look dead on at the front of the engine, it is the angle the two banks of pistons are laid out, sort of in a Y shape.


Don

PS: Here is more info from Answers.com


The first Y-block was the 1954 239 in³ (3.9 L) Ford engine; known for its deep skirting which causes the engine resemble a Y. Rated at 130 hp (97 kW), it replaced the 239 in³ (3.9 L) Flathead which was rated at 106 hp (79 kW). The Y-block was considered a major advancement over the flathead. Known for having oiling problems in the rocker shafts due to the fact the oil first went to the crankshaft bearing, then the camshaft bearings, then to the rocker shafts. This problem plagued the entire Y-block family and could be remedied by running a copper line from the oil pump and then to the rocker shafts. This series of engines also lacked the breathing abilities compared to the Chevrolet 265 small block, thus could not develop the same power.

The oiling problem was caused by the passage from the center cam bearing to the cylinder head being offset by an inch and too small. The motor oils available at that time were low in detergents but high in coke which when combined with short trips and infrequent oil changes led to this passage blocking up. This left the lower end with ample oil while the rocker shaft assemblies literally burned up. The external oiler kit essentially provided oil to the rocker shafts from the oil pressure port on the outside of the engine.

A quick reference of the engine specifications for 1955-57 will show the Ford V-8s ahead of the Chevrolet counterpart in displacement, horsepower and torque. The Y-block head provided excellent air flow, superior to the Chevrolet. The real enemy of the Y-block was its displacement limit. The original architecture was very small and tight. Even with the benefit of today's technology, (aftermarket rods and stroker cranks) the real limit of a Y-block is about 348 cubic inches while the Chevrolet could go well past the factory limit of 400. Simply put, the ever increasing size and weight of the standard passenger car, the added parasitic losses for accessories like power steering, power brakes and air conditioning, cheap gasoline and the horsepower race all conspired to outgrow the first Ford OHV V-8 engine. It is interesting to note that both Ford and Chevrolet went to optional "big block" engines for 1958, 352 in³ (5.8 L) at Ford compared to 348 in³ (5.7 L) at Chevrolet.

256

The Mercury Y-block was the 256 in³ (4.2 L).

272

The 272 in³ (4.5 L) version was introduced in 1955. Most standard Fords used this engine.

292

The 292 in³ (4.8 L) was also introduced in 1955. It was used in the Ford Thunderbird, and some high-end Ford and Mercury cars. This engine was also used in Ford trucks, namely the F-100, through 1964.

Ford Australia released this V8 motor as its only option in the 4 door sedan Customline for 1955 through 1959 (based on the Crown Victoria) and its utility based on the same styling as the Customline and called a Mainline.

This particular version of the Y-Block engine was used in Argentina well into the eighties, and was known as Fase II (Phase II). Aside from the Argentine Ford Fairlane (built from 1969 to 1982, and based heavily on American 1968 model), the 292 was offered on the F100 Pickup.

312

The 312 in³ (5.1 L) engine came out in 1956 and was again used in high-end Ford and Mercury cars, including the Thunderbird.

The 312 was available with a 2 barrel carburetor, a 4 barrel carburetor, two 4 barrel carburetors, and a McCulloch (Paxton) supercharger.

red? wheres the blue????? i thought this was a FORD engine!

The can said "Ford Red", and I like red motors . The 239-312 series came in a wide variety of colors: Yellow, blue, black, silver, and probably others.