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By Kenskip1 - 8 Years Ago
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First off I never imagined that I would find a place that has this any members all working on the same things. I have several questions to ask.
1 What makes this Y block so special?
2 Are better aftermarket parts like pistons, cams, lifters, rockers available from Ford dealers or other distributors?
3 How reliable is a freshly rebuilt say 292 with around 9.0 compression?
This is just the beginning of my questions.I have it in my head to locate a mid 70's Ford truck.Put in a Y block and toe my small utility trailer with my 4 wheeler. Is a Y block to muck or should I go the 302 route? I am sick of engines with sensors on every part of the engine.I want a mechanical or electric fuel pump, a carburetor,. No idiot lights for me.I am going to have gauges that tell me everything I want to know.The only piece that I require modern is the distributor and charging system.
In closing, there is something about the sound of a running Y block that has sparked my imagination.How do they run on today's gasoline?
I am now 60 years of middle age and am permanently disabled with spinal injuries.I still get out and do the things I enjoy, like riding my Polaris, camping ext. Thanks for listening, Ken
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By NoShortcuts - 8 Years Ago
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Welcome to the Forum, Kenskip.
Click the link below for an overview of Ford y-blocks' history from 1954 - 1964 as written by Ted Eaton. As you may know y-blocks were used in cars, light duty, medium duty, and heavy duty truck applications, boats, and all kinds of industrial applications like stand-by generators, pumping systems, and lord knows what else.
http://www.eatonbalancing.com/blog/2009/07/05/the-ford-y-block-engine/
A shorter article by Tim McMaster shares additional information about Ford y-blocks that will add to what Ted wrote and identify some changes in y-block production after 1964. Click the link below.
http://yblockguy.com/about_the_y-block_ford.htm
There are single sources for specific off-the-shelf, performance oriented, aftermarket components for Ford y-block engines like distributors, exhaust headers, intake manifolds, camshafts, high lift rocker arms, and what-have-you. THE best place I know of to get a grocery store look at the type of items available for tweeking a y-block's performance is John Mummert. John's web address is www.ford-y-block.com Click the link below for component offerings AND pages of technical information on y-block engines.
http://www.ford-y-block.com/
This Forum has an Archive of previously discussed topics. Click the link below for one thread that was a discussion about whether someone should go the Ford 302 small block route or the y-block route in a truck application. Reading through the thread should give you some insight about why a y-block is perhaps a better choice for you.
http://forums.y-blocksforever.com/Topic86522.aspx?Keywords=302
Hope this helps. 
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By charliemccraney - 8 Years Ago
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Why it is special is subjective. For me it is the fact that they can easily be built to perform and they are not the same ol Che vy Ford or Mopar that I see everywhere.
They are as reliable as any of the popular, mainstream engines, regardless of the compression ratio.
I cannot answer your question regarding a Y-Block or 302, only offer some things to think about.
From what I understand, Twin I Beam trucks are similar enough that nearly an engine that came in one can be swapped to another easily. That means that any pre fuel injection engine from 1965 on should be easy to swap, making the 302 a better choice in that regard. I have no first hand experience with this and as I've become wiser, I've learned that phrases like "direct swap" and "bolts right in" are not usually accurate and usually require at least some degree of modification. So my advice is do not expect it to simply drop in.
On the subject of the 302, they were made for a long time and more of them are bad than are good. If your plan is to swap a good used one, then the best for the job would be a late 80s FI motor, which you can convert to carb. That way, you get a roller cam which helps a lot with the torque, which is a plus for towing. I think you would be upset with a smog era 302 - even the worst 292, the one that came in the 1964 trucks, is leaps and bounds better than those. Some of the 302s from the late 60s and early 70s will probably be alright but you'll probably find it difficult to find a genuine one in good working order. Any of the performance versions would not work.
If you're planning to build the 302, then it doesn't matter so much. You just pick parts that will achieve your goal.
I think for the actual job of towing, you will like the 292 more because they tend to have quite a strong low end, compared to other engines of similar displacement. The down side is that it will cost more to build and it will probably cost more to swap, so it's going to get you twice on the finance portion. As far as the capability, they were used in much larger truck, doing much more heavy duty jobs, so it will tow a utility trailer and 4 wheeler with ease.
Another point is fuel mileage. I'm sure you've noticed that in every forum, a post about fuel mileage shows up, "what kind of mpg do you get?" something like that. Every time I have seen one of those, Y-Blocks tend to edge out the 302 swaps. This is purely anecdotal and a number of factors will play into fuel mileage, but it is interesting to see.
They run fine on today's gasoline. You will want to have hardened exhaust seats installed, but that is pretty standard when an older engine is rebuilt.
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By Kenskip1 - 8 Years Ago
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First off thanks for all the reading material and the replies.To me after watching videos that there seems to be a most distinct sound to a Y block running.Is it because of the firing order? This is the way a muscle car is supposed to sound.And I enjoy it greatly. Now the fun part. Locating a 292 or a 312. Whear do I begin?
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By miker - 8 Years Ago
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The sound of the y block comes from the firing order. You can probably attribute that to The Henry Ford, he had a very good feel for what made an engine run the best. To help you find a good core we need to know where you're located. You can add that to the signature line.
That said, I'm a y block guy, I've got 2 of them now. Three more good cores in storage. My first one was in 1967. Like Charlie, I'm tired of looking at 350/350 belly buttons, and MII front suspensions. That doesn't apply so much to the trucks, but does the cars. So I don't want to discourage you.
Getting into the post y block trucks, don't limit your thinking to the 289-302 small blocks. While the 351M-400M motors were pretty much dogs, the 351 Windsor wasn't bad. The Cleveland's are real good, but pretty pricey, and I don't know they ever went in a truck.
So find your ride, and look at what you're starting with. They'll all do the job for light loads in a 1/2 ton with a small trailer load. I hate paint and body work, so I'm always looking for that to be ok, and the mechanicals I can work on.
FWIW, my buddy has a club cab with a 460. They came with two gas tanks for a reason. He gets Christmas cards from Exxon, so you might eliminate those.
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By Ted - 8 Years Ago
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Welcome to the site.
One of the things that makes the Y special is that it’s the result of clean slate engineering after just coming out of World War II. The stacked ports allow for maximum torque production by having all the intake runners the same length while the plenum under the carb is also at equal depths on both sides of the plenum which is again good for maximum torque production.
The firing order is the same as the Flathead V8 which required reduced crankshaft harmonics as a result of having only three main bearings. Any reduction in crankshaft harmonics is obviously a good thing and this worked also for the Y V8 engines. When performing the 4-7 firing order swap for the BBC and SBC engines, the Flattie and Y firing order comes into play which also adds additional horsepower and torque on those engines. The 5.0L Coyote engines (Ford’s latest V8 engine development), the Flattie and Y firing order is again capitalized upon.
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By charliemccraney - 8 Years Ago
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Regarding finding one:
Post a want ad in the classifieds section of this site make sure to include your location. Someone here may be very close and have one to sell.
Try Craigslist, eBay.
There are still junk yard around with older cars. There are probably some within reasonable driving distance from you. Sometimes even the newer style high volume yards, which have mostly late model stuff, will get an old one. I found a transplanted 312 in a truck at one of those but when I went back to get it a week later, it was gone, sent to the crusher.
It should not be too hard to find one.
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