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By Florida_Phil - 4 Years Ago
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When I was in high school, my father had a 1957 Willow Green and White Custom 300 with a 272 automatic transmission. It was the first car I ever drove. The engine ran good but it had a top end oiling problem and the lifters clicked badly. My father installed one of those auxiliary oil line kits in the valve covers, but it didn't help that much. I dated my future wife in that car and took her to both proms. She said she could hear me coming a block away.
When we got married, I bought a copper colored 1956 Victoria off a used car lot. It had been slightly hot rodded with a tired 292 and a three speed on the floor. I bought a good running 272 out of a wrecked 1957 Ford for $50, installed a 4 barrel and a 3.90 gear. It was my daily driver until I made enough money to buy a new Mustang. I still remember working on that old Victoria late Sunday nights so I could drive to work the next day. Back then, all my friends were Ford guys. With few exceptions, I have always drove Fords. I recently bought a new Explorer. I think it's the best Ford yet.
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By DANIEL TINDER - 4 Years Ago
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1961. I bought a friend’s clean ‘54 two-door hardtop (off-white 3sp. 239) for $200. It ran ok, but valves were noisy, and gummed up with sludge (it backfired frequently). Someone suggested pouring kerosene down the carb while it was running (didn’t help much). I cut holes in the engine-turned dash panel to install gauges, disconnected the column shift and put in a cheap (Honest Charlie?) floor shifter. I wasn’t knowledgeable enough to do a good job getting the shift rods properly aligned (what does a 15 yr. old kid know?), so when the guy I finally sold it to jammed it between two gears (and was thus very inconveniently stranded), he never finished paying me for it.
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By Hoosier Hurricane - 4 Years Ago
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My first Y-Block was a '56 Victoria 292 with a three speed. Ran good, but the winter after I bought it I rolled it end-over-end in a snow covered ditch. The carcas is still rusting away in my woods. Hunters have used it for target practice for a long time. I put it in the woods when I was 18, I turned 80 today..
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By Florida_Phil - 4 Years Ago
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It seems we all have similar stories. Before I got my license, my buddy down the street had a 54 Ford with a 292 manual. We thought it was fast and used to drive it by the high school. I wanted to buy it from him, but my father wisely turned me down. Good thing, as I probably would have been thrown in jail. Remember when you could buy a nice old Ford for $100? $200 would get you a Crown Vic or a convertible. I got my first speeding ticket in my Dad's 57 Custom going 75 on the Florida Turnpike. These days going 75 will get you run off the road. 
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By Gene Purser - 4 Years Ago
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When I was 15 I bought a '37 Ford coupe with a mildly souped 59A flathead. It ran really good and surprised a few scrubrolets around town. A couple of years later it wouldn't start one morning. I had been reading too many Hot Rod magazines so I pulled it out and bought a '54 239 out of a wrecked Victoria. With parts from JC Whitney and Honest Charlie I got it installed. Quite a feat for a 17 yo. It didn't run any faster than the flathead I took out. I later traded it heads up to a schoolmate for a '40 Ford convertible. He replaced the 239 with an Edsel E400 and turned it into a screamer. After I had entered the workforce I had a '35 Ford pickup that I put a '50 Cadillac engine/LaSalle transmission in. I traded it to the local Ford dealer for a '55 T-Bird. One beautiful Sunday Afternoon I took the T-bird to a long downhill stretch of an un-opened newly constructed highway and opened it up. When the tachometer was registering 5000 I heard a sucking sound, then air rushing in the cabin. I looked in the rear view mirror and saw the rear window doing flips in the air. It hit the roadway and shattered into a million little pieces. I turned around and found all the rubber and trim that goes around the rear glass, even the two small clips that cover the joints of the stainless trim.
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By DANIEL TINDER - 4 Years Ago
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Before I got MY ‘54, an older acquaintance had one with overdrive. He took a carload of us teens to a larger city where he could buy us all alcohol without getting in trouble. On the way back (he was buzzed) he ran that 239 flat out (in 3rd underdrive...solenoid was broke) for about 30 miles. Finally threw a couple pushrods, and we hitchhiked home.
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By Joe-JDC - 4 Years Ago
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1962 I got my '56 Fairlane Victoria, baby blue and white with blue padded dash, sun visors, and automatic. Dated in high school, college where I met my wife of 54 years. When I got drafted in 1966, I left the Victoria sitting at my mother's house, and she didn't think I still wanted it, and sold it. I had just bought a new 1966 Mustang with 289 and really wanted to keep the '56 as my toy, but it slipped away, and is restored and going to car shows in Tennessee. Fellow that has it now added chrome rocker panels, chrome spoke wheels, and made it look tacky. Would love to have it back, but his son wants it when the time comes. Joe-JDC
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By Florida_Phil - 4 Years Ago
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As a teenager, I always wanted a race cam. I loved the way they sounded, especially loping around the pizza joint where all the hot rodders hung out. I bought a cam for my Y-Block from a local auto parts store. As I remember, it was a Melling. Not knowing any better, I installed it in my engine with the old lifters. I got the cam installed OK, but for some reason my engine immediately developed a huge rear oil seal leak. I sold the car right after that, so I never found the cause. To this day, I wonder if I knocked the freeze plug out of the back of the block?
Another time, I was driving through the parking lot of a local grocery store. I got on it and reved the engine up to 5,000 rpm when the engine stopped running. We towed it home. When the engine wouldn't start, I took one of the valve covers off and the rockers weren't moving. I assumed the timing chain was broken, so I pulled the front cover. When I grabbed the timing chain, the cam fell into pieces and dropped into the sump. Back to the junk yard for another $50 engine....
I was pretty tough on equipment back then. Went through three speed transmissions so fast the junk yard always kept one out for me. As I remember I paid $15 each for them.
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By charliemccraney - 4 Years Ago
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1961 F100. My first vehicle. Bad decision but it has worked out. It had the typical lack of oil problem, among others. I would oil manually once a week and somehow that worked until I built a new engine. Manual oiling worked astoundingly well considering the issues I've had with aftermarket upper valve train parts which were getting oil as intended. It only went into 2nd and 3rd gear due to linkage problems. It was among my first times driving a manual transmission and I drove it home, about 50 miles with only my learners permit.
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By MoonShadow - 4 Years Ago
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I bought my first Y-Block in 1963. A 1957 Convertible with the 312 automatic. Loved that car! I didn't race much at the time more of a dreamer and busy chasing girls. Story was my folks had a 1954 Oldsmobile 88 4 door that was wearing out. On day mom and dad came home from car shopping and wanted me to go back to the lot with them and look over a car they found. I really didn't want to but they insisted. When we arrived they pointed out a Salmon and White 57 4 door hardtop. A hardtop! What were they thinking. I slipped away and checked the back of the lot. There was a 49 Ford business mans coupe with a Caddy engine. That was more like it. Dad said "no way". Then there was a old Essex coupe still original "nope" can't do it. Finally I headed out front where they were dealing with the salesman. Dad was insisting on one price for two cars. Two cars! I finally looked on the other side of the 4 door and there was a matching 57 Convertible. Dad says how do you like this one? Of course I was sold right away. Cost a whole $500 and dad let me make payments to him. At $50 a month I thought I'd never get it paid off. Engine went to a small cam with aftermarket high lift rockers. Saved up the money for a Mallory ignition and finally converted it to a 3 speed floor shift. I put on a Corvette floor shift so the pattern was backwards. Low was up second was down and 3rd was back up. Cut the front coil 1 1/2 turns for the Dago look. Replaced the engine once with a Sears rebuilt long block. More payments. Sold it when I joined the Army. Still miss the old girl.
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By Florida_Phil - 4 Years Ago
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I love 57 convertibles. They remind me of a 57 Convertible I once saw on a used car lot when I was in college. It was red with a white top. The salesman started it up and it just sat there rumbling at me. There was no way I could have afforded that car back then, but I had big dreams. 
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By darrell - 4 Years Ago
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55 merc fall of 66
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By paul2748 - 4 Years Ago
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My first car was a 49 Ford tudor. Used it thru high school. One day I noticed that the B pillar was moving (rusted out) so started to look for another car. The gas station where I worked off and on found a 54 3 speed that had just been repainted and had a newer Y block - didn't ever find out what size engine. White top, medium blue bottom. Ran it through college. Car was as nice when I sold it as when I got it and ran like a dream. Kept it pretty much stock. Looked like this one. Sold it in 1963 . Didn't have another Yblock car until I bought my current 54 Victoria in 2002. Now I have two YBlock cars, the other one a 56 Bird.
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By slumlord444 - 4 Years Ago
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58 Custom 300 4 door sedan. 292 Fordamatic when I got it in 1963. My uncle had bought it new and I got it after he traded it on a 63 Galaxie. by the time I traded it in 1965 on the 57 T Bird that i still have it had a 3 speed all syncro out of a 63 Galaxie with a Hurst shifter, AFB 4 barrel and intake off a 57 Merc, dual exhaust and a 3.89 rear end. Beat a lot of small block scrubys with it. First night I had it and completely stock I beat a 59 Pontiac 389, 59 Elcamino 283, 63 Galaxie 352 2 barrel 4 speed (odd combination). Finally got beat by a 57 Pontiac 347 4 barrel automatic by a car length. Beat the Pontiac later on with the 4 barrel and stick. Had a lot of fun racing it and dating it. Always hated the 4 door though.
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By Larry Short - 4 Years Ago
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My Dad purchased my first car for me when I was 16. One of the guys he worked in J&L steel mill, son had a 54 Ford black (guess that's were my love of black cars came from) convertible for sale. It had a 312 motor and a 3 speed on the floor with a Hurst shifter, WOW ! It was also the first transmission I broke,(guess it was a sign of things to come) ! Afraid to tell my Dad so me and a few friends work all night to replace it. Was 16 didn't know anything about anything, put a overdrive trans in. When you let off the gas the car would freewheel down the road. When I finally told my Dad he ask me why I didn't come to him in the first place ! I learned a lot about having a great Dad that day.
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By DANIEL TINDER - 4 Years Ago
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[b]Florida_Phil (12/10/2020)
I was pretty tough on equipment back then. Went through three speed transmissions so fast the junk yard always kept one out for me. As I remember I paid $15 each for them.
The HURST shifter saved a lot of transmissions. It looked cool, but it was expensive (likely double the ‘Honest Charlie’ cheapo). Few realized at that time how damaging it was to ‘slam-shift’ into 2nd. Properly adjusted, the HURST kept gears from colliding.
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By Hoosier Hurricane - 4 Years Ago
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Florida Phil, I would bet my last dollar that the rear cam plug was dislodged when you changed the cam. Just don't ask me how I know that.
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By miker - 4 Years Ago
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In 1967 when I was 17 I really wanted a 2 seater. Dad was a Ford guy, I I found out the Thunderbird didn't carry a "sports car premium" for an underage driver. I found a 55 bird with a new interior and a fresh engine. A local fireman was marrying a gal with 2 children and the car had to go. By coincidence a co worker of Dad's lived next door. Dirt racer, Corvette racer, serious car guy. Joe told Dad he'd watched them build the engine, and it was done right. He didn't tell Dad it was a 40 over 312 with 11.25 to 1 Jahn's piston, and an Isky RPM 300 cam. Or that the guy that built it also drove a local AA fueler. Only told him he owned an upholstery shop. I replaced the fordo with a T-85 o/d and the rear end with a 6 cylinder wagon o/d rear end. 4:27.1 IIRC. Surprised a lot of small block cars.
Gas prices and the college commute finally put me into something more economical in 1971. But I found a Thunderbird Blue T-86 o/d car in 1999 and still have it.
I bought the first car for $1200, and sold it for $1200. When I redid my current car in 2003, I paid $1200 for the power windows, without the glass. Times changed.
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By Florida_Phil - 4 Years Ago
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Hoosier Hurricane (12/11/2020)
Florida Phil, I would bet my last dollar that the rear cam plug was dislodged when you changed the cam. Just don't ask me how I know that.
Where were you when I needed you? 
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By dennis22 - 4 Years Ago
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I’ve been loving reading everyone’s stories about their first Y blocks, keep them coming!
Me on the other hand, my first y block was only 4 years ago in 2016 when I purchased a 56 f100 with a 272. I pulled the engine and completely rebuilt it and put it in a 59 f100 as a temporary engine until I build an engine for the 59. Even after the short 4 years working on the 272 I have some great memories (failures and victories) so I can’t even start to imagine how many great memories you fellas have after having a life of experience with these y blocks!
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By Florida_Phil - 4 Years Ago
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When we were in high school, my future wife's parents bought her a 1954 Ford Victoria. It was cascade green with a white top, 239 Y-Block with an automatic transmission. Her car had a white vinyl interior and power windows. Here's an old grainy photo of her standing beside that car. This photo was taken about 1964.
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By Meandean - 4 Years Ago
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Got my first and still only Y-Block in 2012. Took my '65 Mustang convertible to the Mecum auction. I'd had it since 87. (Thought I'd drive it a lot after I retired but didn't. Possibly also having a 5.0L GT Convertible which WAS fun to drive contributed to the decision to sell the 65.)
The Mustang sold on Friday night. Saturday I bid on the '55 Fairlane and drove it home on Sunday. I had NO INTENTION of buying another car. But it was SO SWEET and I took a flyer and lo and behold I won..
Of course I had some experience with 50's Fords. My brother and I adopted our grandparents 57 Custom after they literally put it out to pasture. Rebuilt that (223 6 cylinder) with the help of my father and paid a local part time body man and part time alcoholic $300 to paint it black (it was an awful medium brown). Got some seat covers from Warshawskis and some chrome wheels with 60 series tires on the rear (with shackles and air shocks to clear the fenders). Add in an 8-track player and some rear shelf speakers and we thought we were pretty much the coolest dudes around.
I drove it through 4 years of college (almost). Sold it to my baby brother and he still has it - now with a 390 FE.
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By junkyardjeff - 3 Years Ago
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First was in a 57 F 100 I picked up for 150 dollars back in the early 80s,was told it had a 312 and did have a 57 and up 4 bbl intake.
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By montana ford man - 3 Years Ago
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in 1963 I was 10 years old our family car was a 56 ford 4 dr sedan and I loved the sounds of the Hollywood duel exhaust! my older brother had a black 54 ford with a 239 it was cool but suffered rust problems having come from Minnesota.my first yblock was a 56 ford 4 door 292 bored to 312 with a 3 on the tree,thats when I learned a valuable lesson about rear main leaking and you need to check the oil once in awhile I was16 and had a lot to learn the car quit and wouldn't turn over,my older brother helped get it running but it spun a bearing shortly after that and it has been helping keep the Flathead river from flooding in the spring since then.about a year later I bought a 54 ford convertible without a transmission for $20 towed it home when it was cold and snowy . bought a used 3 speed with a hurst mystery shifter for $15 and had it running in the spring ,I sure loved those duel straight pipes! didn't run very well,loadmatic distributer,adjust valves,timing how do you do that? its sad because there wasn't a whole lot wrong with the car but at the time I just had other young guys say the car is "shot" I left it at a car crusher and it probably ended up having enough scrap iron to make a couple of datsuns.
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By 57RancheroJim - 3 Years Ago
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I bought a really nice 55 stick shift 2dr wagon from a junk yard that had a Y block with a rod through the side of the block, this was 1965. I bought another 292 from the same junk yard and rebuilt it to go in the wagon. I actually knew nothing about Y blocks at that time, I was only 18 years old. I bought some Jahns Hi compression pistons, a reground 3/4 cam from the auto parts store along with all the other rebuild parts. I bought a used 2 x 4 manifold and a used Mallory dual point from a local speed shop. My goal at the time was to build a FORD because all the others I knew only wanted tri 5 scrubys. I beat plenty of those scrubys.
I crashed the wagon  but the engine survived to power two more cars, a 58 in 1966 and then a 57 in 1968. Unfortunately I didn't take many pictures back then.
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By 2721955meteor - 3 Years Ago
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first block 1957 I purchased a 1955 meteor with a 272 y. put 90000miles on it, just plugs and points, and oil changes(worked in a logging camp shop and changed oil every month using scrubron series 1 and Fram spin on filter.never set the valves as plenty of oil went to the top ed. could beat any 265 chef who ever tried to come by man was a 3speed manual
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