Are there pictures of all of this stuff somewhere? Back in the day, mid 60's I built up a 312 and I didn't do any of this stuff and it held together and ran like a bat out of hell for the day ..

Doing Fords for 45 years. '56 Customline Victoria

E.J. in Havana FL

Guys,

I don't want to cause any problems for anyone interested in rebuilding their rocker assemblies the way I have demonstrated in my Video. I see a few discussions pop up from time to time so I know it has been on the minds of some.

I would like to start by saying that I have used this set up with no problems so far in my engines, this is with a grooved center cam journal, new valves & guides, and very clean heads. After reading some of the concerns I freely admit there could be a problem in certain cases. If you have grooved the block behind the center cam bearing and have no restriction to the rockers this could fill the head faster than the oil can drain back. If you don't have the overflow tubes and the return passages are clogged partially with sludge the oil will not drain back fast enough, and if your valve guides have noticeable wear this could cause smoking in any case.

I'm not trying to convert the "Y" world to my way of thinking, if you have good clean parts and passages go ahead and use the overflow tubes.  I'm sure your engine will work fine, they have for decades.   I do however think it is a good idea to cut a small groove across the oil hole on the shafts for better oil distribution no mater which way you go.

   God Bless.   Tim                           http://yblockguy.com/

350ci Y-Block FED "Elwood", 301ci Y-Block Unibody LSR "Jake", 312ci Y-Block '58 F-100, 338ci Y-Block powered Model A Tudor

tim@yblockguy.com  Visalia, California    Just west of the Sequoias

and to also note, FE rocker shafts did get a diagonal groove across the oiling hole. so Ford engineers were also wise to that.

(that may have already been mentioned in the thread) -

This ain't no L-Kamino!

OK Guys,

I'm still not trying to say that using the overflow tube is a bad thing, but I don't think that pressurizing is bad either. After all the FE and the MEL are that way so the Ford engineers thought it Was a good idea. So give this a look.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTdmD0sQbx4&feature=channel_page

   God Bless.   Tim                           http://yblockguy.com/

350ci Y-Block FED "Elwood", 301ci Y-Block Unibody LSR "Jake", 312ci Y-Block '58 F-100, 338ci Y-Block powered Model A Tudor

tim@yblockguy.com  Visalia, California    Just west of the Sequoias

Neat!- Thanks, Tim! /Duck

BOO- YA!!!

Great thought on the potential for bearing issues off of the center main but apparently it’s a non-event as the center main bearing and the #2 and 7 rod bearings do not show any more wear than any other bearings on the Y as a general rule.  The same non-event for bearing wear is also observed on the Ford FE engines where the #2 & 4 main bearings and the #2, 4, 5 & 7 rod bearings do not show any additional wear as a result of oil being supplied to the topend from main journals #2 & #4.  Bernoulli’s Law helps to explain why the pressure drop is not as severe at these particular locations as would be imagined.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

This 292 rocker shaft ass'y hasn't seen oil in many miles of operation.  It's pure stock original.

Those two little tiny holes in the rocker arms?  I had a hard time finding them.  ALL were packed with dirt and varnish.  ZERO oil flowed through these rocker arms (and the shafts were screwed).  All the oil simply drained down the overflow tubes.  The section of shaft that wasn't in the oil path was full of sludge, like heavy bearing grease.

Tim McMaster's video bears compelling witness; it shows plenty of return drain without flooding valve stem towers, at 4,000 RPM.  That's impressive!  Good job, McMaster.

Now that I have new shafts and clean rockers, I will pressurize the shafts, causing positive rocker arm oil flow & healthy (increased) oil system pressure.  By stark contrast to the original method, any piece of dirt (or air) will be pushed out by 45-lbs. of oil pressure instead of lodging forever.

Pressure is produced by restriction to flow. Simply opening the oil to a drain tube is the WORST thing the engine engineers could have done.  Another oil-choked area is the timing chain set.

Dave Dare

Royal Oak, Michigan (Four miles north of Detroit, and 12 miles NORTH of Windsor, Canada).  That's right, we're north of Canada.

Ford 292 Y-Block major overhaul by simplyconnected

Welcome to the site Dave,

Thank you for the vote of confidence on the rocker mods. I assume you will be doing more than just replacing the rocker assemblies on this engine. If your shafts are worn for lack of oil I can only guess that the guides, and the rest of the heads for that matter, have seen better days.

   God Bless.   Tim                           http://yblockguy.com/

350ci Y-Block FED "Elwood", 301ci Y-Block Unibody LSR "Jake", 312ci Y-Block '58 F-100, 338ci Y-Block powered Model A Tudor

tim@yblockguy.com  Visalia, California    Just west of the Sequoias

Thank You, Tim.  Your video speaks for itself, and is EXACTLY what I wanted to see.  I am doing a major overhaul on this 292. This is the block (last week):

I just left my my machine shop.  They boiled, magnafluxed, and shot blasted this block.  Today, they bored  the cylinders .060".  They are installing new hardened exhaust seats, and grinding all the valves and seats.  Surprisingly, the guides look pretty good, and so do the valves.  Of course, if I need anything replaced, I will.


I bought it from a guy in Massachusetts who is parting-out his '59 Galaxie.  Being an "unknown" engine, I had already planned to rebuild it before its arrival.  The seller said he drove his Galaxie into the garage, with intentions of restoring the car.  When he found the frame rotted away, he stopped the project and began selling everything off.

My '59 Galaxie has three on the tree; something my wife asked me to convert to automatic.  So, I got his 292 (w/1.9" intake valves), his Cruise-o-matic (that I'm rebuilding in two weeks), brake pedal assembly, driveshaft, and the whole steering column assembly including gearbox and pitman arm.
Here's my Galaxie:

I found a good Elgin ROLLER timing chain set (made in Elgin, Illinois), and a set of oil pump rotors.  Actually, I tried to get some prices from John Mummert; two days ago I called but got a voice mail recording which said all his phones are busy, but please leave a number and someone would call back.  Never happened.  Oh well, I bought my parts now, so, no need.

My next search will be for a 4*-offset cam key.  I'm sure they're out there, I just have to find one.  By the way, all the lower-end parts were beautiful.  Lifters and cam look like new, all the crank pins and mains measure and look great!  The rings had .100"-200" end gaps, oil pump was real 'tired', and the umbrella seals traveled with the stems.  You know about the rocker shafts.  I was very lucky to save the rocker arms, now they are on new shafts, and they feel good.  - Dave

Royal Oak, Michigan (Four miles north of Detroit, and 12 miles NORTH of Windsor, Canada).  That's right, we're north of Canada.

Ford 292 Y-Block major overhaul by simplyconnected

Look for a Chevy 6 cyl. offset key. Someone makes them.



You've come to the right place for help. There are a lot of knowledgeable, helpful people here.



I recently had a 59 block into the machine shop. I was going for a zero-deck with my pistons. The machinist found that the head surface was all over the place. Do a search on this site for 'zero-deck' or similar and you can find the information.



Sounds like you've got the good 113 heads.



If you haven't already found the site, Dennis Carpenter sells good parts cheap. Dennis Carpenter

Best regards,



Paul Menten

Meridian, Idaho