Also, the guy I bought it from said it came out of a truck but did come out of a t-bird tho, i gotta do some checking

That's just a typical 50+ year old used Y-Block.  The mounts do look like truck mounts.  The thermostat housing is for a car.  There's no telling what it is until you dig deeper.



Lawrenceville, GA

Betsy.  Welcome to the site.  And congratulations on your recent Y engine purchase.  As some of the others have alluded to, there are now more Thunderbird engines in existence than was originally produced.  In identifying your particular engine externally without a tear down, I’ve only found one identifier that is a positive for your engine being a 312 and that is the 5/16” dot on the flywheel flange of the crankshaft.  Not having that identifier though can still have this engine having a 312 crankshaft as there were 312 cranks produced without any identifiers on the crankshaft flange.

Block casting numbers are not positive identifiers as I’ve seen 292’s with the 312 block numbers and 312’s with 292 casting numbers which leaves positive identification in doubt until the engine is torn down.  With the heads off of the engine, then a bore and stroke check can put you closer to positively identifying your engine but even this can be misleading depending upon what was done in previous rebuilds.

With the oil pan off, then looking at the main caps can also help to positively identify the block as either a 312 or a non 312 block.  If the caps have ‘ECZ’ on them, then you are looking at a 312 block.  If the caps have ‘EBU’ on them, then you are looking at any of the other Y-Blocks that were built including the 272 and 292 combinations.  There are the rare cases where an EBU main capped block was bored by a rebuilder or racer to fit the 312 crankshaft main size but those are indeed rare.  It’s much easier to grind the 312 mains down and fit the crankshaft to a 292 block than going the other way around which involves reboring the 292 main bore to the 312 size.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

312! ECZ 6015A

Ted has given a good overview of the challenge of identifying a 312 engine.  Realize that 312s were an optional V-8 offering in Ford passenger cars in '56 and '57, used in the majority of '56 and '57 T-Birds (auto trans and 3 speed overdrive originally equipped 'Birds), the standard equipment engine in '56 and '57 Mercs. and the base V-8 option in '58-'60 Mercs.  No FoMoCo trucks were ever produced with 312 engines.

There's nothing wrong with a 292 engine.  For some applications, 292 have structural advantages over 312 engine blocks.  I.M.O.the advantage of y-blocks over other engine series is their propensity for producing significant torque curves for their original displacement sizes.   

To add to what he's said about engine block casting numbers here is some info. from John Mummert's web site, http://www.ford-y-block.com in the Technical section...

NOTE: 6015 is Ford's number for an engine block. All blocks have this number.

The Y-block FoMoCo engine block identification number is generally on the side of block above the oil filter for blocks cast at Cleveland.  Dearborn cast block I.D. number is near the ignition distributor and above the generator. Most Dearborn blocks were used in trucks. No Dearborn blocks were produced after 1957.

292 and 312 Blocks were machined from the same castings with the same markings. If the engine block has EBU main bearing caps it is a 292, if it has ECZ main caps it is a 312.

NoShortcuts
a.k.a. Charlie Brown
near Syracuse, New York

YES...  UNLESS you are only going by the engine block casting numbers...

From John Mummert's web site -  http://www.ford-y-block.com/

____________________________

YEAR    CASTING#         Cu.In.           Int.valve        Carb.              VEHICLES

   '56          ECZ-A             292/312           1.78"            4bbl                56 Ford, Merc & T-Bird

1956  ECZ 6015 A engine block   
Check the crankshaft main caps...
- with EBU maincaps =292
- with ECZ main caps =312  
OR
Check the crankshaft rear flange...

____________________________

NoShortcuts
a.k.a. Charlie Brown
near Syracuse, New York

Also the rear main seal retainer will be ECZ-6335-A for a 312 but you should know by the time you get to it.


Mark

1956 Mercury M100
1955 Ford Fairlane Club Sedan
Delta, British Columbia

Ok so after tearing apart the motor more I found, the heads had the CF logo from the Cleveland foundry and ecz - c side of heads, sorry I am a dumbass about this but I gotta learn, I will tear down more tomorrow... this is the farthest I got! will get to the crank shaft and more tomorrow. Thank you so much guys, this is a heart racing journey.... )

Betsy;
Learning curves are usually a challenge, take your time. From John Mummert's Head Casting Chart http://www.ford-y-block.com/cylinderheadchart.htm you can see that the ECZ-C heads were cast in 1956, but could have been used in pickups, Ford Cars, Mercury's or T Birds. When you take the valve covers off, you should be able to also see casting numbers on the rocker arms which should tell you what ratio you have 1.43:1 or 1.54:1. Once you get the bellhousing and flywheel off and can see the crankshaft flange, that will give you a good idea if you have a 312 or not. ENJOY!!
Rono

  Ron Lane,  Meridian, ID

Lol, thanks so much Rono