I got a slight surprise as I took my new timing chain from Summit out of the box... no timing marks as it shows in the book and as I had remembered from earlier work.  The shop manual shows the gears and chain very clear and expanded, I counted the links that were between the marks, it was seven, marked the chain with a pen and proceeded to install it just fine and with # one piston at the top, the gears and my chain marks looked exactly as it looks in the book, I know it's correct.  This is also a good time to put the distributor in, get those gears in the right place.

Seven links, Warren?  I thought it was supposed to be 12!  OR... Am I thinking pins and you're talking links?  Check me on this.  


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

You’ll do better counting the pins rather than the links; it will be twelve pins between the marks.  I haven’t seen a set of gears without timing marks but in this day and age I’m not surprised.  Be sure to check both sides of the gears for the marks.  The lower gear will have a chamfer on the snout hole and that chamfer needs to go towards the engine.  By the book, the timing mark on that gear is suppose to be on the opposite side of the chamfer.
 
Once the timing set is installed, you will need to verify that the cam timing is correct.  This can be performed by actually degreeing in the camshaft with a degree wheel and dial indicator at which point the camshaft timing can actually be fine tuned for best performance and economy.  A short cut to verifying that the cam timing is in the ball park is looking at the rocker arms or lifters with the #1 and #6 pistons at TDC and verifying that one of those two cylinders will have the two lifters or two rockers at equal lift at the valve.  Most Y gear sets will have the #1 cylinder at the overlap cycle with the #1 piston at TDC with the timing chain marks and 12 links on the oil filter side of the engine.  That means the #6 cylinder will be at compression TDC and if timing the distributor at this point, you'll either time it for the #6 cylinder or rotate the engine 360° so you can time it to the #1 cylinder.  At the overlap cycle, the exhaust valve will be almost closed and the intake valve will be equally opening on the overlap cycle and the rocker arms will both be level with each other although they are moving in opposite directions to each other.
 
Here’s the link to an article going into more detail on the timing chain installation for the Y engines.
http://www.eatonbalancing.com/blog/2015/09/24/degreeing-in-the-camshaft-part-iii-its-twelve-pins-between-the-marks-for-the-ford-y/

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

Hi Ted and everybody, and again ... THANKS MUCH for the wrist pin clips, everybody so willing to jump in and help.  i still have no idea what I did with that clip when I took it out, I must be "losing it", maybe I've been doing this crap for too long.  Anyway all is OK now and we're on a roll.

Yea, it is 12 pins but 7 links is fine also, I went by the nice big picture in my original shop manual from Ford in '54.  The chain has no marks at all, mainly because it fits other motors with not the same marks setup, I guess you just have to know.  Could be that a chain from Mac's, a Ford licensed venue might have the marks ...  I got all the stuff from Summit Racing, prices were great and shipping was FREE and shipping now is not cheap anymore ....... nothing else is either...    
Tomorrow we'll get the front cover and oil pan on, this will about complete the engine.  I'll need the 'cosmetics' like carb' and fuel pump from the engine now in the car.
I made sure the oil feed holes for the rocker shafts were lined up correct, a mistake there could mean a call to AAA on a trip, maybe even a short one.  As to "outside oil lines"....  to me, all bull-crap, not needed, we are using modern oil, not the junk we had back in the fifties.  Most of that oiling problem was simply a lack of changing oil, it was a thousand miles in those days and if you didn't you could have problems, some did.
The color "Caterpillar Yellow" is as close to correct as it gets for the '54 239Y.  Air cleaner and valve covers are Allis Chalmers Orange, works for me and good enough for the girls I go out with ...  (whch isn't saying much)
Thanks again guys,
Warren, in MN






 

Not too sure about the color combination until I see it, But about those girls you go out with?

Y's guys rule!
Looking for McCullouch VS57 brackets and parts. Also looking for 28 Chrysler series 72 parts. And early Hemi parts.

MoonShadow, 292 w/McCulloch, 28 Chrysler Roadster, 354 Hemi)
Manchester, New Hampshire