There's a 1956 Fairlane with a 312 for sale on Blacksburg, Virginia Craigslist for $6000.00 , looks great from the picture, just thought I would share, I don't know my Fords that well but did the sedans come with 312's?

Yes, 56 Fords had 312's in them. In high school my friend had a 56 Club Sedan with a 312. Might have been a mid year option. There would be a "P" for engine code. My 56 Fairlane came with a 292, 4bbl carb and air cooled torque converter. I think the majority of 56's were 292 not 312. In discussions with folks that do not know the engine they just assume a Y block looking is a 312. 272 was also offered in 56- Bob 

AKA   Bob-93021

Never heard of anyone selling a Y Block that wasnt a 312.
There ALL 312s. (till you open them up)
Oldmics

It was a midyear option. Before that all 312s went into T-Birds and Mercs.

312s in regular passenger cars came available sometime in the spring of 1956, before that as Dobie pointed out, most production went to Mercury's & T.birds &  official cars (mostly Police). Someone did some research on this & reported that only about 17% of 1956 Ford passenger cars came factory equipped with a 312... Miraculously. many that come up for sale now, are somehow equipped with them. It's handy for the sellers, as it's difficult to confirm it one way or the other, by just looking at the outside of the engine.. Further, buyers should be extra careful if the 312 they are buying is not in a running vehicle. Buyers should refer to John Mummert's link from here, for further information...       


Paul

First wife had a P code '56 Victoria when we got married. It had the small T Bird emblem on the front fenders and one on the dash as I recall. Not sure if this indicated a 312 or not but I know the P serial # did.

The “Thunderbird V8” emblems on the 1956 Fords could represent either a 292 or a 312 as both engines were considered Thunderbird V8’s.  The Y8 emblem represented the Ford V8 which was a 272.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)