Hey all,
I own a sweet 54 Merc Y block never over bored.  I am thinking about using it in a 50 Merc.  I can find a lot of info on the irregularities of the 54 EBU blocks.  Does this have the same special needs?  I am specifically thinking about the cam journals.

thanks Tim

Putting a Y- Block into a 49 to 51 Ford or Mercury is a big job. Years ago I put a 292 55 bird engine into a 51 Ford, we had the use of a first class machine shop and it was still a big job. 

There are one or two people on this site that have worked with those engines. Hopefully someone will plug in. Yes the larger cam journals are a problem. It might require a custom grind for performance. Also, I think stock sedan oil pans may have a clearance issue . Might need a truck or modified pan. Someone else here may be more specific on issues.  Good luck..  


Paul

just completed inst. 292 into 49 mercuryf47. you need a truck pan,truck bell housing(from a 3speed) i also went for the toyota  power steering.
had to move engine over to pass side 2in and use remote oil filter to clear the steering box. i used a 4speed tran with od in 4,had to take 1/2 in off the face where trans mounts.thenust 2bolts inside the bell 2that lined up outside. this means trans and bell h must be inst together..
 this was not a easy job, i do all my own work and would go for a 289/302 ford.
used rams horn exhaust man on pas side,old style single pas side exhaust driver side.this allowed for a nice arc for exhaust,and blocker plate for fire wall side. long and short is don't do it. tho it goes great and is different

For the '49-’51 Fords, it’s common to use the rear sump oil pan from a Y equipped pickup or truck.  The oil filter also has some clearance issues around the steering box which is taken care of by the use of a remote oil filter adapter.  I have seen a Y in a ’50 that simply had the original cartridge filter canister shortened to give the necessary clearance to the steering box.  Putting a Y in a ’49-51 Ford was a fairly common swap back in the day.  Like any non oem engine swap, a little imagination is sometimes required.
 
As far as the ’54 Merc 256 engine goes, it has the same nuances as the ’54 Ford 239.  Some of those differences includes a larger cam journal and subsequently larger cam bearings, a tang driven oil pump and oil drive, a distributor with a tang for the oil pump as well as a different number of distributor teeth driving it, a smaller dimension water pump, and a different fuel pump.  Dennis Leeking can respond better to the head gasket differences but I believe that the cooling holes in the head gaskets and block are also different thus making it difficult to use the later model heads on the 239/256 engines.
 
To retrofit a later model cam in the early blocks, a custom set of ‘thick’ brass cam bearings can be fabricated.  With this change, the ’55 and up camshafts and distributors can be used along with the ¼” hex oil pump drive and hex drive driven oil pump.  The ’55 and newer distributors can be used with the large journal camshaft by installing the 1954 13 tooth gear in place of the ’55 and up 14 tooth gear.  Here's a picture of a block with the fabbed brass bearings to permit the use of the later model camshaft in the earlier big journal block.
 

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)