I can't speak for others, but I believe most of us love YBlocks for nostalgia reasons. These engines were my first experience with Hot Rodding. Whenever I work on mine, I smile remembering long nights trying to get my 56 Ford running so I could go to work the next day. I remember dealing with major rear seal oil leaks and clicking rockers. I also remember installing my first 3/4 race cam, whatever that meant. Blowing second gear was standard operating procedure back in the day along with Fox Craft floor shifters and Cadillac rear tires. Belittling other car makes was part of the fun. A good running 301 small block Bow Tie motor with fuelie heads could blow the doors off my 292. We called them scrubs anyway.
When the GTO showed up in 1964, the landscape changed. I still remember a street race where a girl with a new Tripower GTO beat the fastest car in school right in front of the high school parking lot. Eventually, Ford gave us engines that could compete. Few GTOs or big block
scrubelles could touch my 427 Fairlane or my Cobra jets and I didn't have to insult them to do it. My 292 is a time capsule. It takes me back to a simpler time when money was tight and racers ran at midnight. It's all good.
