just a really silly question but i need to know. as we all know you can put clevo heads on a windsor or is it vice versa? but has any type of head switch ever been done for a y block??? too much time on my hands sitting at home. have  a  nice day!

Blocky.  In the U.S., FoMoco y-blocks were principally manufactured for car / truck use from 1954 - 1964.  It's been indicated that marine y-block applications went produced for somewhat longer into the later '60s.  The early, first year y-block heads had some production variations from those produced late in '54 and on up.  What I can't recall dates for is the years of y-block production in South America.  Argentina, I think, for one.

Many parts, but not all, interchange '54 - '64.  To be safe, figure that 1955 through 1964 cylinder heads can be interchanged.  As a rule of thumb, it's best to replace them as same year sets due to variations in combustion chamber volumes and intake valve size.  The number of different series of heads used over the years is amazing to me.  In the early years, ('55, '56) it intrigues me that the compression ratio used on the auto trans engines was higher than on the standard transmission engines.  -Yes, different size /shape combustion chambers were used on one transmission application versus the other.  FoMoCo seemed to stop worrying about that by 1957.

John Mummert's web site listing of y-block cylinder head applications may be of interest to you if you haven't seen it.
Click the link below to view JM's FoMoCo y-block cylinder head application listing.
http://www.ford-y-block.com/cylinderheadchart.htm

Hope this helps.


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

really good info charlie thank you so much for sharing the knowledge and have a great day

I've looked at installing other heads on a Y Block Ford, Looks like a Pontiac Iron Duke is the closest to being able to convert, there was a Yates head for a nascar scruby that may work (never tried that one), 

Why would anyone want to do such a thing?  I could see how Ford heads on a Ford may have benefits as you could say you still have a Ford motor in your car.  Pontiac or scruby heads?   Why not put YBlock valve covers on a SBC and call it a Ford?  I saw one like that in a local car show.   I assume the best heads you can get for a YBlock are Mummert Aluminum heads?  Is this still the case?

Not going to do it, just looking for fun

Just for fun but still food for thought.
 
Cleveland heads can be put on Windsor engines and vice versa with a bit of cooling passage work.  I've seen this done both ways so it's doable.  While eight of the ten head bolts on the Ford Y do align with the SBF engines, the upper end head bolt holes either in the heads or the block would need to be reconfigured to use SBF heads.  Once that’s accomplished, then the valve orientation in the heads would require a different camshaft and firing order.  And then you cranked up the engine and realized that the rockers were not receiving any oil as the SBF engines do their top end oiling using hollow pushrods.
 
While it’s been considered to use Windsor heads on the Ford Y, it sort of defeats the purpose in that you lose the stacked ports on the Y.  It’s those stacked ports that are a distinctive feature of the Ford Y-Block.  One of the advantages of those stacked ports besides allowing a more uniform length of the intake runners versus an engine without stacked ports is that the intake manifold has a plenum floor that is the same depth under both sides of the carburetor.  If you look at most other engines with a true dual plane intake manifold, you will find a plenum floor at two different depths which throws a ‘kink’ into the torque curve.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

very interesting. it makes you think that anything may be possible.(if i was silly enough to do it.) cheers.

Ted, how were the Argentine heads oiling done. I have only seen photos and a friend I met when I ran Bonneville from the San Francisco area had actually known a lot about them. I believe they were called Fase ll and as you said had a different cam and firing order but kept the shaft rocker arm of our traditional Y..

56 Vic, B'Ville 200 MPH Club Member, So Cal.

Oiled through the block just like ours.