It seems to me like there must have been significant internal disagreements at the time.  I was always curious as to why Ford changed engines so often?   Perhaps it had something to do with the failure of the Edsel?    I have always been a Ford guy.  It hasn't been cheap or easy.  Both my father and grandfather owned them, My first car was a Ford.  I've driven and raced them all my life.  I have had a few Brand X cars.  They never gave me the same feeling. 

couldnt agree more.ive owned nothing but a v8 ford since 68.ive been into these things so long that its not so bad for me since i know what fits what but its no wonder others gave up.

hi all i also have a soft spot for the Y block.had them 40 years ago and the last 10 years i have come back .(still like a clevo too)i have 9 sitting on the shed floor just in case i get bored.

blocky ... you sound like me with GMC 6’s

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

My first hot rod engine was a Y-Block. We would buy a whole 57 Ford motor for $50, hose it off and go street racing. I swapped so many old Fords from an automatic to a stick that I could do it in my sleep.   Back then, most of our engines were stock. I envied the guys with race cams because of the sound they made.  Swapping cams and lifters in a YBlock is challenging because of the mushroom lifters, so we would leave the old lifters with predictable results. By the time I had the money to do things right, the FE engine was the big dog.

I wish I had my current TBird back then.  My first decent job paid $80 a week with a wife and a child to support, so that was not going to happen. Since then, I've built every car I ever wanted to own.  Y-Blocks make me smile.  You still see one every now and then.   I hate it when someone swaps in a newer engine.  There's something about a 50s Ford with a 302 that just doesn't look right to me.

Here is the link to the 1959 U.S. Nationals showing Rod Singer / Karol Miller winning with a M-E-L powered ‘Blown A’ dragster in the Top Eliminator class.  Rod is driving while Karol is wrenching.  The dragster is shown racing in this video several times while the final time slot shows both Karol and Rod in the winners circle at the end of the race.  Here are the times to look for.
21:06
22:27
23:30
26:10
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2x9IsKy_M5w 

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

my last y block car was in 1970.was married in 71 and that was the end of old cars for me.all of the y block powered car were gone from here by that time due to rust and none were made after 58 anyway.didnt get another untill 2002.a 56 customline.a long wait.

Right after we married in 1965, I bought a 56 Ford Victoria off a car lot.  It had a 292 with a three speed on the floor.  It had a bad starter and I didn't have the money to fix it, so I always tried to park it on a hill.  Since there weren't many hills in Miami, I carried jumper cables in my trunk.  I got caught a few times jumping my car from other people's cars without permission.  Those were the days.....

the 430 series had the block cut at an angle as everyone knows.you couldnt use an old type b0ring bar like i have a van norman 777.i understand they had a plate that bolted to the block to level it.anyone ever see one.

Interesting discussion on some of the Ford V8's. I realize the LEM engine series isn't a Y-block but this interesting thread brought back some long ago memories of a 383 in good condition. I got my hands on this 383 from a wrecked 58 Mercury.  Once I learned an FE bell housing and flywheel would fit, it was off to the bone yard to pick parts. This was in the late 60s when I put this 383 in my old 62 Galaxy 4dr.  I thought I could play with valve timing by installing solid lifters and adjustable rockers from an FE. They fit, it worked. This thing developed crazy torque. I couldn't come out of the hole with out wiping out the 1st gear slider and cluster. Like, had to get up to about a 40mph roll and then the car would pull super strong. There was different technology used on this engine series like mentioned above.  The cylinder deck was machined at a 10* angle (I think), the heads were flat - no combustion chambers and the power steering pump was integral to the timing chain cover behind the damper pulley. For me, it was and still is very satisfying to sort out any Ford compatibility issues then building something that performs excellent and reliable. The tricks and resources are there, just have to dig for them and it's been worth it.


64F100 57FAIRLANE500