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Tim Capps
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Hitting on all eight cylinders
Group: Forum Members
Last Active: 2 Weeks Ago
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This is on a 1957 Ford C600 COE flat-bed truck. I have found that 3 cylinders on my current 272 y-block have extremely low compression. I'm thinking I should just replace the engine with something reliable, and maybe even more powerful (this thing is a dog, admittedly only running on 5 cylinders, but still). What options do I have for a replacement engine that will bolt in to my engine bay without crazy adapters and so forth? Also, if anyone has a source of such an engine, I'd appreciate a link.
Cheers, Tim
Cheers, Tim
1957 Ford C600 COE 272
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Daniel Jessup
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Last Active: 4 hours ago
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Welcome to the Y Blocks Forever site - glad to have you aboard. As far as a replacement engine - your best bet would be to locate a good, used 292 Y Block; it would bolt right up, no problem. If you get one from a passenger car, you will want to swap oil pans and timing covers with your 272 truck block. The 272 is a good engine, and the easiest upgrade to make would be to pull it, bore it out to STD 292 cylinder size and give it a stock rebuild. 272 pistons are difficult to find. 292 hardware is quite plentiful. Where are you located?
Daniel JessupLancaster, California aka "The Hot Rod Reverend" check out the 1955 Ford Fairlane build at www.hotrodreverend.com
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miker
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The Reverend gave you the most obvious answer. Putting anything else in there is not going to be easy. That’s why so many y block trucks ended up hot rodded with scrubby engines. I’ve seen several 55-57 birds with FE’s in them, and the hood would close. But it wasn’t easy. That might be an option.
Location is important. If you’re within 300 miles of Seattle I could donate a couple 292 truck engines, mostly complete. But any farther away, the gas to haul them home will be more than core motors (even though I think they’re good) are worth.
Although, the thought of an FE (maybe around 550 inches) in a COE with a load on the back for traction puts a smile on my face.
miker 55 bird, 32 cabrio F code Kent, WA Tucson, AZ
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Ted
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Group: Administrators
Last Active: 15 hours ago
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As Daniel brings up, the least expensive replacement for your 272 would be a 292. And those can be found used and in runnable condition. Switching to another family of engines involves at the very least a bellhousing, flywheel, clutch & pressure plate, accessory brackets, pulleys, belts, exhaust, and coolant hookup changes (another radiator?). That would be an FE engine and assuming you got a complete engine with fuel pump, water pump, carburetor, and other related accessories. Any other engine family whether it’s a Ford or something else simply gets more complicated. My thought process is to determine if your 272 simply needs just the cylinder heads reworked or if there is an underlying problem with the pistons, rings, or a flat lobe camshaft. Rebuilding the 272 would be by far less expensive than installing another engine family short of finding just another runnable Y-Block engine to install in place of the 272. The 272 engines when hitting on all eight cylinders are more than adequate though and with just some minor upgrades will make in excess of 200 HP and have more than enough torque to get the job done. Here's the dyno sheet of a warmed over 272 that was built for a 1954 one-ton stake bed truck. Comments from the owner of this truck after he drove it for awhile was it was way overpowered now. But he was not complaining. 72% of original size (was 702x19) - Click to enlarge
Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)
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Deyomatic
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Ted- What would a rebuild cost- ballpark wise? I often wonder what I'd do if the 292 in my coupe had some kind of catastrophic failure.
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Tim Capps
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Hitting on all eight cylinders
Group: Forum Members
Last Active: 2 Weeks Ago
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Great info, thank you all! I'm located in East Helena, Montana. I will have to look around and see if there is anyone local who can do an engine rebuild and as Daniel mentioned, see what it would cost to bore it out to 292 while it's in the shop. I have never had an engine rebuilt/bored before so I don't even know where to start looking.
Cheers, Tim
Cheers, Tim
1957 Ford C600 COE 272
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Ted
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Group: Administrators
Last Active: 15 hours ago
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Deyomatic (12/18/2024) Ted- What would a rebuild cost- ballpark wise? I often wonder what I'd do if the 292 in my coupe had some kind of catastrophic failure. Deyo. That’s a loaded question. Due to the number or variables in bringing a worn engine back to new condition, there is no set price. While some of the machine work pricing is set in stone, not all engines require the same machine work thereby making the total cost of machine work itself variable. And then the parts themselves are variables simply due to availability or the lack thereof.
Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)
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miker
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Tim, if you don’t find someone at a machine shop, post back. I’ve got a friend who retired there a year or so ago, but I think he’s still doing some work. He’s an aircraft mechanic. He may have found the local shops who can be trusted.
Also, you’re only about 10-12 hrs from me in decent weather. I’ve got 2 yblocks around we could have a look at.
We may have spoken in the past, my memory is fuzzy.
Mike
miker 55 bird, 32 cabrio F code Kent, WA Tucson, AZ
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