Ooopppsss I am reposting this from the Street forum, I think it is better here 😅


Hi all you Y-block lovers! I'm new to this forum from Athens, Greece with my '54 Mercury Monterey driver. It has the original 239 with low mileage, manual with Overdrive, 6volt positive ground, the 2140 Teapot and, the ' temperamental' Load-O-Matic..

Before learning that need a SUN machine, way back I tried to adjust the spring weights and really messed it up. I found one in England but it came back and still is no good. I've always had problems and lately it misfires especially in the mid RPM range.


Here are my novice questions for your kind expert consideration:

1. Is there a way I can manually tune the springs without the SUN machine?

2. Are there reliable Load-O-Matic tuners in the states I can send it for proper tuning?my Load-O-Matic for tuning or I just forget about them?
3. Should I simply forget about it and go for a point unit with centrifugal weights like the ones used in the later Y-Block engines? And frankly I would like to keep it as buy now. I ( I can easily do Ted 's vacuum Teapot conversion I read about in this forum) know it quite well
4.
5. I am also open foran HEI distributor that looks like my original and can fit with the shaft length and tang coupling to the oil pump. However there is a question with the wiring of my overdrive's kick down switch wiring on the coil, because I tried the Pertronix unit it way back and it did not work.

That's it, thank you all in advance
Aris

Judging from the pictures, the engine looks like a 256 not a 239.

Changing to a centrifugal advance distributor, whether '57 and up Ford or aftermarket, will require changing the oil pump to hex drive and using the hex drive shaft.  Worth the effort in my opinion. 

John - "The Hoosier Hurricane"

That is a 256CI 4V particular to 1954 MERC -

http://www.coolcarsimport.fr/decodeur-de-vin-mercury-50-57/

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You have a very well preserved survivor.

BEFORE any upgrades, please take extensive photos and save all take-off parts so as you can share the assembly details with others. I would think there are quite a few restorers that would like to document what you have.

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A lot of excellent information and a lot of choices in all the above. You did state the distributor was sent out to someone who had a Sun machine which produced no favorable results. Maybe?? the distributor isn't the issue. I noticed the vehicle has vacuum operated power brakes along with the usual vacuum lines for the wiper system and the heater control valve. Have you tried temporarily blocking/plugging all those vacuum lines to see if a vacuum leak might be a contributing factor? The spark plug wires are the early carbon "Sipcon" wires that were like most all early carbon wires, not very reliable, even in the day.  Coil, condenser and points?  Also, if I needed to set up a Load-O-Matic and didn't have a distributor machine, I would try using a vacuum gauge and a hand operated vacuum pump plumbed to the vacuum diaphragm. It would be a pain but with a timing light you might get a good idea of how the distributor is functioning.  Just my 2cents, welcome to the site and good luck....                     Very nice Mercury - when able, share some more pics of the car.

64F100 57FAIRLANE500

KULTULZ and ALANFREEMAN you got it right! I have a 256 ci as confirmed after the engine casted number has now appeared next to the distributor!
Interestingly when the car was imported here, the customs could not find it, they were looking for a stamped number near the water pump as in GM later engines. So my Greek documents in engine they have noted ' without number' 😄