I have located two Turnpikes, one a '57 and the other a '58. They both have the 368 y-block in them. Are these engine any better or worse than the 292-312 engines? Are they harder to find parts for? Do they hold up?

Jeff Leydig
Stallions Auto Interiors
Stearns, Ky. USA

The last year for the 368 should be 1957.  For ’58, the M-E-L line of engines were introduced which would have included the 383, 410, and 430.  The 383 was a Mercury only option while the 410 was an Edsel only option.  The 430 was available in the Thunderbird, Mercury (Super Marauder), and the Lincoln.

 

Performance parts and for that matter, just plain rebuild parts for the 368 engines are definitely harder to come by.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

If you think the Y-block is rare, the M-E-L is a white whale!

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People should not be afraid of their government, a government should be afraid of the people.

--Alan Moore

Not so.  Although not as easy to get parts for as the Ford Y or a Flathead, certainly not as hard as a Lincoln Y.  I have built three MELs (two 462 and one 430) in the last year and a half and had no trouble getting parts.  Now paying for them is another story, not cheep. 

   God Bless.   Tim                           http://yblockguy.com/

350ci Y-Block FED "Elwood", 301ci Y-Block Unibody LSR "Jake", 312ci Y-Block '58 F-100, 338ci Y-Block powered Model A Tudor

tim@yblockguy.com  Visalia, California    Just west of the Sequoias

Egge Machine has the rebuild parts for all MEL and 317, 341 & 368 engines.  The parts do cost more than the Y-Block.

Larry D

Winnipeg, MB Canada Eh!


'57 Fairlane 500 Club Victoria

'58 Custom 300 Tudor

'56 Crown Victoria

'61 Starliner Z Code

'51 Ford Victoria

Just curious, what is the 462? A bored out 430?

Gerald Ingram aka "Gritsngumbo"
Monroe, LA
LITTLE RED: 64 Ford F100 Short Bed Styleside
BIG RED: 63 Ford F100 Long Bed Unibody
BBW RED: 61 Ford F100 BBW Long Bed Custom Cab Unibody
BIG “UN: 63 F250 Longbed Flareside
CREW CAB: 63 F100 "Stageway" Crew Cab w/Long "Wrong" Bed

More bore more stroke.  430 =4.3" x 3.7"  462 =4.38" x 3.83"

   God Bless.   Tim                           http://yblockguy.com/

350ci Y-Block FED "Elwood", 301ci Y-Block Unibody LSR "Jake", 312ci Y-Block '58 F-100, 338ci Y-Block powered Model A Tudor

tim@yblockguy.com  Visalia, California    Just west of the Sequoias

With the stock Ford pistons didnt the 430s have 10.5 or 11 to 1 CR?  What was the compression with replacement pistons?

Mike, located in the Siskiyou mountains, Southern, OR 292 powered 1946 Ford 1/2 ton, '62 Mercury Meteor, '55 Country Squire (parting out), '64 Falcon, '54 Ford 600 tractor.

The replacement pistons from Egge were definitely lower comp. although I didn't figure out just how much.  The stock piston has a little angle pop-up with eyebrows for the valves, the replacement piston was flat strait across.  For those who don't know the MEL has an angle deck like the scrub 348-409 with a flat cylinder head and the combustion chamber in the block.  The pop-up does more than just raise the compression it gives a quench area so a flat piston may lower the the compression but you may have a detonation problem anyway, although no such problem was reported with this engine.

here is the stock piston

   God Bless.   Tim                           http://yblockguy.com/

350ci Y-Block FED "Elwood", 301ci Y-Block Unibody LSR "Jake", 312ci Y-Block '58 F-100, 338ci Y-Block powered Model A Tudor

tim@yblockguy.com  Visalia, California    Just west of the Sequoias

Tim, thanks for the pic.  I had read the combustion chamber was formed by the piston, since the heads were flat and have wondered what the pistons looked like.

Mike, located in the Siskiyou mountains, Southern, OR 292 powered 1946 Ford 1/2 ton, '62 Mercury Meteor, '55 Country Squire (parting out), '64 Falcon, '54 Ford 600 tractor.