how did they trick out the NASCAR Y-blocks back in the day?

I will agree about the cam bearings. I have tore down dozens of Y blocks and never found a spun cam bearing. I think the problem is the 90 degree turn that the oil passage makes at the head. I found that radiusing the passage in the block and head. and enlarging the slot in the head will greatly improve rocker oiling. A PCV valve will help remove moisture and blowby gasses and help reduce the formation of sludge. A PCV installation also will relieve some crankcase pressure and help reduce rear main leakage. OldWolf

 

Fireball Roberts 57 for sale on Ebay.


Item number 140305505147

 

eBay rejected my bid. Guess I didn't add enough zeros to it.

 

There was a lot more "stock" about them back then that there is today for sure.

 

It never ceases to amaze me that when someone asks a question or makes a comment how fast a fair portion of the others get off topic.

What the hell do FE block Fords an 421 Pontiacs have to do with a guy wanting to make a Y block Ford get up and go and live long enough to brag about it.

You finally did get some useful info though.

On the oiling to the rockers problem. Yes there were and still are kits sold to bypass the oil passage in the head and block. As Homespun91 said the oiling problems were usually due to lack of maintenance or not changing the oil and filter at the prescribed mileage or time. Anyone want to go back to the thousand mile oil changes?

 

Typical sbc guys on here don't know shit about what they say. No one argues that the sbc was and is one of the best engines ever built. But, the Y-block Fords, and when you say Y-block, you include 239, 272,292, 312, 332, 352, 360, 361, 390, 406,427,428, 383, 410, 430 and 462's. All were Y-blocks.

 

YES, I DID, but it was like pulling teeth.

That's the glory of the internet forum. The naysayers will input ther negativity, even while it has NOTHING to do with what they are typing. If a guy wants a SBC, Pontiac, 302, 427, let them have it. If a guy asks a question about a particular item, answer the question, or stay out of it. I didn't ask about how good/bad the 292 Y-block is or isn't. I ASKED how the guys back in the day made them better. I didn't ask to compare this thing to a ZZ4 350, or a goddam Pontiac triple.

Ted Koppel said it best. If you don't like what you see, turn the channel.

Keep the negativity to yourself. You build yours, I'll build mine.

 

first thanks to ktulz and henryfloored for getting some facts straight for others.
As most things go there are improvements made and all things change.
Mines not the fastest or the cheapest, just mine. I built my yblock for fun and because I thought it was a little different.
Here is what I did to mine, it's a stroker and i am real happy with it, lots of fun very reliable.

http://www.y-blocksforever.com/forums/Topic1046-4-1.aspx?Highlight=dyno+Results

 

good stuff, I musta missed that thread!

 

Hey Wolf, it sure didn't happen that way around here when the '60 360hp 352 hit the streets!

 

My first vehicle was a 55 ford pk it had a 292 Y block with a holley teapot carb. My second was a 59 ford cop car it had a FE 352 interceptor i still have it.Back in the sixties i worked at a salvage yard. Every one calles 239-272- 292 and 312,s Y blocks.We just referred to the FE,s by the size as in 352- 390 ect. The only reason i ragged on the post is the claim that Y blocks DOMINATED NASCAR. Most on here have thick skin. Sorry if i upset anyone or hurt your feelings. To each his own OldWolf

 

My 352 was a 59 300 hp from a cop car i had a standard stick. That 50 ford with chev power used a adapter to mate to the ford trans. when he shifted to second he would just pull away beat me by two car lengths in the quarter. Those 360 Hp 352,s had different exhaust manifolds individual runners. I would like to have a set of them. The exhaust was probably the limiting factoe on FE,S. I have the adjustable rockers and pushrods from a FE. OldWolf

 

Well for one thing you didn't say what that 352 was in. If it was in a '59 Ford with a ford-0-matic and tall gears I can completely understand a 283 in a shoe box wasting you. However if that 352 had been in a shoe box also and was hooked to a T-85 and had a 4bbl & headers I doubt very much if that 283 would have zapped you. Getting back to a Y-block, I had a '57 Ford "back in the day" with a re-worked 324" Y-block and I did a job on quite a few FE powered cars. Of course weight was a factor in some cases but I took out a '62 406 with not much fan fare. So a blanket statement that a FE will whip a Y-blocks ass is not necessarily so. I suppose one could call a FE a Y-block since the block skirt came below the crankshaft but I think most car people knows what one is referring to as a Y-block. That would be like saying a 52, 53 & 54 Chevy is a Tri-5. It is in fact just as much a Tri-5 as a 55, 56 & 57 however most folks know what one is talkin' about when they speak of a Tri-5.

 

When I was young... ... a FE was referred to as a Big Block. A few years after the 385 Series came out and the FE was being phased out, it became known as a Big Block.

The actual Y-Block was a very specialized engine, as was the LINC Y, the FE and the MEL. All had extended skirts but there is no way one can group them all together under the heading of Y-BLOCK. It only throws confusion on a very confusing subject to start with.

Rule of Thumb-

 

I had mentioned it in an earlier post. When the engine was in the 59 ford it had a crusomatic and 3.00 gears. I installed it in a 56 ford victoria 2 dr htp. Turquiose and white with a tupquiose and white tuck and roll interior.That interior was stiched by Joe Clements in 1962 cost $320.oo then I had a close ratio borg warner 4 speed.The one with a 220 to 1 first gear. used the 59 rear housing with a 370 pumpkin from a 58 ford pk. Had some G 70 14 Tireson back. I will always believe that all else being equal a FE will beat a 292 -312 anytime.The reason the chev powered shoe box could beat me was simply he could turn about 1500 more RPM than i could. OldWolf

 

I suppose that would depend on what "all things being equal" is. I have a hard time believing that a, basically, 220 hp 283 in a shoebox would whip a 300 hp FE in a '56 Ford. My '56 weighs in the neighborhood of 3200#. I doubt that's much more than a shoebox. I would have loved to have ran across that shoebox (or your '56, for that matter) with my '57, but of course "all things wouldn't have been equal". Gotta watch those cops up there around Pocahontas though, I damned near got a ticket for speedin' in Black Rock .. If I hadn't been a retired cop I would have.

 

Lots of good points on here. No doubt about the strength of the Y block casting. They are built like brick shit houses. Also much of the oiling difficulty Y blocks had back in the day is as attributable to bad oil and poor design. Even cheap modern oil is an improvement.

I'm pretty sure the Paxton-McCulloch blown Y blocks would have been NASCAR eligible in 57. BY 58 the Y would be replaced by the FE.

I've never had much luck with Y blocks. I've worked on a bunch, and to me they seem like they were designed more by engineers than a car guy. But, there is no doubt that they can run good, reliably, be daily driven, make good power, and if you have the money, there is no denying the cool factor.

 

The factory 57 blower cars had special German ball bearings in the blowers that the production motors didnt so the privateer could never keep one together. They usually ran the 2-4 barrel motor in them @ 270hp. There was a guy in Miami Fl named George Nelson who built some rocket ship Y blocks in their day. Later he switched to small block Chevys in stock car racing but he did drive a 56 convertable Ford in the Daytona Beach race on the beach in 56. He died of cancer a few years back but was one sharp Jose building any motor. If he built it the thing hauled A** whether it was a Y-block Fe or small block Chevy. Obviously there are better choices out there today but they were good motors if built right

 

My first car was a 56 Ford stick 292 four barrel engine when the car was eight years old.I had some trouble dealing with the other young punks in stock Power Pac 55-57 Chevy stick cars.The only really fast Y block street car was a 57 Ford that had fender exit headers poking through the rust holes on each side.It could give the rich young punks in their newer stock 327 Chevys a run for their money.

 

for 1957 nascar let the detroit iron run with blowers(fords)f.i chevs 3x2s olds,pont 2x4s merc,2x4s dodge and ply,after a bad wreck nascar outlawed all speed parts went back to 4 barrel only,its said by some that the blown fords were putting out 350+hp, the trick olds that petty was running actuly clocked around 150 on the beach and it also had a special 371 in it. public couldnt buy that motor so using some thought (ouch it hurts)i believe that no one that wasnt racing could buy one of them u could buy a look alike but it didnt make the h/p a factory race motor made.had a friend when i was 16 that dad had a 57 fairlane 500 with the blower dont remember it ever losing a race to anything,but like i said the motors the gen public could buy wernt get down race motors

 

ok i respect your opinion and all but the funny thing is i heard damn near the exact same story from my pops, (albeit occuring on the long straights of central Illinios farmlands agianst a chevy car and a ford car) which ended up favoring the Y.. bottom line is that the guy asked how they hopped up Y's in the day.. he didn't ask anyone to compare their SBC to a Y or ask for eveyone's opinions on brand loyalty.. all in all anyone that has torn a Y down has got to admit that it is one of the beefiest blocks they have seen.. i know i did.. I'd seen SBC's FE's and Mopar blocks torn down before.. and if you want to go to a traditional sense, all of the modifications needed to make a Y a completely flawless performer can be done at home with the right knowledge and simple hand tools..a couple of holes in the head and block to deal with cooling and a decent rebuild running modern engine oil and the right gearing and cam and it will turn 6 grand and then some all day long.. much more traditional than calling up some company and ordering parts with a credit card.. I have absolutely no brand loyalty when it comes to engines(American is American right?) but i have come to greatly respect these Y's of late for hot rod builds because of their low costs(got mine for a a twenty, when was the last time you got a 283 for $20) and high avalibity(like above post reffering to Rodney "they get no respect") bottom line bro (i mean the guy that started this post) try John Mummert's site at ford-y-blocks.com or PM mctim.. he has built some insanely bad-all Y's and has been really good about schooling me on them so far..

 

It so happens that i have several Y blocks and FE,s myself . The only reason thet i ragged on the poster is the statement that Y blocks DOMINATED. Shure they won some races But they never Dominated anything. It was all meant to be good fun Sorry if i struck a nerve with some thin skinned Y block fans, There is a very good reason why you can buy a Y block for only $20 . OldWolf

 

Hey I am a chevy man too, But let's give the guy credit for wanting to try something different.

 

no nerve struck my man.. it's all good.. there was that few year series for convertibles they did back in the fifties though wasn't there?.. pretty sure Ys won more than half of all those races.. not exactly sure of the years though

 

Yep I think those Y blocks are more popular today than they where back when they where still in production. even Jonathan W installed one in his hotrod! Ive got a pile of Y blocks I would sell or trade. Im certainly never gonna use them. Ive got a 62 T bird 390 and a 428 that I can simply leave stock and they will make enough power.

 

Interesting thread. But did anyone see anything funny about that story of Karol Miller at Bonneville in 56? Here's the link: https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...y-blocks-back-in-the-day.339622/#post-3665615

Holley dual quad manifold with dual Holley 4 barrels on a Y-Block Ford in 1956? Really? Looking up Edelbrock history I don't see where they produced any such thing at that time. Maybe I just can't find it. What about the carb? The only Holley 4 barrel in 56 was the teapot. So Edlebrock made a dual quad manifold for Y-Block Ford's in 1956 that took dual teapot carbs huh?

 

I believe Edelbrock did. Also a single Eldy. Not to mention the Ford dual quad version. Not Holley that I am aware of.

 

Well, a little more digging and I found this:

That is an Edelbrock EDB-C intake manifold from 1956. Haha! Damn, I love learning new things. And yes, Karol Miller used dual teapot carbs with that, and not only that, those teapots actually perform pretty damn well. Look at the dyno numbers comparing teapots to later Holley carbs
http://forums.y-blocksforever.com/PrintTopic77765.aspx

I admit I was skeptical when I read that story, but am glad I went on a hunt for info and found this.

 

This is who you need to talk with .