hey hambers.. i'm new to the board and i'm starting my first hot rod project and needed some help/info/advice.. I picked up a 47 ford truck cab and hood so that's squared away then i found the engine/tranny steal of the year.. a totally complete 272 Y-block and 4-speed for $20.. my question is what can anyone tell me about this particular engine, what to watch out for, what kind of power adders it responds well to, etc.? Any help would be greatly appreciated
Try hanging our with these guys for a while...... http://www.y-blocksforever.com/ They've got a thing or three to share.
thanks i'll check it out.. not sure if i'm a fan of the motor yet but a running engine and working tranny for 20 bones was too good to let go
I'm a big fan of the Y block, so I think you did well. They have there own set of little problems and get a little pricey when it comes to speed stuff but it's a good motor and you can't beat the price.. So you have a cab and hood. Will there be more sheet metal or is that it??? Good luck on your truck, don't let the anti-y-block guys get to you...
Y's look great and sound better! Some issues with top oiling, but nothing hard to fix. A 272 truck engine could use some help from later car engine parts, like a distributor and four barrel carb from a '57-up engine to get rid of the lousy early dist. with no mechanical advance. You might want to get a car 3-speed, too, the farmer 4 isn't a great choice for a rod. (I'm assuming the engine and trans are an original unit, trucks were the only 272 that had 4 speeds.)
In 1965 I got my first pick-up, a 56 Ford Custom Cab with a worn out 312 engine. I was in Jax.FL and had a friend in Savanah that either gave me a 55 car 272 complete engine or I paid $10 for it. I went to a junkyard and got a set of good used 292 pistons and bored the 272 by an 1/8" to fit the 292. Linked it up to a two barrel and the "Z" 312 heads and I had a great performer. This truck also had the truck 4 speed and it was fun to make noise with the straight pipes and idled thru parking lots with ease...Best remember for the rear of the car draging low with the engine in the trunk on the return from Georgia.....TIM
Not too many engines sound as cool as a Y Block, especially thru straight pipes. I always liked this video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcSUbcIooAA&feature=related
Ran the Y block for many years and found there a really durable engine. I had one particular Y that I ran 4 years on dirt circle track and never had a single internal problem with it. I am in the process of building another one for one of my street rods. I don't think you can go wrong with one.
yeah there'll be more sheet metal.. i'm gonna make a custom bed for it after i finish the modifications to the frame.. i'm doing things kinda backwards though cause i'm cutting the IFS/torsion bar front suspension out of a late model small pickup frame and putting an i beam suspension.. and thank you all for the advice.. I really appreciate it... and keep it coming if theres more
My first car was a Y-block 56 Ford.Small block Chevies beat me and it got terrible mileage,but you cannot break one.The engine reminds me of a tractor engine.I ran out of oil on the highway once,it seized up and quit.I filled it back up with oil (always kept a case in the trunk)and to my surprise it fired right back up and kept running 2 more years until I sold it.Very reliable engine.
Here's a good start, a paperback used book on Y-blocks delivered to your door for 12 bones. http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-list...?ie=UTF8&qid=1241980587&sr=1-1&condition=used Nothing wrong with buyin' used books, I do it all the time to save coin. And when you consider that you can pick everything out of the author's noggin for 12 bones, hey, what a deal.
I have a 58 ford with a y-block in it drve it al over the east coast last 20 yrs best car i ever had and best engine nevr been apart
my 57 ranch Wagon has the 312 4bbl. Bird cage. I've let er sit too long after a rebuild and she's prolly siezed. I gotta get that car otr or otd. It did sound great through the 60s glass packs though. divorce and relocation to Tucson has preemted action. I've had the car for waaay too long for the innaction. (time or money scene)
I have a 272 in my 55 Wagon, great motor. I am upgrading the distributor right now, don't know the results yet as I just put the motor back in and have not fired it yet.
thanks all.. i went and looked at the motor and tranny today and it's in great shape.. Coolest thing was the guy selling it was an old school rodder from way back.. he is originally from southern cali and is moving up here with his wife for retirement.. it was awesome to talk to him.. he said i should ditch the 4 speed too..
The Y blocks make a great traditional rod engine, not actually that slow either, I've got a 292 and fordomatic in my 58 sedan and it leaves behind a few cars when you kickdown the auto. They are very reliable and a good looking engine if you paint them up and put the Thunderbird stickers on the rocker covers ( or spend $ and go for the finned covers ). Thats a good choice, even for $200
Yeah, those T-Bird finned valve covers are works of art. It sure is great to see the Y-Block making a comeback, and if you check into it, all of them weren't slugs. And you are correct about the reliability of those old powerplants. Wish I could find a 20 buck deal on one.
T-10 will bolt right up to a three speed bell but not the four speed "granny tranny" bell. The bell housing for the three speed is easy to find, the T-10 might be a little harder and cost more, you can also go with a T-5 with a little modifacation to the three speed bell.
Here is a video of one pass of our Y powered race truck. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-B0VgRE_8M&feature=channel_page turn up the sound!
thanks mctim... and everyone else.. can't wait to get the thing back to the shop and tear into it.. i've already noticed, though, that go fast goodies are hard to find for it.. but if my memory serves me correct wasn't there a factory supercharged t-bird with the y block? hmmm..... now the what if gears are turnin
Do you know what year it came out of? If it's a '57 some 272 truck motors came with the very much sought after ECZ-G heads, take a look under the water out-let passage on each head.
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