272 Ford Y-Block (Triumphs and Failures)

Y-blocks are very good engines, im putting a 312 with 3 dueces in my 31 coupe. Had a 312 in my 57 custom 300 ran like a sumbitch, you will be happy with it! Also they look bitchin! Good luck bro!

 

I don't know about 272's but my 292 runs like a champ it has a small cam and pertronix and has been one of the best motors I've ever owned I agree with every one theirs no sound like a y-block

 

The reason 312's broke their blocks was for one year one of the book printers printed a ton of books with the wrong torque spec for 312 main bearings. The actual torque is the same as the rest of the Y blocks. Are they any good? My 312 eats 350 and 355 chevs for breakfast at the 1/8 mile drags.

 

The motor is at least 50 years old. Don't you think any 50 year old motor should be gone through before you drop it in? Be fair. It's what it is. A Y block of about 300 inches. No it won't eat Hi Po 454s. But if it's a Y block you want, ignore the wives tales and run one.

 

Do the y block!!! I love y blocks i have four of them and they look and sound great!

 

They do have a good sound. Listen to this one at 7000, just 258ci.

<iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/E1Dtey2hnd0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

Nice!

 

That is bad ass!!

 

People bought mid 50s Fords new and drove them across the country. I like early Chevy sixes, but the majority of them that I take apart have rocker assemblies that need replacing as well, and for the same reason----infrequent oil changes combined with running temperatures that were too cool for its own good and a borderline filtering system. Rebuild it, make it reliable, and change the oil.

 

Contrary to what many believe, it was seldom that sludging of the oil caused the upper end oiling problems. Generally, it was the center cam bearing rotating in its bore, as it has the two oil feed holes from the main oil galley, once these fail to line up, no top end oiling. The dealer fix to this when overhauling the engine was to take a sharp center punch, and stake the cam bearing bore before driving the bearing in. A little loctite will help here as well. The bearing may need honing after installing, but it will never rotate again.

Most rear seal leaks are due to the fact that most people in shops nowadays do not know how to correctly pack a rope seal in, and they begin to leak in a short time. The neoprene seals have mixed results as well, some were being made of inferior materials and would harden, causing a leak. I prefer using the rope seals, and have never had one fail or cause a customer to come back due to leakage.

The 272 and 292 engines were no powerhouse from the factory by any means, but were durable engines indeed. It is true, though, about the 312 having a weaker bottom end due to the main webbing in the blocks cracking.

---John

 

Right around VE day my dad loaded up his '39 Plymouth with my mom, brother, me and the dog and left Philadelphia for San Francisco. Way before the interstate highway system. In '53 we did the round trip in his '51 Ply. Today we are so spoiled. Can you imagine towing a race car across country in 1949. Going to Bonneville on all two lane roads. Big hills. And a '48 Ford sedan to pull with? Enjoy your 272. It;s a connection with the past.

 

I would disagree with both these statments. I have heard that the cam bearings can rotate but have never seen it myself, I have taken apart a lot of Y-Blocks. I have seen a lot of sludgy ones, so "Generally" speaking lack of good oil was the problem.

Ford, GM and Chryslers of the day were very comparable in HP and one would not hold a lead for long over the others, this is compairing CI to CI and V8 to V8. Std 2bbl 272 was 162 HP in 1955 I do believe the 265 was very close to this #. They all can be "Hopped up" that 258 in the video was dynoed at 310hp not too bad for NA on 91. Yes a Y cost a bit more than an sbc but what doesn't.

 

Before and after pics of my 272....for me it was worth the $ and work....Y blocks sound so good and when you pop the hood people are interested...too many people build SBC's or 302's because they are cheap....don't get me wrong, they are reliable but if you love your ride like I do...its worth te extra effort to preserve some sound history!

 

Well said!!

 

Yep...^^^^....I posted the stuff below in 2009...got a lot of crap about it, too. Clogged oil passages? Sure. Spun cam bearings? Oh...I've "heard" a lot about them...still haven't personally run across one. big M, I'll surely respect your opinion/personal experiences, but I just don't think the cam bearing is the problem the Internet would say it is. I have seen a great many worn rocker assemblies in Y blocks....seen a lot of them in other shaft-mounted rocker systems, too. Very few from "no oil"...

On a side note...I would never use Loctite on a cam bearing (or main/rod bearings). The cam bearing largely depends on oil to cool it, but it also sheds a fair amount of heat to the block through the bearing shell. Loctite tends to act as an insulator, which is a bad thing. I could also see it finding its way into an oil passage. Staking the bearing bore is not ideal either, but I could see a dealer doing either/both as a quick warranty repair. Neither one replaces proper bearing crush...


"I will say this: I laugh my ass off at all the "talk" about the oiling problems allegedly suffered by Y blocks...just as I laugh about the "oiling problems" caused by the supposedly bad oiling systems on the Cleveland and the 385 Series. There is more hype and complete bullshit about the Y block & the "problem with oiling the rockers", and the "problem with spinning cam bearings" on the Internet than there is about Britney Spears.

Did these problems exist? On a relative few engines, yes. Was it every FUCKING Y block? No. Was it the majority of Y blocks? No. And even assuming that a guy's engine suffered from both those problems, they can and should be corrected during a rebuild. Are we mechanics, or hacks who can only replace parts like a blind monkey, for Christ's sake?

I have seen some damaged rocker assemblies in Y blocks, caused by lack of oil...a small minority. I've also seen damaged sets in FEs, and other brands of engines as well. I have NEVER seen a spun cam bearing. I have NEVER talked to anyone who has PERSONALLY seen one. Other guys who are more into Y blocks than I am have said the exact same. Did it happen? Probably...but somehow I don't think that it's as common as the Internet would have you believe. The method of rocker oiling is not the best idea but it can be improved...and modern detergent oils eliminate most of the issue there anyway.

People seem to forget that both SB & BB Chevrolets had oiling issues in their early days that were corrected by design changes...

I have officially stepped off the soapbox now."

 

Back in the day I put a few out side oilers on Y blocks, but you could shovel muck out of the valve covers. I never seen a spun cam bearing in a Y block, not to say it didn't happen.

 

I have had good luck with these motors. Getting oil to the rocker arm shaft was a problem. I learned a trick that solved that though. Cut a groove in your camshaft main journals were the oil will flow to the heads (rockershaft) Worked for me.My $.02

 

Well stated Homespun!

 

A Y block is no different than any other vintage OHV V-8 .If they were 400 cubes,guys here would call then "torque monsters"

 

But they are "torque monsters"

 

Maybe,but as rated for trucks,net hp ratings,as listed in old Motors truck repair manuals,a 1962 283 Chevy makes 10 more foot pounds of torque than a 292 Y block. So damn,another "Torque Monster has been discovered
My first car in 1964 was a 56 Ford 292 stick.I new nothing ,but managed to put in a 3/4 Wolverine cam,a 57 Ford distributor and intake with a Holley 4150 carb.It ran ok for what is was.I beat the shit out of it ,then sold it too a friend who managed to seize the engine because he never checked the fluids.
Any V-8 can be made to run strong,and some will be impressive with a lot of attention to details and of course,money.

 

How do you know it needs a rebuild?

Have you taken it apart and inspected it?

You opinion is nothing more than words based on nothing.

By the way 302s are gay.

 

He is spending $150 bucks on a 50 year old motor that sounds like it has been sitting outside for years and you think it might be a "Runner". He's paying a core price for a core. I would not consider sticking a 50 year old engine in my car with a full rebuild. But that's what I do.