do not know wher you live but i use scadbolt cams(regrinder) he is a wealth of yblock info,just had a regrind to 1957 merc profile,he is in vancouver canada. he has some cores the 1 he just did was a groved for rocker lube. i delt with him when working for a cat dealer and my backyard engine rebuilding. Never had a failure. has a early iskey profile i used on a 55bird with std trans it was wild ,tho no good for auto. phone him 604 738 9505. call after 2pm he will give you advise and guidence,tell what enfine and trans. you wont go wrong. he charges 130 cnadian as long as you have a core, also refaces lifters tell him you talked to cliff tate

1 and 6 wil both be tdc at the same time,remember 1 is always on pasenger side,posibly builder not familure with ford and timed cam to#6. i have a 292 short block i just finished and double checked 1and 6 ar both tdc .and with cam and crank on keys cant see how that coud be out.

cliff

Probably even less streetable with stock pistons. No worries, it's headed to Oregon Camshaft as a core, if they can use it.

I believe that's the old school Crane I have in my race car. Not very streetable. I have an old Crane catalog. What specs do you need? You have already checked it with a degree wheel.

John - "The Hoosier Hurricane"

Well… some things DO work out better than expected!

NoShortcuts
a.k.a. Charlie Brown
near Syracuse, New York

#4 piston is out, but the rings weren't stuck like I was suspecting. However, the compression ring gap overlapped about 50%, so that should explain the leakdown for that cylinder.

I did a quick check on the bore and came up with 3.860", which can't be right. I don't have a bore gauge, so I have to do it with dividers and caliper, but that should be close enough for a rough measurement. I triple check, even changing calipers, but get the same reading. How could it be .110" over and be running .060 pistons? Could this be a 312? So I check and see the stock bore for a 312 is 3.800". Looking at McMaster's & Mummert's sites confirms that it's a 312. Casting number is ECZ-6015-C and it has ECZ main caps. The heads are the ECZ-G.

OK, the engine is out and everything but the rotating assembly has been taken apart. Here's my initial observations while tearing it down.

• Relatively clean inside, piston tops have a bit of carbon, more than I would have expected.
• Flat top .060" over pistons, no ridge at the top of the cylinders, just a layer of carbon.
• The cylinder walls have a nice glaze, no crosshatching is visible.
• The cam is out, and it's labeled CRANE F-294-2. A search of Crane's website and a Google search don't come up with anything. I did find some stuff about an F-294 cam for an FE, but no telling if it has the same profile.
• Once I get the garage back in order, I will pull the bottom end apart, starting with #4 (the one with 75% leakdown). I'm guessing the ring lands are full of carbon, but we'll see.

Thanks.

The outside diameter of a '55-'56 Fordomatic drive shaft yoke is 1 1/2 by my tape measure, Bobby.

NoShortcuts
a.k.a. Charlie Brown
near Syracuse, New York