Thanks everyone.  Everytime I think this motor is done another $100 need pops up.

Mike

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.

Hoosier - I can't find the "four head marks" in my SAE handbook (not that Ford and their vendors always complied) and the oldest SAE book I have - only dates back to 1970. The required preload for the Y headbolts is easily within Grade 5 material spec's however. I like the use of Grade 8 studs for use in cylinder head applications (where posssible) because it just doesn't "work" the block threads as much and the harder stud material makes a smooth pull up to finish torque possible.

There are several engineering papers around that show how mechanical "creep" effects are combated when establishing fastener preloads. The one that caught my eye came from the guys who make the "Superbolt" fasteners for our giant mining machines. It suggested that new fasteners be torqued/tensioned to full load - and then fully released to give the thread roots one full "load and release" cycle before going to the assembled torque we desire. This was said to eliminate future creep - and we have tried this a couple of times now (with big Grade 8, 1-1/2 -6 UNC fasteners) and it seems to have worked. It will take years before we know the whole truth however.  

To prevent bottoming torqued fasteners - in blind holes in big gearboxes, we usually put the fasteners in "hand tight" (this is a relative term here when those big 1-1/2's are being turned in) and measure the remaining "grip" standing out of the case to compare against the thickness of the main caps and cover flanges. I once found a huge bolting flange that wasn't tapped deep enough for full grip of the (30) 1-1/4-7UNC Socket Head capscrews we were about to fit (and torque) - and I had to have the field machinists come and rework the crawler right in place. Its a lasting experience.......

 
 Steve Metzger       Tucson, Arizona

This is a picture of one of the head bolts that were removed.  It is out of focus, but hopefully the six hash marks on the head will be visible.  Steve's suggestion on the studs is a good one.  I'll talk to Mummert about it next week.  The heads are now in the machine shop.

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.

You can get a set of head bolts from ARP for a decent price. Studs are great for racers but make head removal a chore at times. Chuck in NH

Y's guys rule!
Looking for McCullouch VS57 brackets and parts. Also looking for 28 Chrysler series 72 parts. And early Hemi parts.

MoonShadow, 292 w/McCulloch, 28 Chrysler Roadster, 354 Hemi)
Manchester, New Hampshire

Mummert sent me some ARP instructions once for a reason forgotton.  Unfortunately a lot of the instructions are forgotton too.  But they said that all the longer head bolts were the same length.  It didnt seem right, that the two end bolts would be the same as the two centers.  Anyway the studs have been ordered.

Chuck, you talk about a chore removing heads:  the C2AE motor I tore down this summer, had both heads STUCK.  I barely suspended the longblock from an unbolted head, and still had to take a long bar inserted into the center crossover, put one foot on the opposite side and pull with a lot of effort.  Both sides needed the same treatment.

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.

I believe Chuck is alluding to pulling the heads with the head studs in place while in the vehicle.  Typically, the heads will not clear the master cylinder or the heater box with the studs in place thereby requiring removal of the studs before attempting to pull the heads.  But if the heads are stuck hard to the gasket, then head removal chances are logrithmically compounded with the studs in place.

 

If you are planning on pulling the heads a multitude of times, then studs are good in that the threads in the block are not being worn out as fast but the correct bolts are more than up to the job in most instances.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

Although most Y’s came through with head bolts having four hash marks (of which I’ll go along with John and call them grade six as they are not listed in my bolt manual either),  I do on rare occaision come across a factory installed set with six hash marks making these grade eights.  Even in these cases, I will replace the bolts with a new set simply because the original bolts are roughly a half a century old and fatigue becomes a factor.  And never torque the bolts with the threads being dry as insufficient torque is typically being applied due to the additional friction that's occuring within the bolt threads.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

Abut 50 years ago when I was in an aviation school, aircraft bolts at the time had 4 marks for the standard bolts.  They were referred to as grade 6.  High strength bolts had 6 points, grade 8.  Super high strength bolts had 8 points, grade 10.  So when Y's were built, grade 6 bolts were available, I can see Ford using grade 6 bolts if they were a few cents per engine cheaper than grade 8 and still strong enough.  Manufacturing costs of grade 6 and grade 8 probably became so close that the hardware manufacturers probably couldn't justify carrying both lines of bolts.  Probably later in Y production all the grade 6s were used up and grade 8s became standard.  289 and 302 bolts are grade 8 and fit the Y except that there are no 1/4" longer ones available to use in the end holes.  I have used these in the past, but now just use aftermarket bolts.

John in Selma, IN

John - "The Hoosier Hurricane"

Years ago I had the heads cut .060, did nothing to the block, used composit head gaskets, a little higher lift cam and at higher rpms all the exhaust valves hit the edge of the cylinders. So when going to a higher lift cam be very careful on how  much you start cutting the heads and decking the block. If using a stock cam with low lift you should be ok. When cutting as much as you say with a better cam then you should check valve clearances before buttoning the heads down.

-Gary Burnette-

Mike,

       I have had pretty good like with the ARP's Mummert sells. You can also buy them seperately at you local speed shop, if they have one out there.

       Since you already took 028 off the block the total is now .060 (.056) so the 040 works great. What for gaskets?  

Frank/Rebop

Bristol, In ( by Elkhart)