Hey guys, I blew a head gasket on my 63 uni 250 with a 292. pulled the heads and my machinist priced a rebuild at around $550. I have been told i should rebuild the whole engine but really don't want that expense. The engine sounded good and did not smoke but would not idle well after it warmed up .( a couple miles of in town driving). Then I noticed the milky oil.

Pulled the heads and it was pretty obvious where the gaskets had failed. Truck has 90k+ miles.



Questions, whats the probability of blowing the lower engine by rebuild only the top? If this does happen am i looking at more than just pulling and replacing heads plus lower rebuild?



I have looked into a complete rebuild locally and the initial estimate was around $2400. Has any one had a rebuild from S&S Machine in spokane wash? They offer what seems to be a complete rebuild with round trip shipping to charleston sc for $1850. 7yr 70k mile warranty and will pay upto $400 to pull it in the 1st year. I think they will deck it to factory for an additional $200.



If I do a complete rebuild are the addition upgrades to performance that i should consider. Just using the truck to pick up lumber locally and local delivery of finished furniture. want to get the most for the $. I would like to have performance but really just need reliability.



Thanks guy. I would appreciate any feedback

If it's 90K miles on the original engine, it could be a good idea to rebuild. Have you checked compression. While you have the heads off you can measure the cylinder bores to get an idea of where it is. How long has it been idling bad? Has it been making any weird noises?


Lawrenceville, GA

Unless you want to jack up the performance, I would install new head gaskets, buckle it up, tune it up and drive till a complete rebuild is needed.  Depending on the annual mileage, that might be 10 years.

1.    Don't skrimp on the head gaskets.  Fel-Pro are good.  There are others.

2.    Pay attention to the gasket orientation to prevent over heating.  They have "FRONT" embossed where needed.

3.    Two of the head bolts under the valve covers are longer than the others.  The long ones go on the      ends.

Good luck, 

TC Austin, TX

You gotta have the right tools and know how to use 'em.

TC - Austin, Texas

If you go just for the upper rebuild be sure to flush the engine to remove any water that may have got into the engine oil etc.

-Gary Burnette-

I did not check compression till head gasket failed. 110-120 on most with a 0 and 10 on opposite sides of block. but with wornout valves and gasket I wonder if this is much indication of lower block condition. I have had this truck only a year and it has spent most of that time on the rack at my neighbors shop waiting on parts for complete brake and some suspension work. have not driven it much. maybe 70 miles. 1st 20 had no problem with idle after a new generator. thanks

by weird noises do you mean knocks /pings? I do not recall anything odd except after it stalled at idle it was hard to start and you could always count on a backfire.

   Can you catch your finger on a ridge at the top of the cylinder? If you have any noticable amount of wear the block should be bored. But if it has very little wear and it ran good before you blew the gasket, then fix the heads and run it.

   When you do go through the heads don't forget to do the rockers and shafts, they wear more than anything ealse in the "Y" also you can crimp the return line out of the rockers to get pressure fed oil to them when the motor gos back together.

   God Bless.   Tim                           http://yblockguy.com/

350ci Y-Block FED "Elwood", 301ci Y-Block Unibody LSR "Jake", 312ci Y-Block '58 F-100, 338ci Y-Block powered Model A Tudor

tim@yblockguy.com  Visalia, California    Just west of the Sequoias